Elephants Jungle, Malaria Parasite

The Elephants Jungle
Between the 25th November and 2nd December 2007, I joined a team of over 300 volunteers mainly from Nigeria and the United Kingdom for a week-long Christian mission to Igbo-Elerin (the Elephants Jungle) on the outskirts of Ibadan. The mission was under the auspices of ‘Liberty’ led by Revd. Catherine Jinadu. On a daily basis, members of the team would carry out medical tests, prescribe drugs, feed and pray for villagers drawn from several surrounding villages to Igbo Elerin. Most of these people do not have clean drinkable water and no access to electricity. With the exception of those on the MTN network, most of us were cut off from civilisation (no telephone signals) once you stepped into the villages.

Of course there were many tear-jacking moments especially when one considers that only 20 minutes away from one of the largest cities in Africa, people still suffer from preventable diseases. However, the positive tweak to this is the number of people that had a smile on their faces after their cataracts were surgically removed by our volunteer eye surgeons in a makeshift surgery right in the villages. Or the old woman given a bath, a brand new robe with a head tie (gele) to boot after she came in very dirty clothing, unable to walk and suffering from advanced arthritis. She is childless and claimed that her closest relatives accuse her of laziness because she couldn’t do anything by herself. Afterwards, she looked refreshed, relaxed and celebrated.

The beauty of Nigeria is that in the middle of government wastefulness and hopelessness, there are hundreds of little stories like this happening around the country where smiles and laughter is introduced to peoples faces.

The Malaria Parasite
Fresh from the missions trip, I found myself stretching like a python trying to crack a prey. Accompanying the stretching was fever, throbbing eyes-ache and a general feeling of unwell. I was certain this was the onset of malaria, probably my first in many years. Nevertheless, I drove to Lagos that Sunday morning with about 20 members of our team straight into Sunday Service at the Water Parks in Ikeja where I was asked to make a speech. I did under very serious discomfort.

Within a few hours, I became tired, disoriented, unable to eat and irritable. I was placed on combination drugs of ‘artesunate’ and ‘camoquin’. Apparently, malaria fever no longer bows to a single drug.

I was to become homebound for a full week. A blood test confirmed that it was malaria plus. I am now told by everyone that my immunity has received a boost. Some boost! PostCardfromLagos

Title(s) – a must have

Lagos is intriguing, period. Actually, Nigeria is. A 'must-have' is a title. For many people, a title is non-negotiable. If you commit the mortal sin of addressing such people without their title or rather the full array of their titles, you will be fed with the history of when your parents met.

I have come to appreciate the reason why a title is important to many people. In many quarters, you will certainly not be given the time of day if you don’t have a title or have something to prove you are somebody. So people do everything within their means to acquire one. No longer contented with the old and tired 'Chief'; new and improved titles have sprung up including ‘Asiwaju’, ‘Yeye’ and ‘Erelu’.

‘Otunba’ is now standard issue for Governorship aspirants or Governors in the South-West. In the South-East and South-South, it is ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame’ - issued by the Catholic Church. Alhaji has always been prevalent in the North. Some Governors acquire honorary doctorate titles from their State Universities.

Church Deacons, Pastors everyone identifies themselves with a title even in non-professional situations. Not to be outdone, many professionals in Nigeria have adopted titles like 'Tpl' (Town Planners), Builder, Arc, Barrister, Surveyor, Engr., Pharmacist etc.

Some serving State Governors who had been Senators in the past still use the ‘Senator’ prefix to address themselves. The Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria precedes his name with the ‘Ambassador’ title (inside Nigeria).

I once asked a Surgeon in England why he was addressed as ‘Mr’. He explained that in the distant past, doctors never performed surgical operations. Apparently, barbers did. So they were not addressed as doctors. That tradition has been maintained over the years so much so that a doctor reverts to ‘Mr’ when he becomes a Surgeon. I will be surprised if there are many Surgeons who keep to this tradition in Nigeria.

Having and flaunting a title is part of our culture - as Nigerian as the oil under our ground. It has however gone beyond the ridiculous becoming not only a way of differentiating themselves from the masses but also a means of proving they are somebody.

You will find below a list of the 36 State Governors in Nigeria and their respective titles.

