Portland observer., June 25, 1981, Page 6, Image 6

Pago 6 Portland Observer Juna 26 1981
erry advocatss businass with Nigeria
By Kathryn H all Bogle
»
From Saudi A ra b ia , by way o f
Los Angeles, came form er P o rt­
lander, Ben Berry Sr. He came for a
quick visit with family, friends and
business associates before returning
to his job in the Middle East.
Accompanying Berry from their
Los Angeles home were his w ife,
Zana. and their teen-age daughter,
Gina.
What had been expected to be an
interview studded w ith gleaming
highlights o f the business situations
of the glamorous oil-rich country of
Saudi A rabia, turned out to be a
rich flowing conversation about the
pulsing, vibrant oil-rich country o f
Nigeria.
A barrage o f questions were
levied. What is it like living in Saudi
Arabia? How do they treat you in
Saudi Arabia? Where do you live in
Saudi Arabia?
Berry fended o ff questions as to
specifics pertaining to the nature o f
his job and even to its locale in the
middle east country. He did admit
that he had been in Saudi Arabia for
the past fo u r months. He did say
that he is working on a “ one-year
contract with the Saudis in provid­
ing and planning fo r large scale
facilities.” He did state that he w ill
be returning to the m iddle east -
soon.
“ Specifics are sim ply not
available at this time,” he said. " I 'd
rather talk about Nigeria and op­
po rtu n itie s fo r technicians and
business people there.”
S h iftin g in to high gear on this
subject, Berry continued, “ Nigeria
offers a lo t o f o p p o rtu n ity to do
business w ith Black Americans.
This applies only if you have a going
business aud are not just looking for
work.
Nigerians prefer light industry,”
Berry went on, "such industries that
are labor-intensive that can supply
jobs for their labor force are the in­
dustries are most lik e ly to be
welcomed.
” 1 would not recommend that
people, wanting to start a business
w ithout having p rio r business ex­
perience, try it in Nigeria.”
Berry holds a degree in
Mechanical Engineering from USC.
He worked in the Aero-Space in ­
dustry in the Los Angeles area
before moving to P ortland in the
60s. In 1968, Berry was C hief En­
gineer for the Albina Corporation.
He left that position in 1971 to work
as the Senior A d m in istra tive
Analyst fo r the Bureau o f C om ­
m unications o f the C ity o f P o rt­
land. Neil Goldschmidt was Mayor
at that time.
During the early 70s, Berry was
involved in supplying needs in this
C ity ’ s critical housing shortage for
low and moderate income persons.
He, and others, formed the Housing
and Urban Systems C orp o ra tio n
which constructed and developed
the King-Dishm an D istrict on 6th
and A lberta, and at Rodney and
Knott Streets.
Berry said that his company also
developed 80 housing units in Aloha
Park on Baseline Road in Aloha.
The company, in which he holds the
presidency, s till manages A loha-
Park through the company vice-
president, E. Chuks O gbuobiri he
said.
Returning to his suggestions and
advice concerning business ventures
in Nigeria, Berry cautioned. “ They
(Referring to Americans wanting to
establish businesses there) should
first get their 'political act’ together.
By that I mean that they must learn
to w ork closely with the Nigerian
government to see that they are re­
garding the wishes o f the govern­
ment, and not going counter to
them.
“ In 1974, 1 organized the Inter­
national Technological Assistance
4-H plans
fun
Phillip Avery enjoya sports
with Urban 4-H program.
R egistration is s till open fo r
Northeast P o rtla n d ’ s Urban 4-H
Summer Program at King N eigh­
borhood F a cility, 4815 N .E. 7th
Avenue. Youngsters between the
ages o f 7 and 15 are invited to par­
ticipate in the annual program o f
sports, arts and crafts and
specialized learning activities.
Parents may register their
children at the King Center office
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m., to
3 p.m. The program is cost free and
includes a snack and lunch for each
child enrolled.
Between the hours o f 9 a.m., and
1:30 p.m., children w ill choose ac­
tiv itie s geared to th e ir age and
grade. Special sessions in increasing
language skills is included and
youngsters whose first language is
Hmong or Vietnamese are urged to
participate.
