c. 1999 Religion News Service

(Dale Hanson Bourke is publisher of RNS.)

UNDATED _ Nigeria has a new president.

Stop. Don’t turn the page. Don’t move on to another article. I know you’re tired of the problems in Africa, but this is good news.

President Olusegun Obasanjo took office last week and has already taken positive steps toward righting the wrongs plaguing the people of Nigeria.

He’s vowed to clean up corruption. He’s promised to fix the broken economy. He’s already named a commission to investigate human rights abuses.

In a country devastated for the past 15 years by corrupt leadership, the new president represents an unmistakable move toward a bright future in Nigeria. Everybody says so, except for the bad guys who are getting out of town.

But President Obasanjo’s biggest problem is you. Really.

You, like most Americans, probably haven’t spent 10 minutes thinking about Nigeria in the past year. You don’t know much about the country or the corruption. You don’t realize this man stands at a point in history that can change the future for millions of people.

And since you haven’t thought about Nigeria, let alone expressed concern over its future, the editors of most newspapers don’t spend much space covering Nigeria or any other country in Africa.

Major news broadcasts often go weeks without mentioning Africa once. It’s not that there isn’t any news. It’s just that it isn’t the kind of news Americans want to hear about.

When legislation concerning Africa comes up, your representative spends a moment thinking about the last time a constituent asked a question about Africa and then votes no. It’s just not a priority.

This is not to say you or other Americans are bad people. I know how it goes. I’ve got bills to pay, clothes to wash, kids to shuttle all over the free world. Africa is an important continent, but I’ve got to get to the grocery store before it closes.

So poor President Obasanjo looks at his country and vows to do his best, but he knows his job would be so much easier if a simple citizen in a superpower called America just gave him a minute.

That’s all it would take. Really.

Send no money. Carry no signs. Start no petitions.

Just spend one minute a week thinking about Nigeria.

This week open the atlas and find where it is.

Next week learn the name of the capital.

When you get a readership survey, say you’d like to read more about Africa and especially Nigeria.

At your place of worship, amaze your fellow congregants by telling them that good is triumphing over evil in Nigeria and this is worthy of prayers of thanksgiving.

You may be skeptical about this. But try it just this once. Give a minute a week to learning more about Nigeria. Begin to see Africa as more than a blur. Ask your kids what they are learning in school about Africa and let them teach you.

And if you think of it, while you’re sitting in a traffic jam, say a prayer for President Obasanjo. He’s a good guy trying to do the right thing.

His overwhelming job will be much easier if a few Americans give him a minute or two.

DEA END BOURKE