Professional Documents
Culture Documents
50 heads of state
The heads of state boycott a closing ceremony organized by Gambia. What reason does a paper give for
the boycott?
The boycott was as a result of a bitter disagreement the heads of state had earlier.
What happens to the man caught selling confidential documents marked for 100 eyes only?
That the foreigners have freedom of expression and the right to say anything they please.
In their own light, they see it as the most successful summit ever held they illuminate high points and
blur out low points.
Identify the strangers in the order in which they arrive. Give their occupation and nationalities.
Karanja Kimani , 60- Professor in the institute of development studies at the university of Nairobi
(Kenya)
Chineke Chiamaka, 50- Pastor at the church inside Africa ‘CIA’ in Lagos (Nigeria)
Seif Tahir, 40- engineer, former employee at the Ministry of Defence in Tripoli (Libya)
Which rooms does the hotel give them?
For how long had Professor Kimani been in the room before the phone rang?
That he accepts the caller as his guide while he was there (PG3)
What is the combination lock of the briefcase Professor Kimani finds in his room?
How does the caller reply when Professor Kimani asks for his name?
How is Fiona dressed when Dr. Afolabi meets her for the first time?
She was wearing a scarlet blouse, a black skirt and red high heels
Fiona McKenzie
Her natural parents were Gambians but they are dead. She was adopted by Scottish missionaries, Ian
and Elspeth McKenzie when she was less than a year old
Dr. Afolabi studied at Harvard University in the USA. He teaches at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Failure of States
45 years old
35 years old
Afolabi will be the adviser of the heads of state, while Fiona will be covering the debate on behalf of the
Gambian News.
What is the debate all about?
African heads of state are in Banjul to adopt a document entitled Way Omega: a document containing a
way to develop the African continent, discovered by 20 noble laureates as a common development
strategy for Africa.
He expects an end to military coups and rigged elections in Africa. He believes Way Omega will rid Africa
of coups and civil wars.
What question does Fiona ask Dr. Afolabi that irks him?
She asks him what makes him so optimistic about Africa’s future now, when in his book he is very
pessimistic. Is it about Way Omega or the prestige of its authors?
Fiona’s phone rings. Her boss wants her back at the office.
The 49 heads of states give the hosting country good publicity but this publicity comes at a high price.
Explain.
Bulldozers are dispatched at night to demolish roadside kiosks on which whole families depend for their
livelihood. Dignitaries see that a few streets once had sidewalks.
Roads get rare layers of tarmac at times of maximum traffic. Motorists come to a standstill when it really
hurts.
Checkpoints sprout everywhere. Guards get more basis for extorting bribes from passers-by
Water taps at which whole neighborhoods queued just to get buckets of water dry up. All the water has
gone to mesmerize the dignitaries with new water fountains (PG11)
Which ministries are jointly charged with the responsibility of preventing catastrophe at the summit?
Which effective way of ensuring that all the heads of state would be safe do they come up with?
All heads of state including the host, would stay in one place, the Pinnacle Hotel, located on the
outskirts of Banjul.
The elementary task of ensuring the Pinnacle Hotel became and remained an impenetrable fortress
rested on two pillars intelligence and combat. Explain.
Intelligence meant secret agents combed every hideout in Banjul investigating rumours about plans to
storm the pinnacle. The police handled this.
Combat meant trained soldiers engaging any unauthorized person who came near the Pinnacle.
Which ministries are jointly tasked with extending to each head of state his or her due respect or
protocol?
They are tasked with seating arrangement of their heads of state at the feast and their accommodation
at the Pinnacle.
How do they go about the issues of seating arrangement and hotel accommodation ?
The heads of state would sit in Alphabetical order. The floors were also given out according to
Alphabetical order with Algeria and Angola getting the top floor.
Assuming each delegation, big or small, had to be equal, each delegation was given four rooms.
At what time does Pastor Chiamaka receive the second phone call?
Pastor Chiamaka receives the second phone call from the guide at 9:00 PM
What are the contents of the briefcase he found in his room? (p16)
A mobile phone
What was Pastor Chiamaka doing when his guide saw him at the bar at the Seamount Hotel?
