WE’RE EMBARRASSINGLY BEHIND NIGERIA on the cellphone front:

OK, I’m something of a tech junkie. As such, I’ve been particularly pleased to see the communications revolution taking hold in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. Back in the early ’90’s when I was doing my fieldwork, calling home to the US was a big deal. I had to schedule a call a day or two in advance with NITEL (Nigerian Telephone and Telegraph, the State Monopoly), and then I would pay $6 a minute for the call.

Now, however, cell phones have smashed NITEL’s monopoly, and in many ways, Nigerians have access to better communications technology than most Americans, since their phones are all “unlocked.” One of my Nigerian brother-in-laws was shocked to hear that I didn’t have wi-fi internet access on my cell phone. “Hot spots are everywhere here now… so I never pay for international calls anymore.” As a result, I get calls from Nigeria all the time (occasionally even during class… always a hoot for my students here in Kentucky).

Plus, how this is impacting academia.