Transportation to the center w ill
be provided in the morning at pick­
up points througho ut the com ­
m unity. Vans w ill be at Boise
School, Vernon, Irvington, Sabin,
W oodlaw n, Ockley Green and
H um boldt
each
m orning
throughout the summer program
between 8 and 8:30 a.m. In the af­
ternoon vans will return the children
to the designated pick-up points.
Further in fo rm a tio n regarding
the special 4-H summer program
can be obtained by calling the U r­
ban 4-H office, 287-1770, or visiting
the office at 4815 N.E. 7th Avenue
announces Ira D. M um ford, exten­
sion agent.
GOLD EAGLE FISH MARKET
C o rp o ra tio n ,” Berry said. “ I en­
tered the fie ld o f In te rn a tio n a l
Trade by first exploring how to do
business overseas, and in N igeria
particularly.
“ O ur com pany researched fo r
one fu ll year in ‘ H ow to do
business’ there. We invited others,
knowledgeable in these matters to
address us and to guide us.
" I , myself, spent several months
in Lagos ju st getting acquainted
w ith N igerian culture and w ith
people who live there,” Berry told
us.
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Flown in daily from Louisiana at a low low price.
W ehaveD M SO
It's YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW the meaning of
the word ECKANKAR. Call 228-3863, 12-4 PM
Mon-Sat.
ROUND STEAK
” M y next step was the introduc­
tio n o f high technology products
which included mini-computers and
tele-com m unications. A fte r two
years o f selling these products we
joint-ventured with other companies
to develop and plan projects on a
large scale. This included providing
technical services.
“ To do business in N ig e ria ,”
Berry continued, " I t is advisable to
have a w orking relationship w ith
local partners. This is truly expected
by the nationals. Most o f our work
involved support and supply to
government agencies under con­
tract.”
Berry shared a 1977 highlight o f
his Nigerian transactions. He told
Observer readers o f a successful
loan commitment he had extracted
from the United States government
(and private banking institutions)
for the Nigerian government to the
tune o f 234 m illio n dollars. This
money was earm arked, Berry
stated, for design and construction
o f a maintenance base complex for
large commercial aircrafts such as
DC-10s. Subsequently this loan,
because o f its size, was written up in
"Business Week” Berry claims.
Recognizing that all business
people will not be dealing with such
financial figures, Berry answered a
question: What else goes in Nigeria?
ben b e r r y
"A n yth in g people like here!” he
smiled. “ Beer, for example. It was
once im ported. Now N igerian
breweries are becoming the
providers for this community.
“ In N igeria ninety percent o f
their products are im ported. They
are extremely anxious to become
self reliant in order to strengthen the
country.
“ H o using,” Berry added, “ is
another pressing need and o f crucial
concern to Nigeria. Their country
young folk are flocking to the cities
and are adding daily to these needs.
“ Stereo equipm ent is prized
highly. A large American company
m ight jo in w ith a local N igerian
company to m anufacture such
equipment and help to stem the
necesssity to im p o rt. The o p p o r­
tunities are there for the cultivating.
One last suggestion m ight be,”
Berry ended, “ is to obtain free
literature from the U.S. Department
o f Commerce on the ‘ How o f Inter­
national Trade.’ ”
W onderful far
Swiss Steak
ROTATOES
NEW CROP
CALIFORNIA'S
WHITE
s-toa
U.S.
POUNDS
NO. 1 GRADE
Few Blacks in education
(Continued from Page 1 Col 6)
are Black. Even among m in o rity
employees,
the
m ale/fem ale
discrepancies continue, with Black
women more lik e ly to be in low
paying secretarial and aide positions
than men.
In form ation fo r the com m unity
colleges are not specific enough for
a thorough analysis. Out o f 254 ad­
ministrators, only two are Black and
they are located at Linn-Benton CC
and Portland CC.