Abia - Chief Theodore Orji
Adamawa - Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako
Akwa Ibom - Barrister (Chief) Godswill Akpabio
Anambra - Mr Peter Obi
Bauchi - Alhaji Isa Yuguda
Bayelsa - Chief (Hon) Timipre Sylva
Benue - Rt Hon. Gabriel Suswam
Borno - Senator (Dr) Ali Modu Sheriff
Cross River - Senator Liyel Imoke
Delta - Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan
Ebonyi - Chief Martin Elechi
Edo - Senator (Prof) Oserheimen Osumbor
Ekiti - Engr. Olusegun Oni
Enugu - Mr Sullivan Chime
Gombe - Alhaji Mohammed Goje
Imo - Chief Ikedi Godson Ohakim
Jigawa - Alhaji Sule Lamido
Kaduna - Arc. Mohammed Namadi Sambo
Kano - Malam Ibrahim Shekarau
Katsina - Alhaji Ibrahim Shema
Kebbi - Alhaji Usman Saidu Nasamu
Kogi - Alahji Ibrahim Idris
Kwara - Dr. Bukola Saraki
Lagos - Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN)
Nassarawa - Alhaji Aliyu Doma
Niger - Dr. Muazu Aliyu
Ogun - Otunba Gbenga Daniel
Ondo - Dr. Olusegun Agagu
Osun - Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola
Oyo - Otunba Christopher Alao-Akala
Plateau - Air Commodore Jonah Jang
Rivers - Rt Hon ROtimi Amaechi
Sokoto - Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko
Taraba - Pharmacist Danbaba Suntari
Yobe - Senator Mamman Ali
Zamfara - Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi

Just this week, I read in ‘Foxes in the Vineyard’, a fantastic book written by Sean Akinrele, this story about a ‘title’ incident and I have reproduced same here with permission:

"Certain guests were to be recognised and invited to the ‘high’ table at a wedding reception. The Master of Ceremony announced the name of the first man thus: “We recognise the presence of eminent lawyer and industrialist John Oyo ‘Esq.’” He announced the second person also a lawyer, in the same manner. He then announced the third person thus: “We recognise the presence of Chief (Dr.) Sam Osun, a prominent businessman and industrialist. There was no response.

He announced the name again and still there was no response. He was however, informed that the man was around. So he appealed that if he was around, he should rise for recognition and proceed to the high table. Whereupon a visibly angry man rose up, strode to the front and snatched the microphone, publicly demanding to know why he was not properly recognised like his two friends. According to him the three of them had been members of the old school choir and therefore he was also entitled to the suffix ‘ex choir.’" PostCardfromLagos

The Supermarket Encounter

On our way home from an interesting outing on the evening of November 18th, 2007, my wife and I stopped by a supermarket to buy a few essentials. We found out that we did not have enough money to pay for all the items (bad habit of not having to carry cash developed in England). The young lady at the till casually said to us, ‘don’t worry, you can bring the balance tomorrow’. As we got into the car, my wife began to sing:

I love my country, I no go lie
Na inside am, I go live and die
When it turn me so, I twist am so
It push me, I push am
I no go go!

No doubt she and I were both shocked by the trust reposed in us. I can’t honestly recollect having been extended this privilege by a supermarket staff in England. Nigeria is simply a different country.PostCardfromLagos

Forget the BIG Picture - It's the smaller PICTURES...

Nigeria takes extreme positions. Most things are either a tragedy or a comedy. Seldom would you have anything occupy the middle ground. This morning, the heavens opened and it rained as if there was a stampede to empty the sky of all its waters. Then it stopped abruptly as if someone applied the break out of panic. And that’s just the weather!

Back to the issue of today. The first post on this blog 'I am a returnee' generated a fair amount of responses both on the blog and also from people who sent their comments directly to my personal email address.

All of the comments are useful - from those who were happy to see positive things happening in Nigeria to those who felt I was deliberately painting too good a picture. I love a particular commentator who suggested that I was enjoying Nigeria because I probably still have my minders chaperoning me around.

Some wrote that they admired the guts to move back considering the challenges that must attend returnees. However, I detected from most people that wrote from outside Nigeria that a good number silently desire to return someday.

In reality, it's not all rosy in Nigeria. I struggle daily with the injustice and the poverty. The traffic, heat, power failure, mosquitoes, bad driving and visionless leadership distresses and depresses. Anyone that attempts to look at the big picture will find Nigeria is almost impossible. However, I have down-shifted and now consider the small pictures - the little things happening daily in the scattered landscape of Nigeria. These include:

- The individuals supporting their parents and sending their siblings through school.

- A few traffic wardens clearly doing the impossible job of directing traffic in Lagos with dignified enthusiasm.

- I admire a few Churches who are in the forefront of impacting their communities and providing hope.

- You cannot but admire people like Femi Falana and Gani Fawehinmi who consistently and fearlessly fight for truth and justice.

- Not to forget the House of Representatives, who with their four-wall road-show of the past few weeks unwittingly moved Nigeria forward.

- I am impressed by the responsibility of lawmakers like Victor Ndoma-Egba who is mature, sincere and forward-looking.

- I switched on the television one morning last week and saw an interview with a newly minted organisation. Help4theHelpless as the organisation is called provides free rescue operations for accident victims in the Lagos-Ibadan axis. The organisation came about because there is largely no ambulance or rescue service in Nigeria. People hardly stop to help accident victims either because of police harassment in the event of victims' death. Help4theHelpless has provided cover for their volunteers by partnering with the Police and the Federal Road Safety Corps.