How long does the guide take to talk to the four men on the phone?
Which vacant position does Professor Kimani fill at the University of Nairobi?
He joins the University of Nairobi directly as a senior lecturer to fill a vacancy in the Institute of
Development Studies.
University of Oxford.
What proposal does Professor Kimani make noisily, a month after his arrival at the University of
Nairobi?
He demands that the university henceforth strives for the relevance to the society rather than simply
excellence of its work.
Explain how the donors are the forces behind the changes in Africa after the global recession.
They threatened to withhold aid unless Africa makes the changes they want.
The changes catalyzed excesses or extravagance in parliament ostensibly to make up for the time they
felt they had lost
Those earnings are no longer deemed salaries so they are not taxable. They are exempted from taxation.
This is akin to a coup since the MPs make laws to permit such plunder. It becomes legal but immoral.
Why are parliaments worse than armies?
Soldiers could stage coups but they could not legalise their action. MPs break the law and legislate that
breach as a new law.
In tourism, tour operators warn their foreign clients to avoid exposing valuables in public
Why does Professor Kimani view this growth in guarding with disapproval and contempt?
He considers it a symptom of failure by the state to ensure safety for its citizens.
Tuni thinks attending seminars on personal safety is clever while Professor Kimani thinks safety is a
necessity the state should provide.
Tuni says she intends to take precaution against male violence.
Which three reasons does the seminar instructor give that prove women are the easy prey?
A temptation to stray
The car is down again. Professor Kimani will fix it as soon as he gets his next salary. Asiya refers to it as
"That dying old Toyota"
How has the car become a metaphor of Professor Kimani according to Asiya?
Once she had seen him as a young man going places. Now she only saw an old man going nowhere. The
car was going nowhere as well.
Which hurtful career advice does Asiya offer her husband Professor Kimani?
She advises him to leave the university and seek greener pastures.
It is hurtful because he compares him to Newborn Walomu, who left the university and is now a wealthy
member of parliament with four cars (P29)
What did Newborn Walomu do before going to parliament?
Walomu, a rowdy fellow from a minor tribe without roads or schools, was a junior colleague of
Professor Kimani at the university.
He tells always tells Asiya that he was born a teacher and a teacher he will die. He considers people like
Newborn losers.
She dies in a car crash. A trailer crashes a minibus she was traveling in.
She does not die in an act of male violence as she had anticipated
six months
How does Asiya blame Professor Kimani for their daughter’s death?
60
How does Professor Kimani greet Newborn when he visits his office?
Three beautiful young women who have already borne him a child each.
He won the seat in a by election, after his predecessor was killed by gunmen while he was wobbling out
of a bar.
What reason does Walomu give for marrying Asiya who is older than he?
Professor Kimani had gone to confront Newborn for ‘stealing’ his wife and is infuriated when Newborn
takes the opportunity to mock him. He is unable to tolerate.
What disciplinary measure does the university take after this fiasco?
The university demotes Professor Kimani from his current rank as full Professor back to his starting rank
as senior lecturer.
This is due punishment for disgracing the university in the face of the public.
Six months
Professor Kimani joins AGDA (P38-45)
What is the name of the director of special projects at AGDA? How old is he?
Tad Longway, 50
What retribution did Mr. Mark Thatcher get for staging a coup in Equatorial Guinea?
The government of South Africa fined him $1,000,000 and handed him a suspended 4 year jail sentence
Instead of eradicating these problems, they have added a fourth and are adding a fifth. Which are these
two new problems?
Are the present leaders helping or impeding Africa’s development agenda? (P42)
A teacher's job is to coach people towards the better future and activist’s job is to coax them towards
that future.
They may use different methods common but there are similarities in their ultimate objective.
Why does Professor Kimani fit the profile of a Path Alpha traveler?
A traveller must believe in Path Alpha. From his history Professor Kimani is an idealist.
A Path Alpha traveler must have the drive to pursue goals and the tenacity to stick with them.
Loss of her daughter, desertion by a wife and mistreatment by his university and the state.
