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
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
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