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mm emt JaNUe Laat! des Par PESO ee SERVICE COMMITTE! 160 North Fifteenth Street, Philadelphia 2. Pennsyivant From Paul B. Johnson, Geneva, Switzerland December 19¢2 Vol. IIT, No. 14 RCULATICON NOT FOR QUOTATION OR GENERAL C7) A VISITCR'S VIEW OF WEST AFRICA Many intelligent and world-minded West Africans are hurt by what seems to then the quite inexplicatle Lack of Anceican interest in Frenchespeaking Africa. Over the past Lew aths I have visited 17 Vest African countrics, 12 of which are French speakin Most Amevicaac know the names of the two larger English-speaking countries, Nigeria hang, and some could even add Sierra Leone and Liberia; very few, how- ever, could name the countries freed from French colowicl status in 1958 and 1959 which reacted full independence in 1960 and 1961, Yet, French-specting Africa is almost five times as large as the English-cpeaking area and has, according, to 1960 population estimates, 30 million pcople, as compared with the 44 million in the English-speaking area, It is true that Nigeria secs to the ordinary American observer to be the single most important state Jn West Africa. It ds the most populous and may have 50 million people by 1970, In Nigeria right now is being decided the fate of almost the last existing two-party pariiamentary cystem of democracy, es we know it, in that part of the world. One would be unwary to predict the results of the present strugsle in Nigeria, but I have a hunch that ber ye, as in all other councries of that area, the systen inperted whele from European experience -- in this case complete with the Pare liamentary mace and the judges! robes and wigs -- is going to give way to something new and more suitatls to African conditions. We may not immediately recoynize as democracy; if we doa't, we had better give it a long a eareful leok fo see whether it or ous orm paroch view of proper democratic forms is, in fact, at favit. It ic equally tres that Ghans mokes more noise than any other country in Africa, with the exception of the Cons, which J omit for various reasons. Much of this noise relates te Presicent Nerumah's continuing efforts to solve the problems of tribsliss in Ghona -- problems which, of course, plenue to some depree each of the new stetes in Africa, and viich draw typically different reactions from tie severel heads of state. But beneath these probiens in Ghana, and much less apparent to the visiter, are sone faselinitins periments, Let me cite two, beth in the broad fieid of educutioa and social develop One js the system of “Feoples’ Universities," which wilh en ploy the experience both of the Usnish Folk Sehmol ant of our Agricultural Extensis Service in a surics of institutions desi © brief, residential, colle Tevel experdence fer adults. io Le rebens fovernzent and other employ there p Te wlll feed back fists ordinary social, gavernnent and business life e nal inflvence without counter; in any ¢ Lino of. A second Ghansian exp ment is in tural ceiieheip. bo read report efter report of the fricld workers, ali biiel, published by the Minisery of Social teliare. Kony of these reported failure. They said, in effect, "This fs what we tricd to do. We failed here, and here, and T Ar