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At the time of writing this, I have been in Nigeria for almost a week.  My time here defies a simple description or even a simple narrative.  Experiences are intensified by the extreme emotions one feels in a place like this: The encouragement I felt at meeting people with whom Read more…

“Go about this trip confidently and being friendly, but never betraying yourself as a first timer [to Nigeria],” my friend, Jwan Zhumbes, the Anglican Bishop of Bukuru, had warned me.  “Do not ask questions that will sell you off as someone who has never been here before … And answer, Read more…

Embassies and consulates are a country’s storefront.  In them, nations typically endeavor to put their best foot forward because they know that these outposts not only represent their country, but are quite probably all that most will ever see of it.  The idea is to impress, to make a statement Read more…

“Don’t go.  I swore I would never go back there,” came the voice of my friend Jay Smith on a trans-Atlantic Skype call.  “I’ve been in over sixty countries.  I’ve been all over Africa.  I lived there, and I’ve never felt unsafe the way I did in that country.  There is something Read more…