Emir of Kano, Traditional and Modern

Emir of Kano

There has been an emir of Kano for over a thousand years. The British colonialists used a system of indirect rule in Northern Nigeria, so the emirs continued to be influential. In Nigeria, Kano is behind only Lagos in city size. The emir of Kano is second to the Sultan of Sokoto among traditional Muslim leaders.

The emir’s court is picturesque, according to Ambassador Campbell who wrote about it in his blog. It features beautifully costumed retainers and, “an ancient Rolls Royce in impeccable condition dating from the colonial or early independence period,” he says.

Muhammad Sanusi II is the current emir of Kano. He came to his position in 2014 after being fired as head of Nigeria’s Central Bank for reporting on missing oil revenue. In addition to his business acumen, he is also an Islamic scholar.

He does not subscribe to Boko Haram’s belief in the evil of Western education, and the group has tried to assassinate him, Campbell says.

The writer tells us, “He is truly a bridge between traditional Nigeria and the post-independence state. It well behooves diplomats and others to maintain close contact with the emir and Nigeria’s other traditional rulers.”

The Chibok Girls and Boko Haram

The New York Times had a great article about young women who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram and are now at The American University of Nigeria in Yola. Here again is the link I shared in the email I sent with the last post.

The American University of Nigeria was founded by Atiku Abubakar, a wealthy Nigerian, because of the assistance and instruction he had from Peace Corps volunteers when he was young. He loved their style of teaching, so different from the rote learning in Nigerian schools at the time. It is still the preferred method in most primary schools, even in some secondary schools.

The president of AU in 2014, Margee Ensign, had arranged to take about 20 students who had escaped early on from Boko Haram to the university. When around 100 girls were released last year, Margee’s successor at the university arranged to bring them to AU to join their mates.

They are free from Boko Haram, but not really free. They have spent little time with their families. Six  days a week they have classes and leave the campus only with escorts. They worry about the others who are still in captivity.

The article says, “Ms. Demm contended that some of the Chibok students who had initially escaped the kidnapping had traveled to the United States, only to be exploited by people there. She said they were made to repeatedly recount the night Boko Haram came to their school, with their testimonies used to solicit donations for churches or other organizations.”

Now she prevents journalists from asking them to recount their experiences.

Exploited Girls

My Peace Corps colleague Lowell sent me an article from 2015 about Chibok girls who were exploited. I had read something similar a couple of years ago; perhaps it is about the same person.

This article also has a wonderful profile of Margee Ensign and how they brought the first Chibok girls to AU.

Part 2 of interview with Margaret Anderson, Persuasion Coach

I had asked her about her short story anthology.

MEA I didn’t publish the anthology until my sister told me, “You can find a lesson in just about anything.” She inspired me to look for interactional skills lessons in the stories I had already written and to include study notes. My goal evolved to include teaching interactional skills while also entertaining.

CO One of the stories in the book won an award. Can you tell us more about that?

MEA There are many writers’ contests, from small ones associated with a local conference dedicated to one genre, such as mystery, all the way up to the national contests held by Writers Digest magazine. In 2005, my story “Duet for Flute and Phantom” won First Place in Genre Fiction in the Writers Digest 74th Annual Writing Competition. I can’t remember when I got that excited about anything. I was competing against a huge number of entries in mystery, romance, horror, fantasy—every kind of fiction except mainstream and literary.

CO You often include in your study notes the use of a “magic” question. Can you describe that question and its importance?

MEA In my system, interests replace the positions, demands and offers that characterize Number Line Tug-of-War, forming the foundation on which we build consensus. My first magic question “Why?” helps us discover the interests of both parties, like finding solid stones for that foundation.

For example, a couple, Tess and Johnny, disagree about whether to vacation in a city or camp out. If they tried the usual Number Line Tug-of-War, they’d reach the usual result, a lukewarm compromise—one week in the city and one week camping. Ho hum.

Instead, they ask the First Magic Question. Why does each of them prefer the kind of vacation they requested. Tess wants to sleep in a real bed, near a bathroom, and to visit her aunt and uncle in the city. Johnny, a keen birder, wants to be in the woods from dawn till well after dark to see more species. They discuss ways to satisfy these interests and conclude that they could vacation at a park with a lodge. They could visit Tess’s relatives on the next long weekend or invite the relatives to visit them. No compromise! They’re both satisfied.

Learn more about the “walkaway solution,” or “walkaway” alternative, next time. If you would like to read the whole interview, you can find it here.