These individuals and organisations are the real heroes, vital to Nigeria and to its future. They are the hope-providers. PostCardfromLagos

Two Faces of the New Nigeria

Last Friday week, we were at the International wing of Murtala Muhammed Airport by 0640 to catch the 0740 Virgin Nigeria flight to Calabar in Cross River State. The occasion was the launching by of one of our clients of their new vessels. By 0905, we had touched down in Calabar.

Calabar stands out as a reference city in Nigeria. The streets are clean, tree-lined with covered drains that also double as sidewalks for pedestrians. We did not encounter any potholes or dirt on the roads. At times, I felt we were driving through the leafy suburbs of England.

We also visited Tinapa http://www.tinapa.com/ which until recently was reckoned to be the largest construction site in Africa. Located on the Calabar River, the vision for Tinapa is to integrate business and leisure in a single resort and also serve as the business distribution hub for West Africa. Along with the revolution in Calabar, Tinapa was the brainchild of Donald Duke, ex-Governor of the State. Still not fully operational, Tinapa has the potential to place Calabar firmly on the world map.

Importantly, Tinapa and the Cross Rivers State administration of Donald Duke shows that Nigeria is creating a new set of visionary leaders capable of transmitting their visions into long-term projects that will regenerate their communities.

After the launching which was well planned and attended by amongst others, the State Deputy Governor and the Obong of Calabar, we had an impressive but hurried lunch before making our way to the airport to fly back to Lagos.

Thirty minutes into the journey, the pilot announced that he had detoured to circumvent the bad weather on the way. By the way, one of my uncles has a theory (hypothesis) on the turbulent Nigerian sky. In his view, there are too many people trying to ‘catch’ the rain because of weddings and parties. This in his opinion builds up a huge tension - (a ‘should I fall,’ or ‘should I hold’ kind of dilemma) - in the clouds which in turn makes flying very turbulent.

We landed at MMA2 - the new domestic wing of the Lagos Airport. It has a very large and immaculate reception area complete with a multi-storey car park. Just like Tinapa, MMA2 is a public-private initiative. Two faces of the New Nigeria in one single day. PostCardfromLagos

I am a returnee!

My name is Gbenga Badejo. I will be your blogger from now on. The name of the blog is 'Postcard from Lagos'. It will give you a taste of life in Lagos and Nigeria - politics, the economy etc - from my perspective and hopefully from those of selected others. I shall endeavour to make it as interesting and insightful as possible. I will also, time permitting, do a weekly blog. Please log in regularly. I shall also be thrilled to hear from you!

I have lived in England for nearly two decades and I still feel I do. However, having spent more time in Nigeria this year than in England, it appears I am a Lagosian now and have almost fulfilled my homecoming ambition. There have been a few challenges along the way - leaving a comfortable lifestyle to the uncertainty of Nigeria and also being regularly absent from our home Church where I have been in leadership for years. Giving that I had frequented Nigeria in the last year, leaving, though hard, had been rehearsed and bearable.

Another aspect to the story is my lifelong interest in national development. Last year, I published a related book titled ‘Not a Wasted Generation’ - the theme of which was the need for all Nigerians to fully engaged in developing the country. Having prescribed this as non-negotiable for all Nigerians, I couldn't observe things from the sidelines. I didn't just want to talk about it, I wanted to be in on it. So I joined what I now refer to as the 'laglon' group - those shuttling between the lagos-london route.

On Sunday 30th September, I went to the birthday party of a friend's daughter at Victoria Garden City popularly known as VGC. There I met with other returnees from the United Kingdom and at least one from the United States. One has only been here for two weeks and there was a couple who moved back over a decade ago. I listened attentively as they spoke. All of them were glad to have made the move back home. The Lagos traffic, the heat, and even armed robbery were no deterrent. They all seemed to chorus the same belief that home is a better place to be.

The most intriguing person was Bidemi who arrived just two weeks ago. Save for attending Law School followed by National Service in Nigeria many years ago, Bidemi is as English as they come. He was born in England, raised in England and did everything else in England. He speaks in unmistakable English accent and his siblings and mum live in England. However, he loves Nigeria and has made the move back home. He is unrepentantly a Nigerian and loves the life, the people and everything that comes with it. He has even got a car and drives himself in Lagos. What audacity! I respect and admire him.

Everyone narrated their stories, what led to the move, and how they have coped with the challenges. At least three of the returnees had or still worked with telecoms companies - MTN and Celtel being the chief absorbers. All have their families with them in Nigeria although in most cases, the move was staggered for family members. No one has any regrets. We ate, we talked, we laughed, we sang and prayed as the day ended and we dispersed. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. PS - the cover photograph is not of Lagos, borrowed as a backdrop, it however shows how Lagos may look like one day. PostCardfromLagos