A lth o u g h com m unity colleges
have high percentage o f minorities,
their staff to not reflect their student
bodies. The highest percentages o f
students is at M t. Hood, w ith 9.9
percent. M t. H ood's faculty is 7.5
percent m inority. Treasure Valley’ s
student body is 10.2 percent
m in o rity ; its s ta ff is 6.1 percent
m in o rity . PCC has 5.7 percent
m in o rity students and 5.7 percent
m inority staff. Central Oregon CC
has 5.3 percent m in o rity students
and no m inority staff.
HIGHER EDUCATION
In high education faculty are ap­
pointed in three categories: fixed
term , tenure - track and tenured.
While 62 percent o f the white male
faculty are in tenured positions.
O nly 36 percent o f the m in o rity
males are tenured. M in o rity males
make up 4.5 percent o f the faculty
but 7.5 percent o f the fixed-term
(tem porary) positions. O f the
minority males, 46 percent are fixed
term.
O f the female faculty, 32 percent
o f the Whites are 14 percent o f the
m inorities have tenure. M inorities
make up only 2.6 percent o f the
tenured faculty.
Women consistenly earn less than
male faculty, with the discrepency
growing. In 1980, women earned an
average of $6,192 less than men.
O f the 193 m in o rity employees
(out o f 4,135) 58 are tenured, 31 are
tenure track, 104 are fixed term.
Dr. Elaine Spencer, a p la in tiff in
a civil rights complaint against the
State Board o f H igh Education
We extend voa a cordial
BUFFALO FIS H .......................................
CULTU RED PROTEIN FED CATFISH
G A R ............................................................
G O O ............................................................
NEW ORLEANS O YSTER.....................
ECKANKAR
testified before the committee that
at OSU there are no female fu ll
professors in the School o f Sciences,
yet there are 117 men, sixteen per­
cent o f the persons in the US ob­
taining doctorates in Science were
women. In OSU, U o f O and PSU
one percent o f the full professors o f
Science are women.
There are no women fu ll
professors in Pharmacy at OSU, no
women professors o f Business A d­
m in istra tio n in any o f the three
schools. In education only 14 per­
cent o f the fu ll professors are
women. Approxim ately 46 percent
o f the doctorates in English
Literature and 39 percent in Letters
were women. Yet at PSU only 8 per­
cent o f the professors in this field
are women, at U o f O 9 percent and
at OSU 13 percent.
In the three state universities there
are only three women full professors
in social science, a field historically
open to women.
D r. Spence also testified that
goals are set fo r m inorities as a
group, so that if a university has the
specified number and they are
Asian, no Black or Hispanic w ill be
hired because there are “ so many”
minorities.
Those who testified at the public
hearings including State Superin­
tendent Vern Duncan, specified
several reasons for the failure of af­
firm a tiv e action in the education
system:
- Prejudice in the assignment o f
positions that can lead to ad­
ministrative positions
- C urrent methods o f reducing
s ta ff tend to elim inate m inorities
and women first
- P rom otion fro m w ith in and
fa ilu re to use a ffirm a tiv e action
recruiting
-Underfunding o f affirm ative ac­
tion positions, conflict o f interest
and lack o f independence
- Fear o f intim idation by faculty
members who have complaints
( W e lc o m e u,
Pacific
Citizen
Power o f the Week
. I
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Terry Lynn Robertson has just completed her Freshman
year at Oregon State University where she is studying
Business Administration and Fashion Design. She hopes to
some day have her own fashion design business.
Terry graduated from Wilson High School in June of 1980
She attended Eliot, Holiday, King and Multnomah elementary
schools and during grade school was busy with school ac­
tivities including track and tennis.
Terry has held a number of different jobs during school.
She supervised children for the YMCA, did office work at the
Metropolitan Credit Union, was a strock girl at Nordstrom’s,
did o ffice w ork fo r Commissioner Charles Jordan, did
bookkeeping for the Urban League, and was a photographer
for the Observer
Terry is active in her church Bethel AME - where she is a
member of the Youth Usher Board and the Youth Choir. She
is a recipient of the OACWC scholarship She is daughter of
Edna Robertson.
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Rev A Bernard Dever* 1. A A BA
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