Day 4 – Security and Health Briefings

Happy birthday Camille! It’s my sister’s birthday today which makes for a good start :) Other than this recurring annual celebration, today saw the beginning of a new development in the shower department … after three days of cold showers (most likely due to my inability to operate the water heater) I finally just couldn’t take one this morning. Turn the tap right, nothing. Turn the tap left, nothing. I found out later that hotel was switching from the city water network to a bore hole – and not the other way around.

This morning was dedicated to a security briefing by the Head of the Special Services Office for the Cross River State, and a Health Briefing.
It was reassuring to hear about all that had been put in place to make Cross River State the safest state in Nigeria and we were encouraged to test the Security Plan by exploring the State without police escort! With a crime rate of 16 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants the local government is targeting single digits by 2011, which will greatly support the development of this part of Nigeria as a prime business and tourist destination.

The security briefing was followed by the health briefing, delivered by a highly respected Dr. and special advisor. A key focus was obviously Malaria which is omni-present and contributes to up to 75% of all out-patient consultations. We also learnt about the Nigerian Health System and plans for a National Insurance Scheme to address the current medical coverage and welfare gap – it seems that at the moment all medical services are provided on a pay-first get-served basis.

Afternoon browse at the local markets in search of a well needed umbrella, and most importantly fruits as it seems I’ve only had chicken and rice since I landed, apart from breakfast. The local market is a 10-min walk away from the Vanel hotel where we are staying and is pretty much a whole block of ground level wooden structures. It is fairly large with intricate alleys where shops and stalls sell anything from basic homeware to CDs, food and fruits. Having navigated local markets in developing countries before I wasn’t particularly surprised by what was on display but I must say that charcoaled cat fish and goat skin stood out from the rest. I shall return with a smaller group so as not to intrude too much in people’s lives and hopefully take pictures.

Water is back on, had a cold shower tonight … things are looking up :)

- Greg

Edikang Ikong Soup & Garri (pounded cassava) - for the record it takes two days to digest Garri :)

Day 3 – Sunday Run

As planned the day started at 6.30am with a 30-40 min run with my project sponsor and 3 other colleagues. The light to heavy rain did not deter the valiant team from jogging through a residential neighbourhood near our base, great opportunity to discover the area on foot at a time when traffic is low.

A hearty breakfast followed, with a gentle slide into lunch … it seems we’re a never ending feeding spiral. Grilled chicken with fried rice and plantain, delicious and too generous a portion.

Our hosts had organised a tour of Calabar so the team jumped into the minibus and drove around town. There is no defined city centre, rather landmarks scattered through the area. A couple points of interest:

First, the largest flag in Africa is in Calabar. We hopped off the minibus and started applying Pythagoras’s theorem, to various levels of precision.
Long story short Lindsey and I bet as to the size of the flag … the independent judge / tour guide declared the flag was 100 by 120 metres. From where I was standing though (which was probably only 2 metres away from Lindsey and our guide) I had a slightly different perspective and thought there was no way Usain Bolt needed 9.58s to run down that flag.
For the record the largest flag in Africa is indeed in Calabar, it is 14 by 20 metres long and hangs from a 60-metre flag pole :)

Second, Calabar as setup a museum dedicated to the story of slaves traded from Africa to the New World. The numbers are staggering: 20 million slaves were sold as trading goods, and these were the ones that survived the gruelling journey from remote locations to the port of Calabar, only 1 out 7 made it. Do the math and it is incredible to think 140 million people were abducted and displaced to be traded.
Sad story which deserves to be told. The museum was a good first attempt at telling this story and it will grow and evolve with Calabar.

All is well,

Day 2 – Calabar – Come And Live And Be At Rest

I emerged from my first night in Calabar fairly well rested, despite having spent the night in room 301 between the power generator and the Friday night disco.

Nigeria is a major oil producer with about 80% of GDP generated by black gold. Unfortunately all of it is exported to be refined overseas as there is no refinery in the country, so Nigeria imports diesel fuel.
And diesel fuel they do consume. It is difficult to imagine the country without diesel power generators as the national power grid goes down fairly frequently and for long periods of time (last night the hotel generator ran until 2am and started again at 5.30am) - see picture. Without diesel though sound systems wouldn’t run and discos wouldn’t operate and we may get more sleep. Maybe.

The Drill Ranch is headquartered about 5 minutes away from the Vanel hotel where I am staying so we dropped by to learn about their primate rehabilitation program. While they hold a few chimpanzees their focus is mainly on gathering orphan drill monkeys and rebuilding social groups before releasing them in the wild. Drill monkeys are an endangered species and the Drill Ranch manages about 10% of the total world population in the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. Releasing them prematurely would as the matriarchal and group structure must be recreated to ensure survival. On the other hand chimpanzees at the Ranch have become to attached to men and will not be released as they would naively head back towards civilisation and their main predator.

First foray in the local market with Jenni, Lindsey and Juan Pablo, cut short by heavy rain which led us to seek refuge in a local bar to watch the Manchester United – Arsenal football game.

Our host had organised a gathering at her place, where we got to meet our local partners and politicians. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to hear views from senior members of the community on the geo-political situation that led to the Nigeria we know today, and initiatives put in place to achieve the country’s 2020 roadmap.
This evening was a very warm welcome from our hosts and a great demonstration of the Nigerian hospitality.

- Greg

Day 1 – Arrival in Lagos, then Calabar

After 23 hours sitting on a plane I finally arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, via Dubai (see picture of arrival attached). Though it was a long journey I was lucky to be bumped up to Business class from Dubai to Lagos, not sure how that happened though as I am not an Emirates frequent flyer. Anyway with noise cancelling headphones I made the most of the experience, especially when it came to enjoying the flat bed with an in-built massage function.

I was welcomed by Walli, our friendly driver, and driven to the domestic terminal with two colleagues from India and Venezuela respectively. Walli took good care of us and made us feel safe and welcome, couldn’t ask for a better first contact.

It wasn’t a surprise when the first request for dash came. Three of us checked in at the domestic terminal and sent our bags off … the luggage handler asked us to wait for our bags to clear security and told us he would personally make sure this happened. Surely enough he came back with a smile on his face that said it all, sorry mate but you didn’t add value in the process and you’re not getting a cent.

We travelled on to the Calabar International Airport and arrived safely with the rest of the IBM team at the Vanel hotel. 100% humidity and a constant drizzle, but a very reasonable 26C.

Now in what will be home for the next four weeks, accommodation is very decent with air conditioning. I couldn’t get the hot water to work though so I went for a cold shower.

- Greg

Packing

First post on packing day, getting ready for the 23+ hours journey to Calabar, Nigeria. And most importantly getting ready for an exciting 1-month assignment with the IBM Corporate Services Corps !

Bright blue skies in Sydney, and a nice 16C morning, looking forward to fly with Emirates and try out the new A380 tonight !

Stay tuned for more news on arrival, either from Lagos or Calabar depending on connectivity !