For some reason I’m finding it hard to write about my experience so far. Perhaps it’s for the same reason that I’m hesitant to let people see me taking pictures here. Life is hard in Nigeria. The work is hard, the climate is harsh, living conditions are backward and unsanitary, disease is a problem, and political corruption is rampant from the highest levels to the lowest. If I take a photo here it is not for beauty but for documentation — to help me think.
We left Dublin on Monday morning and arrived in Lagos at about nine in the evening after a stopover in Amsterdam. The airport in Amsterdam has an impressive people-centric architecture and I really appreciate the seamless and focused graphics that tie the whole complex together. The Airport in Lagos is a contrast to it in almost every way, however I was heartened to see that the signage there, at least near our gate, was like a mini-replica of that in Amsterdam, right down to the color and the typface. Jim said that the small moving walkways they have are new also. I think that little things like this are signs of positive social change.
The highlight has been meeting the wonderful friends that Jim has here in Nigeria. I’ve met Noah and Yemi, two men who are dedicated Zonal Coordinators for Emmaus Bible Centres Mission in the Lagos area, Sule Moses Abu, who we’ve been traveling with and who is the National Coordinator, and good friends Esther Haruna, Philip Ebikwo, Dan Itodo, and Ocholi James.
Tuesday morning we got up early and got a taxi with Yemi, who’s mobile phone rings every five minutes, to go pick up the Land Rover. This took us right through Lagos and gave me and Brian a good chance to get our first real look at the city. If there are three things that stand out to me as a foreigner in Lagos they would have to be the heat, the dust, and the masses of people. It seems like society is linked to the roads here. Everything happens on the road. People walk, sell, buy, drive, hang-out, eat, and even sleep by the side of the road. There is constant cacophony of people shouting, horns blaring, engines roaring, and every few thousand feet, cone-shaped speakers on poles blasting music. That’s a sign that there is a generator somewhere nearby. Electricity is intermittent in Lagos, one of the biggest cities in Africa with a metropolitan area population of around 17M. Seventeen Million.
The video work is going along nicely so far. I’ve shot about five hours of Emmaus Training and also done a few light and sound test setups for interviews. ‘Net access will be pretty hard to come by but today I’ve discovered that there is an open wireless network in the lobby of our Sheraton hotel in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. We’re only able to stay here because of a special concession Jim is able to get from the company so I’m going to try to make the most of it while it lasts.
Ah, one more thing. Brian has become Keeper of Land Rover Doorlocks. Our friend Sule was pulled from our vehicle on friday (an incident he handled very cooly) and so now as soon as we get in the car Brian is on about locking our doors. Good job Brian! Thanks be to God we’ve come safely so far and have been able to keep to schedule.
