Over the past decade there has been an increasing volume of literature examining aspects of Africa's ever-growing refugee population (Gould, 1974; Rubin, 1974; Rogge, 1977; Adepoju, 1981). Also, after having largely ignored Africa's dilemma for so long, the international press has recently become aware of Africa's refugee problem, and particularly so with respect to the Somalian situation. What most of these writings have stressed is the almost total dependence that Africa's refugees have upon locally-derived solutions to their dilemma, since, in virtually all cases, African refugees do not normally resettle in third countries of permanent asylum. Since all asylum states in Africa are poor, the maintenance of large refugee communities, even with substantial international assistance, creates enormous economic and social burdens. This is especially so when refugees remain wholly dependent upon their hosts for their day-to-day needs. Clearly the quicker a refugee community can progress from its initial state of total dependency to one of self-support, and perhaps even complete self-sufficiency, the better it is for the host society. Moreover, in progressing along the road to self-sufficiency, refugees not only move into a position of providing for most of their daily needs themselves, but may also become integral components within a national economic system. This transition from being a total liability to becoming an asset to a state's productive system has been achieved, or is in the process of being achieved, in a number of Africa's asylum states.