When Fiona leaves the Seamount Hotel for her office, how long does she tell the boss she would take?
About an hour
A colossal arch, erected by the architect of a coup which saw the undisputed, legitimate president of
Gambia overthrown.
By overthrowing the legitimate president in a military coup staged on July 22nd, 1994.
He forms part of a growing African phenomenon. Taxi drivers with university degrees but no meaningful
employment in the professions they trained for.
They falsely claim that his taxi has faulty brakes and demand for a bribe
Which news does Fiona's boss deliver to her when she arrives at the office?
That he is pulling her out of the assignment to the summit at the Pinnacle.
She joins VOA from the Gambian News on a two year leave-on-loan-arrangement.
What does VOA do that it could not do before just to save its image?
Employing non Americans in senior VOA positions. Miss McKenzie joins VOA bureau in Banjul
Who is Robert Manley? How old is he?
Nicholas Sentinel, 25
Which breaking story does the VOA need Fiona to help them cover?
Why does VOA choose Fiona to cover the story for them?
Edinburgh, Scotland
What does Nick Sentiment use to monitor electronic transmissions or wireless communication?
He has a wife and five kids to feed and fears losing his job.
His real name is Leo. He is the man that attacks Fiona at the Seamount Hotel lobby.
Pamela, American
What is Doctor Afolabi invited to do in America before he is invited to Banjul to serve as advisor to the
summit of the heads of state?
He had previously been invited by The Foundation for Democratic Rule in Washington to give a keynote
address at an annual conference
For his wife Pamela, how was the invitation by the foundation Godsend?
She had not been able to see her father, who lived alone as a widower in Boston
How do the views of Doctor Afolabi about children varying from Pamela's?
He wanted to have two children of his own, whereas Pamela wanted them to adopt two African
children.
To mobilize our discontent with Africa, in its present state, into will to change it
That the summit should go with Way Omega. It will put an end to military coups, rigged elections, civil
wars or ethnic clashes.
What is the difference between Path Alpha and Way Omega according to Tad Longway?
Whereas Way Omega is top-driven and lacks the will for its implementation, Path Alpha is bottom-lead
and has the will.
To guide four Path Alpha travellers whom AGDA is sending as observers to the summit
Tad Longway does not want Doctor Afolabi to defect from way Omega to Path Alpha. Why?
Issa, a Hausa
Who is Femi?
Femi is Doctor Afolabi’s cousin. He is a Yoruba from Kaduna. He has a scary scar on his face.
What is the name of the girl he has brought for Doctor Afolabi to marry?
Nimbo
Doctor Afolabi says Femi is not guilty while Pamela wants him out of her house immediately. Explain
why.
Doctor Afolabi explains that people back at home came up with the idea. Femi is only a messenger.
Nimbo, the girl to be married, is only what they wanted him to deliver. She too is innocent, according to
Doctor Afolabi.
What makes Pamela feel that Doctor Afolabi is part of the Fermi and Nimbo scheme?
His village people sent him a girl to bear all the children he wants
The scheme fits so closely. He must have had a hand in it
Doctor Afolabi ‘s refusal to throw out Femi because he is his cousin. He suggests that they leave the next
day. Pamela leaves.
After how long does Pamela phone Dr. Afolabi to tell him that she had filed for divorce?
A week after the stand-off. She phones him from her father’s home in Boston.
According to comrade Ngobile Melusi, what is the logic behind the security clearance?
Detection: Spotting actual danger at specific points and punishing it there and
The youthful guard at the summit security screening has an issue with Comrade Melusi's cellophane
pouchh. What does it contain?
Why does Comrade Melusi insist on taking the needles and medicine inside?
Without the medicine, he couldn’t live a day. Because of diabetes, he cannot regulate the sugar level in
his blood. The medicine keeps him alive. The needle is his life: for shooting the medicine into his veins.
What makes the youth change his mind about confiscating Melusi needles?
The litany of bad things that could happen to Melusi if he did not take his medicine: Blindness, kidney
failure, foot ulcers, leg amputation etc.
After defeating Smith, what urgent order of business did Zimbabwe have?
