WATERLOO - Meeting with governors and senators is nothing new to State Rep. Willard Jenkins, R-Waterloo - except when the meetings are half a world away.

Jenkins recently returned from a two-week trip to Africa to visit with political leaders in an emerging democracy.

"Things don't run as strongly on discipline as they do here," Jenkins said, of his trip to Nigeria.

Jenkins is chair of the International Relations Committee in the Iowa Statehouse and was part of a delegation that included two other Iowa legislators, Rep. Helen Miller, D- Fort Dodge and Sen. Daryl Beal, D-Fort Dodge. The Iowa Resource for International Service organized and funded the trip. IRIS is a non-religious organization founded in 1993 to promote international education, development and peace through rural initiatives.

Nigeria, home to 128.7 million residents and 20 percent of the world's black population, received independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 and ever since has been hanging onto a thread of democracy that has been overthrown with military takeovers.

This democracy has been in place since a new constitution was adopted there in 1999. There is a lot of hope this time around it will endure, and the United States needs to do everything in its power help it succeed, Jenkins said.

"I really believe that if they succeed so will Africa," Jenkins said. "There is a strong belief that Nigeria is going to be the leadership county in Africa."

Appeasing all of the country's residents is part of struggle of the democracy. Half of its residents are Muslim and 40 percent are Christian.

During the trip, the delegation learned new ideas and strategies for economic development and peace advancement, in addition to fostering new friendships.

"They want to connect our state legislators with their state legislators," Jenkins said.

The delegation met with the president of the senate and the federal government and a a governor who is rumored to run for president in 2007.

"We talked about what kinds of things are being don to keep both religious groups working together and how the influence of women is changing the county," Jenkins said. "We also went to a couple villages where we talked about agriculture."

In Nigeria the life expectancy rate is 46.7 years and 60 percent of the population is below the poverty line.

"Everyone we saw was healthy and had a smile on their face. I felt that they had a positive attitude, which told me that at the level they were getting care and enough food," he said.

While there were modern conveniences, some villages didn't have electricity or running water.

"It's the most interesting trip I've been on. And I've traveled a lot," he said.

Contact Brandon Coutre at (319) 291-1461 or brandon.coutre@wcfcourier.com.