The Foreign Service Journal, June 2004

climate that existed in 1981. One particular event stood out and was cited on numerous occasions by Ratsiraka as proof that he was atten- tive to American concerns. The ques- tion of Puerto Rico seemed destined to become an agenda item at the U.N. General Assembly in the autumn of 1982. It was an issue being monitored closely by the White House. As chargé, I explained the status and cir- cumstances of Puerto Rico to several of my Malagasy tennis partners, ask- ing specifically that this information be conveyed to Ratsiraka. He had already committed his support to his Cuban friends who were behind the initiative. However, Ratsiraka became con- vinced by my argument and changed his position to an abstention. Although he felt he was betraying Cuba, President Ratsiraka used his change of vote as a showpiece of his good will toward the U.S. He was actively lobbying the radical non- aligned leaders for elite status in their select club at the time. William Boudreau FSO, Retired Seabrook Island, S.C. Assisting Nigeria’s Gum Arabic Exports Boom “Two years ago, Nigeria could not export its gum arabic to the United States market, but today the story is different. We cannot even meet the U.S. demand,” says Bello Abba Yakasai, national coordinator for the U.S. Agency for International Devel- opment’s gum arabic program. In early 2002, USAID began a gum arabic farming training program to ensure both higher yields and bet- ter quality of Nigerian-produced gum arabic, a natural compound used in many processed foods. Yakasai says the program helped establish the National Association of Gum Arabic Producers, Processors and Exporters of Nigeria, developed and upheld industry standards, enhanced the gum arabic trade and created jobs. Working closely with private com- panies, the program has developed a profitable gum arabic market in northern Nigeria, Yakasai says. While Nigeria has exported 11,000 tons of gum arabic to the U.S. since the pro- gram began, he says U.S. companies are placing more orders for Grade 1, which is the highest grade. “The U.S. market is ready to buy every ton of Grade 1-type gum arabic produced in Nigeria, but we do not have the capacity to supply them,” says Bello Dantata, NAGAPPEN assistant national secretary and export manager of Dansa Food Processing, a subsidiary of the Dangote Group. Dansa’s collaboration with USAID is an excellent example of the pro- gram’s benefits. Just two years into the program, Dantata gives proud tours of the Dansa quality control lab- oratory and of gum arabic warehous- es, where scientifically produced, high-grade Nigerian gum arabic is ready for export to the U.S. and European markets. Overall, the USAID program trained approximately 200 farmers and traders from Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kano and Yobe states. These stakeholders learned better practices for the management of gum arabic plantations to improve output and marketing. Meanwhile, the U.S. pri- vate sector helped by defining prod- uct standards, preparing training materials and providing technical advice during training workshops. USAID also bought and installed laboratory equipment used to ensure and certify the quality of gum pro- duced. Sani Mohammed Embassy Abuja “The Patient Dog Eats the Fattest Bone,” Says U.S. Scholarship Winner Mercy Ighodalo was born on June 15, 1988, in Uromi, a village in Nigeria’s Edo state. Her mother was a hairdresser, but due to financial con- straints Mercy was handed over to a friend of her mother’s in Lagos when she was 4 years old. For seven years, Mercy lived in Ikeja, where she attended primary school until her mother’s friend sud- denly traveled overseas. Before trav- eling, the friend placed Mercy in another house and left money for Mercy to continue her education. However, the new guardian refused to further Mercy’s education and decided to use her as house help instead. In the new house, Mercy’s foster siblings treated her badly, teasing her that she was an orphan. One day, after a bout of incessant teasing, Mercy fought back. Unfortunately, her will to stand up for herself prompted this newest guardian to throw Mercy out onto the Lagos streets. At the age of 12, Mercy found herself living on the streets of Lagos with no education, no family and no home. Luckily, a policewoman found Mercy and took her to a police station, where she waited two months for the police to track down her guardian. By that time, the guardian had moved, forcing the police to place Mercy in 62 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 4 At the age of 12, Mercy found herself living on the streets of Lagos with no education, no family and no home.