27th February 2009

Flying out from Heathrow to Abuja

My overbooked flight from Heathrow was scattered with 7 VSO volunteers like myself and we were all packed in tightly. The first half an hour onboard passed with folk cramming bags into the overhead lockers. The stories that painted Nigerians as a people who didn’t relish the notion of travelling light seemed to be confirmed by the very slight roll of the eyes and flicker of a smile that betrayed the otherwise composed demeanour of the diligent BA cabin crew. I didn’t help much with 2 largish bags for my hand luggage. It was a case of shove them in, slam the door shut and hope for the best. My weeks of precise packing had paid off, however, and I managed to get everything through, including the helmet that VSO had given me to wear as a passenger on the many ‘Okadas’ or motorbike taxis that I would use once in Nigeria. To those of who that are interested, I was 2g shy of my maximum 56kg that I was allowed in the hold. The trick now was to make sure everything stayed in tact and that there were some strong men when I touched down to lug them about.

Abuja

We arrived in the capital city of Abuja at about 5:30am on Saturday 14^th February. Milling about waiting for customs was when the VSOs met up and chatted, eager to discover who we all were and where we were headed. We then sailed through and met up with Matthew and Marlous from VSO, who ushered us outside to pack into vans and head for the city. I always like stepping off a plane and judging a climate by the impact that it makes on me as I step out of the sanctuary of an air conditioned airport terminal. This time I was expecting hot. And humid. It didn’t disappoint. The air was still and close and the sun was attempting to shine through a very orange haze that hung everywhere. Welcome to ‘Harmattan’ I was told. Harmattan are winds that carry and sweep fine sands across the country. It can give the appearance of smoggy air and makes life and belongings dusty.

On our journey into the centre of Abuja I tried to take it all in. I was finally here. After months of planning, I was finally here in a place that I knew could not be imagined from the pages of a book. The road was long and straight into the city and people were emerging, as if from nowhere, to push trolleys stacked with bottled water, cram into vans to get to work, climb onto the back of Okadas or to scratch heads at a broken down car perched precariously on the kerb.

After visiting the VSO flat for a quick meeting, I was then taken to the Crystal Palace Hotel where I finally got to lay my head down.

My first job was to get a SIM card for my mobile. Mobiles are the main form of communication here. They are everywhere and so are the sellers of top-up/charge cards. In fact, there were about 6 guys standing at the gates of the hotel waving strips of charge cards 24 hours a day. I presume they do a good business, along with the vast amounts of others who peddle their wares on the streets. But that’s not all. The prize for most courageous seller surely goes to the man who walks between the cars at Abuja traffic lights selling everything from a huge assortment of daily newspapers, to CD wallets, umbrellas and a store of Obama books (he is, of course, the man and worth risking life and limb for).

Life in the hotel was good. I got to sample my first Nigerian food and met some new volunteers who had arrived from Uganda, Kenya, India and the States. I shared a room with Mary, another UK volunteer, who I have to say was extremely neat, well at least when comparing here tidy suitcases with my explosions).

Most meals here tend to be made up of a main starchy staple accompanied by a spicy stew like soup. Crushed chillies (or ‘pepper’) go into most things and a lot of palm oil is used. My first meal consisted of a bag of pounded yam (it looked like mashed potato) and some egusi soup, which is made from ground melon seeds and bitter leaf (it looks like spinach). The goat and fish were pretty good too. So far so good.

We all gathered for seminars from Monday through Wednesday and started to learn about Nigerian culture and procedures. On Thursday 19^th February we were all dispatched to serving volunteers who would look after us and show us their homes. Trine and I went to stay with Sabine and Markus, a German couple who were here on a 6 month placement working on computer systems in the College of Education in Gidan Waya in Kaduna state. They had opted to buy their own Golf as they’d been fed up with the treacherous nature of Nigerian driving. The 2 hour journey was indeed a good introduction to this and I’m not sure whether words will do the experience justice. Suffice to say I, as front seat passenger, constantly had my ‘break’ foot slamming into the floor. Of course, this action did nothing, and we all arrived safely in one piece thanks to Sabine. Cars go quickly here and the road up to Gidan Waya was full off pot holes. Overtaking is audacious – coming up to a hill or a sharp bend would not put some drivers off speeding round a line of 5 cars and a truck.

Placement Visit

Visiting Sabine and Markus was a great introduction to volunteers’ way of life here in Nigeria: cooking, cleaning, water filtering and going to the market. Market was hot and busy. Throngs of people bustled through narrow, muddy paths, under ornings and passing sellers sitting on stools displaying their wares in baskets. Greetings came thick and fast. It was something that I found out fairly quickly about Nigerians – wherever you go and whoever you are, you will always be greeted with a warm welcome and a smile. Something I was pleased to find and a fun point of comparison when thinking about Britain!

The College of Education was a vast campus full of institutional offices and lecture halls, student accommodation blocks and employee houses. Markus and Sabine had been instrumental in setting up an internet café within the college and it was proving to be a hit. It’s a room of about 20 computers, all with internet access. Their presence seemed to hold a world of possibilities, which will hopefully continue. They would be leaving in a couple of weeks and taking over their reigns was a recent employee, Solomon, and a new VSO, Richard.

