A farewell gift

The university was in the middle of a strike during the weeks shortly before our departure from Nigeria, yet our colleagues wanted to give us a parting gift. A few of them told us that money had been collected for this purpose, but no one knew when the presentation would be made. We were scheduled to leave Jos in only a few days when Prof. Umar Danfulani, the head of our department called us. He said that he wanted to give something to us. So we went to his office, where a few colleagues had assembled. Unfortunately, most of our colleagues were unable to be present. When we saw the package, we expected another Nigerian costume—a his and her set—of which we already have several, but that was not the case. It is a circular leather wall hanging, which will get a prominent place in our Toronto home. We appreciate the thoughtfulness of our colleagues. When we mentioned this to Umar, he responded, “No one deserves it more than the two of you! You have done so much for our department that we cannot thank you enough!”