nigeria: first impressions

With my friend in Abuja at the tailor's shop for slight alterations.

So here I am reporting live from Lagos, Nigeria. Yep, the same Lagos that’s dominating Ebola news headlines. The virus spread here just days before I left France to work in Togo for a week followed by a week here in Nigeria.

As the headlines have shifted from Boko Haram to Ebola, so have the concerns of my friends and family regarding my travels. So far so good, though, on all fronts. The most trouble I’ve had so far has been side effects of my anti-malaria medications – prescribed by an American doctor and purchased at a pharmacy in France – which completely robbed me of my appetite, making it oh-so-much harder to enjoy jollof rice in its motherland.

As I’ve discovered in my travels the past seven years, news reports often make rather isolated incidents sound like they are much more rampant than they are. Riots rarely encompass an entire city, for example. In Nigeria at least, Ebola is so far still concentrated within the concentric circles of people who had contact with Patrick Sawyer, who it’s increasingly difficult to describe as anything other than arrogant and selfish, at least based on news reports of his blatant actions that exposed so many people needlessly.

That’s what people are talking about here. They’re also, as one must in scary times, making dark jokes, such as passing around messages that simply taking baths in salt will keep you from getting Ebola. Which is now being followed by rumors of people who’ve essentially overdosed on salt. And others who joke that they’ve suddenly entered the salt-selling business.

More authentic word on the streets says that some too-enterprising business-people are taking advantage of the situation by massively increasing the cost of hand sanitizer since everyone is encouraged to use it liberally. Apparently, it’s even hard to find it in shops now. 

In other precautionary measures, some people have stopped shaking hands with others. And a little boy at Vacation Bible School this morning prayed for the protection of God and the angels against the terrible disease (and thanked God for his protection thus far).

In Abuja with my friend (right) and the tailor (left) who made this
lovely dress for me, choosing a style that wouldn't make
 this white girl look like a poser. :-)

Other than these big news stories, Nigeria is so far a study in contrasts. My Nigerian seatmate on the flight from Lomé, Togo to Abuja noted that Nigeria has plenty of resources not to need outside assistance (or at least not so much), but corruption and mismanagement are so rampant that the country appears much poorer than it is. For example, he told me (he seemed well-informed, but I haven’t verified his facts elsewhere) that there have been no major military purchases since 1978. There’s a national defense budget, but it’s getting pocketed. 

He noted that the kidnapped schoolgirls could have been saved if the government had responded immediately—before they were hidden away—but the government didn’t respond until the public raised an outcry. The unresolved problem of Boko Haram isn’t as much inability on the part of Nigeria’s military as it is sluggishness. Nigeria has the resources to have made that story unroll differently, my seatmate said. I’ve tested out his opinions on other friends here, and they agree with his assessments. As a Porsche sped past us in Abuja one afternoon, my host there exclaimed along the lines of, “Look at that car!” Followed by (and taking me by surprise), “He must have stolen a lot of money.”

Mr. Seatmate (I never got his name because I’m not exactly here to work, just to scout and visit

friends) noted that there are changes afoot though, as regular citizens are beginning to mobilize and complain and demand changes in ways that are new in Nigeria. Under the democratically elected president, the press has also claimed freedom they haven’t had in the past. The non-government-directed media can now criticize the government without facing dire consequences. But Mr. Seatmate also noted that in many other areas it was really the last military dictator who made the most positive changes for the country.

In other observations, Nigeria’s fashion culture (and that of all of West Africa) is still alive and well. I’m a bit envious of my friends who live in a place with such a distinctive fashion culture that they can ask me to send my measurements ahead so they can have their tailor make a dress for me as a souvenir. America has little to offer that is quite so distinctive. I’ve been surprised to learn, though, that “traditional” clothes aren’t allowed in some offices every day. In government offices in Abuja, for example, Friday is the day for wearing traditional rather than suits. In my mind, most of the traditional styles (for women at least) look more regal and impressive than Western style suits. But I haven’t grown up surrounded by all the bright, exotic patterns. So maybe it’s not so special and regal looking if it’s normal to you?

These homes on the outskirts of Abuja are charming and very nice, though!

And speaking of those contrasts I mentioned earlier, it’s striking to me that a culture with such high emphasis on personal grooming and beauty and fashion seems, at least according to my personal aesthetic measuring stick, to place markedly less emphasis on the beauty of physical surroundings. Maybe it’s just a different kind of beauty, but I find buildings and their interiors here--especially in Lagos--much less charming than those I’ve encountered in lots of other places in the world, from India to Albania to France to Togo and beyond.

So there you go: some observations from a total non-expert on Nigeria. One can reflect in part in the middle of travels, but it’s usually incomplete. Impressions usually need time to roll around and be tested against other experiences before hoping for real accuracy. So we’ll see which impressions change once I’m no longer living out of a suitcase.