Back at their house, children played freely under the trees. Their excitement at the sight of us was overwhelming as they clambered to gather bags and goods from the car whenever we pulled up. ‘Snap, snap!’ they would cry when the cameras came out.

On Saturday we went to visit 3 volunteers who were staying nearby. Cicely from the UK and Dorie and Laurie from the US. They’d bought chickens and had cooked a delicious barbecue.

The following morning I went to a Catholic Church service with them followed a lunch with and lift back to Abuja with the priest, Father Basil. The main religions here are Christianity and Islam. Roads are chock-a-block with churches and they certainly play a very important part of life here. The service was vibrant with colour and sound. Fantastic singing. Everyone was very welcoming of us too.

Back in Abuja we all met up together at the hotel. Also arriving were representatives of our Nigerian partner organisations. I met Manga, from the department that I would be working with at the College of Education in Akwanga. We spent 2 days participating in training sessions together before saying farewell to Abuja. We attempted going to a local bar that we had been frequenting, only to find a Champions League match going on, so we couldn’t get in. Football appears to be the other religion here. Favourite teams are Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man United. Not sure how teams are picked but, I’m sorry to say boys; Spurs don’t seem to get a look in!

Foreign (silver) Service

Before I forget, I should also mention that we visited the house of the High Commissioner and his wife here, Bob and Jenny Dewer. It was a nice place with palm trees, well kept turf and good food (and drinks). They were great hosts and it was interesting to discover that he and his wife had volunteered with VSO many years ago. My regret, however, was that I put my name in the guest book and put ‘Crystal Palace Hotel’ in the part where it asked where I was from. Sorry Essex. There was security but Howard, the only American in our party, pointed out that if it were the American embassy things would have been different (I presume he meant more machines and checks at the gate rather than general hospitality). Thanks to a conversation I had with mum and dad before I came, I also felt very proud to be the only one to really explain to him why we’re special and sometimes have ‘High Commissions’ rather than common garden ‘embassies’. Kids, ask your teacher. Having an American in the group also turned me into an uber Brit and I took great delight in explaining what Pimms was and why I was expecting cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off!

I haven’t actually said too much about the heat so far. It is hot, but I’m coping and think that I’ve gotten to grips with it. I have factor 50+. I don’t expose my skin too much. I don’t do the crazy tourist thing and walk for hours in the scorching sun. It remains humid all day and cools off in the evening. I’ve been sleeping quite well – I just try and keep still.

To Akwanga

The ride in Manga’s car out to Akwanga took about 2 hours. If you’re the studious type (which I’m sure you are if you’ve kept reading this far!) and are looking at a map, you can see that the capital, Abuja, is right in the middle of the country in an area called Federal Capital Territory. To the south-east of this is an area called Nasarawa State. Lafia is in the middle of this state and Akwanga is a little town just to the north of Lafia.

As I entered Akwanga, the sun was beating down on the dusty streets. I surveyed the place that would be my home for the foreseeable future and tried to take it all in. Okadas, market sellers and goats. I’ll have to post more pictures up to give you a better idea. I did a quick stop off at the college where I met Mr Khuze, my new boss, before being taken to my new home in the college grounds. I’m on the first floor of a 3 storey block. It’s quite a spacious place with lounge seats, a dining table and chairs and a bed and desk for me in my room. I was soon whisked away to the market with Maria, a college cleaner, and Patricia who was to be my cleaner. They helped me buy buckets for the kitchen and bathroom, pots and pans, knives, cutlery, plates and some food. All if this was then carried back to my door on the back of an Okada. As it was my first time I was let off lightly, but I soon discovered how easy it is to hold on to so much.

I attempted to cook that first night. Noodles with a sauce of onions and tomatoes. Quite unappetising really, but I’m hoping that I’ll get better and am kind of regretting not managing to stuff my copy of the Complete Delia Smith into my luggage somehow. My water filter also appeared to be broken, but fortunately David, an existing VSO volunteer who lives in the block next door with his wife, brought me round some bottled water. Apparently it’s fairly safe to drink, but needs filtering because of all the sand. By the way, the water doesn’t come out of the tap (very often), but Patricia fills up huge containers in the kitchen and bathroom for me to use.

That night I finally got to sit still and listen to the sounds around me. Car and bike engines. Various birds clucking and quacking. Children calling. Wind tapping at the window frames. People talking loudly in the stair well. Doors creaking. Fans turning. A TV in a next door flat.

It was then bucket bath time. I crouched in the bath and scooped the water from a bucket over me. It’s actually quite refreshing. There’s something so shocking and excruciating about a cold shower, but this is different. It felt nice to be clean. I had that clean warm feeling I used to get on summer evenings as a child when a British summer actually meant sunshine. I had been warned that power (or ‘Nepa’) here can be temperamental, so took advantage of the fact that there was still electricity and watched a whole movie on my laptop. And I have to report, folks, that out of all the DVDs that I brought with me, the very first one that I watched on Nigerian soil was True Lies. Can’t beat a bit of Arnie and I’m not afraid to admit it.

I was then so tired, so went to bed at 9pm and actually slept well until 4:30am when the TV went on downstairs with BBC world service. I listened to the dulcet British tones of the news reader and was soothed back to sleep again.