• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Akanimo Udi (left) a fifth-year African American Studies student, and Ada Nwokafor, a fourth-year

Photo

Akachi Azubuike, president of the Nigerian Student Association from 2001-2003, takes part in the

After a two-year period of inactivity, the Nigerian Student Association is returning to UCLA.

Four students – Ada Nwokafor, Akanimo Udi, Obi Iroezi and Elliot Olaniyan – are responsible for the return of the organization.

“We had a voice on campus before, and now we are trying to bring it back,” said Nwokafor, a fourth-year psychobiology student.

The group became dormant soon after hosting a Nigerian cultural show in February 2003 when scheduling conflicts and a change in leadership proved detrimental to the organization.

The association was originally founded in 1999 by three Nigerian students wishing to educate the UCLA community about Nigerian culture.

The organization began with the goal of uniting Nigerian students and demonstrating their diverse heritage.

Its main objective is to promote the culture of Nigeria for friends of the Nigerian community and for Nigerian students who are less familiar to get connected with their own cultural roots, Nwokafor said.

Nigeria, a country slightly larger than twice the area of California, borders the Gulf of Guinea in Western Africa.

With over 137 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups.

In 1999, a new constitution was adopted in Nigeria involving the transition from a military government to a civilian one.

The elections of April 2003 marked the first civilian transfer of power in Nigeria’s history.

At UCLA, NSA has already organized some events and is planning future ones in an attempt to teach students and faculty about the country of Nigeria, and its rich culture and heritage through events that will display the customs of the people, including the way Nigerians dress, address their elders and the traditions surrounding marriage.

Most of the current members of the association are of Nigerian descent and were born in the United States, but whose parents are originally from Nigeria, Nwokafor said.

“We want to keep the Nigerian spirit alive on the UCLA campus,” she said.

“We wanted to restart NSA because we didn’t just want it to die out like that. There is a need to have a community of people who you can relate to culturally, spiritually and on a whole new level. We just wanted to have that pride of being Nigerian students again who are making a great difference in UCLA and in America at large,” Nwokafor added.

The African Studies Center provides sponsorship for the NSA and other Africa-oriented organizations.

“As a condition of sponsorship we like to be informed of their programs and we like them to come in and ask for support and help. We try to assist them in any aspect whether it be locating a venue, navigating the university’s bureaucracy, and in some instances we are able to assist financially as well,” said Azeb Tadesse, the center’s assistant director.

As well as providing services for nation-focused groups like NSA, the center also supports topic or action-oriented groups like the Darfur Action Committee and the African Activist Association.

“We provide support for any students who show initiative towards activism,” Tadesse said.

The process of starting an organization on campus is “very easy,” said Kenn Heller, the associate director of the UCLA Center for Student Programming.

Heller said it usually takes three students, staff or faculty to form the group, and that registration could be completed within a day depending on whether the organization is either independent or officially recognized, he said.

Registrations are valid for the academic year. If a member doesn’t register their group by Oct. 31, they are removed from the center’s database and are no longer eligible to receive any resources, including use of rooms on campus, Heller said.

There are a total of 739 organizations at UCLA.

Organizations like the NSA allow students to maintain contact with their cultural roots.

“America is a very diverse nation (that) has all kinds of ethnic groups and cultures and sometimes we get lost in the whole pool. It is kind of difficult to maintain that connection, especially here in school because we are bogged down with studying and other media influences that we don’t even have time to remember our origins or roots,” Nwokafor said.