A peaceful passage to an elected government. They hurriedly put together a transitional government to
oversee this process.
At 1:30 PM, it is expected that the restaurant should have many diners but Melusi and Longway are the
only customers. Why?
The economy had crashed and people in Zimbabwe could not afford to eat out anymore, unless
someone foreign was footing the bill.
He fought Smith alongside his leader for many years. His leader used to call him comrade.
Shona
Ndebele
Why was the leader of Comrade Melusi's group thrown out of the government?
A cache of weapons was allegedly found at his home. He was accused of plotting a coup. He is Ndebele,
not Shona.
Comrade Melusi had roast chicken with fries while Longway had mashed potatoes and pepper steak. For
dessert, they had chocolate cake and a coffee respectively.
He helps himself to the mashed potatoes that Mr. Longway rejects (P89)
Anti government unrests erupts in the South. The Ndebele were angry with the government for
humiliating their man
They attacked government supporters
The government retaliates with the 5th brigade as retribution for the protests
What is Gukurahundi?
The 5th brigade. Shona for the first years rainstorm that washes chaff off fields so that tiling can start.
They ‘wash away' Ndebele insurgents like chaff.
Ziliza
She was strangled by the ‘Gukurahundi’ and splayed on the kitchen floor
How did the new ruler change after the Ndebele insurgency?
Before, he viewed both the Shona and the Ndebele who fought loyally for independence as allies.
Now, he only trusts his Shona tribesmen and regards the Ndebele as rivals - tribalism. He wants to be a
lifelong president.
What was the name of the opposition group formed by Comrade Ngobile Melusi?
99 percent
How did the bomber win election when Zimbabwe had been doing badly?
The opposition was divided. They booed Comrade Melusi when he rallied them to combine efforts to
beat the bomber
Each opposition leader wanted to be president
Young guns under him discovered that he did not have a university degree so they deemed him useless
for lacking ‘a proper education’.
What is Comrade Melusi's next step of action after losing the elections?
It is Shona meaning expelling the trash. Bulldozers came and tore down the slums evicting residents
without warning or alternative accommodation. This was done by the government to punish the urban
poor for supporting opposition parties.
Mobilizing their discontent with Africa in its present state into will to change it.
Pure power
Population (Nigeria)
70 years old
What losses does Professor Kimani experience that could have been prevented by the Kenyan
government?
Zimbabwe’s Fifth Brigade murders hundreds of people including his wife as ordered by the president.
After many years of misrule, Zimbabwe was now back in the Stone Age
The followers of the leader of Libya blow up a Pan American World Airlines plane over Scotland, killing
300 people. What are the agreed-on rules required of the leader?
Why does Engineer Tahir move from the leader's greatest admirer to his foe?
The leader had sold out to the West and become its servant.
The leader had abolished Libya’s nuclear weapons program - that's throwing away the country's only
insurance against future Western attacks.
Which events lead to pastor Chiamaka's turn around and decision to be a preacher?
Other motorists do not stop thus disqualifying themselves from testifying against him
What was Pastor Chiamaka's standard opener and his congregations prescribed response?
During his sermon “God is watching you!” how much money does he say the imaginary black plastic bag
contains?
According to AISHI, what is the answer to Pastor Chiamaka’s question concerning the money?
Group 2: 50% of the people will carry the money home and think of what to do with it
Group 3: 30% will hand the money over to the police immediately
A Monday
Two years
Abdelaziz Academy
What celebrations are taking place when Tahir returns from overseas?
What makes Tahir believe that the leader has the right vision for Libya?
To acquire skills and use them to build real weapons for Libya
The Al Quaeda had stricken on American soil and he knew America would soon retaliate.
He was offended because the leader of Libya had dismantled ‘Fist of Allah’. Seif deemed the dismantling
of ‘Fist of Allah' as ‘shirq' or sacrilege, an offence that was eternally unforgivable
How does Seif react when Rahma sweetly declines his tomato soup offer?
He reacts violently. He storms back to his office in a fit of rage, feeling humiliated by a woman who was
his junior by many miles. He vows to retaliate.
