The suggestion to produce this volume was first made in 1987 and actual work on the project started in 1988. At that time, all the authors (except one who had already returned to Nigeria) were registered for doctoral studies with French government scholarships. The idea was that since we were engaged in different fields of study and were thus in a position to generate a pool of information on wide range of topics, it might be useful to bring together our various specialities in order to reflect on issues and problems between our country, Nigeria, and the country of our doctoral studies, France.