V- * * * .1 » .- j i «& 9 M -1• • >«•5 P age A6 J uly 12, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver ' ,4 nnotineenient What 60 Minutes Did Not Tell About Nigeria frica sadly stands alone, a misunderstood continent... imperfect patches of its culture and tradition are often beamed to a n ignorant world.” A It was precisely a year ago that I observed the above statement in this column I told you how the western media, glorifies in giving you the side o f Africa that would invariably dissuade and drain vour love for that continent. Before CBS washed N igeria’ s d iity corruption secrets before the entire world on 60 Minutes the last two weeks, it was horrible stories about death and disease in Africa and gory pictures o f a ravaging Ebola virus prowling the streets o f Zaire looking for whom to devour. Before then it was Nigeria con men caught in the camera lenses de­ frauding white foreigners. I know by now you are wondering why and asking how did it happen that all these vices and diseases are embed­ ded in the fabric o f Africa societies? I f you had watched the 60 m in­ utes piece, you might think bribery and forgery originated from Nigeria, a country o f about 120 m illion black folks. M aybe it ’ s o n ly going to be a little tim e before a psycho w o u ld wake up and te ll the A m e rica p u b lic that vice or c o rru p tio n o f a ll kinds comes from A fric a s im ­ p ly because a couple o f sick N i ­ gerians accepted b rib e s fro m CBS reporters. B efore then let me refresh yo u r m em ory that long before now, most A fr ic a so cieties or p re cise ly N ig e ria co m m u n itie s w ere an em bodim ent o f peace and p u rity. C o rru p tio n o f any kind was p lie r o f crude o il to A m erica. M uch o f its beauty have been sw allow ed in a negative m edia b litz o rc h e s tra te d by faceless enemies o f A fric a . Show me a co u n try where there is no b rib e ry and c o rru p ­ tio n. W here m oney cannot buy you a n yth in g , in c lu d in g a pass­ port. D o n ’ t be m isled. It is a ques­ tion o f conscience fo lks. N o th ­ ing e x tra o rd in a ry . fo re ign to o u r so cie ty and b r ib ­ ery was an a bo m in atio n p u n is h ­ able by banishm ent. T hat was u n til the E uropean cam e and changed o u r m ethod o f b u y in g and s e llin g . They intro du ced us to " lo b ­ b y in g .” a more refined w ord fo r b rib e ry . These fo lk s bequeathed to us a system that encourages fraud at the expense o fo u r b ro th ­ ers. I t ’ s a legacy that our c o lo ­ n ia l master le ft behind. N ig e ria stands as one o f the richest co un trie s in natural re­ sources. It is the fifth largest sup- Baby's Name: Vivianna Sophia Colburn Date o f B irth : 6-30-95 Sex: Female M o th e r’ s Name: Melanie Dawn Colburn F athe r’ s Name: David Daniel Colburn (O f Portland, OR) W e igh t: 7 lb 14oz Length: 20 1/2 in. G randparents/P aternal: Francine & Alan o f Portland G ran dp a re nts/M e te rn al: Roger & Connie o f Portland G reat G randparents/P aternal: Thaine & Deloris o f Friendship G reat G ra n d p a re n t/ Paternal: V irginia o f Camas G reat G ran dp a re nts/ M a te rn a l: Olive & Alva CELEBRATION of U t e J l u r t l a n f t (O h B e r n e r Promise King is an associate editor o f the Portland Observer. He was born in Nigeria, West Africa. 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