The leader of Libya had set it aside to give his people time to celebrate their renowned history.
To administer discipline on a female subordinate for shedding her head veil in public, in violation of the
Libyan culture.
She strikes back using a letter opener which splits the heels left eye open.
How long does Engineer Tahir spend in hospital after the accident?
A month
No. In fact, he was even more restless than he had been before.
When his friends tried to talk him out of his gloom, what action does Engineer Tahir take?
The foreign lifeless object he got after losing an eye during (the accident).
The deep and weakening effect after deciding to have an artificial replacement for the eye he had lost
(the effect) - imminent sorrow hung about him.
The silent listener is a sleek device, new and shiny, with hints of gold and silver.
How many parts does the silent listener have?
Three
A dish
A processor - sifts through all transmissions caught by the receiver, saves those it decides, discards the
rest.
What has Nick (the VOA youth) found out after analyzing the transmissions that the "silent listener" has
gathered?
People whose identity Nick hasn’t figured out yet are working in a network of five nodes. The nodes
represents a person walking alongside others in a group.
The node at the center, the Hub-node, is connected to four other nodes. Identify their full outer nodes.
They are at The Seamount Hotel. The five guests lodged at the Seamount as observers in fact have a
hidden motive.
Where is the Hub-node?
What assignment does Fiona have after learning about the secret agenda?
What does Fiona learn when she visits Dr. Afolabi in his room?
He is working with Mr. Longway and for others. The group wants the summit to adopt Path Alpha
instead of Way Omega.
Path Alpha is not on the summit agenda. Longway and company want Afolabi to put it there
He plans to meet the president face to face and ask him about Way Omega.
It fails since the planned small dinner at the Pinnacle is cancelled, without explanation.
What are the four reasons that bring the four observers to the summit?
They say that Africa has problems whose solutions its present heads of state are simply not up to.
They believe Path Alpha will solve these problems, not Way Omega
They have suffered ugly state abuse they do not want to ever suffer again.
They want to address each of the above but making their heads of state adopt alpha, not Way Omega.
fail to lead the summit to a consensus and later another head of state proposed that a committee
convenes
He proposes that the summit adopt Way Omega since their task is to adopt a common growth strategy
for their people.
Minister of development planning in an island country. He served as convener of the committee that
previewed Way Omega ahead of the summit.
Which two mistakes does Zinto make while making his presentation?
Claiming the African Union was the catalyst behind the change.
Using a tone of voice that sounded like a lecture while addressing heads of state who didn’t like to be
lectured by a subordinate.
By begging the heads of state to adopt Way Omega claiming Africa will start developing tomorrow.
Pastor Chiamaka prays to God to bless the summit and make it choose Path Alpha.
Professor Kimani tearfully says that teachers deserve respect and only Path Alpha would see that they
get it.
Engineer Tahir: Path Alpha will give Africa its own modern weapons.
Doctor Afolabi: Way Omega is big on ideas and Path Alpha is small. Way Omega is weak on the
implementation of those ideas and Path Alpha is strong.
The debate
Didier Bangoura
That he has neither read Way Omega nor Path Alpha and declares that he will never read them
Who rises on a point of order and demands the chair about the trick?
What is the name of the method for choosing between Way Omega and Path Alpha?
The Choice Matrix
The heads of state are both hopeful and fearful during the summit reconvening. Explain.
They hoped the method committee had found a method they could use to choose between Way Omega
and Path Alpha
They fear the chair of the committee had not read the documents.
How long did the method committee take to come up with a Choice Matrix?
Half an hour.
Mam Biram.
How long is the adjournment or break after President Bangoura introduces the choice matrix?
15 minutes.
What are the results of the coin tosses
Head: accept
How do Professor Kimani, Pastor Chiamaka and Engineer Tahir feel about Path Alpha's victory?
They find their victory therapeutic - a chance that concrete action would be taken to right the wrongs
they had each suffered.
What does president Dibonso do when the chair announces that Path Alpha had carried the day?
He dismisses the Choice Matrix as utter rubbish and draws a gun aiming it at the chair.