Jack's Travelogue

Lagos

I've just returned from my fourth trip to Lagos. It was a brief overnight trip but Lagos is always fascinating. It's noisy, extremely crowded and extremely dirty. It is akin to looking at a car wreck. It's not a pleasant sight but you can't stop looking at it. It is, however, very interesting to me that a people that lives in such adverse conditions can be so warm, friendly and optimistic.

It's a Small Planet

I graduated from Wagner College in Staten Island. Being a small school of no particular distinction that no one has ever heard of, when asked where I went to college, I generally reply, "I went to a small college in Staten Island." Last night, I was having dinner with Tanimu Yakubu, the C.E.O. of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, with whom I have been doing a lot of work over the last week. I asked him where he was educated and he replied, "I went to a small college in Staten Island." You can figure out the rest.

This House is Not For Sale

I just got back from spending 3 days in Lagos. Lagos is the apotheosis of a third world city. It has a population in the neighborhood of 17 million people but no one knows for sure. As a side note, the population of Nigeria is estimated to be about 135 million but some think it’s as high as 150 million. There has never been a census. There is talk of conducting a census but there are fears that the results will show a population of 300 million comprising 70% Christian and 70% Muslim. Now you might say that these numbers don’t add up but that is exactly my point. Each state and each religion will somehow produce these numbers in their efforts to gain more representation (power and money) for their constituency.

Imebong

I have hired a young Nigerian woman to be my housekeeper. Her name is Imebong; she is married and has a five-year-old daughter. She will work 5 ½ days a week, cleaning my house, washing and ironing and hopefully doing a little bit of cooking. This will probably not be a difficult job as I am only one person to attend to. It may become more of a job, however, as we enter the season of Harmattan later this year.

My Fellow Ex-pats

One of the nicest experiences from having moved to Nigeria has been meeting the interesting group of expatriates, both American and otherwise. They are a very diverse, intelligent group from different backgrounds, many of whom have lived all over the world.