Experiencing "Real Africa"

I was asked by work to travel to Lagos, Nigeria to conduct interviews with local candidates. The firm is looking into the possibility of opening a new office in Lagos so we're exploring the market. I was excited for the opportunity to experience a new country, but whenever I said to someone that I was going to Nigeria, I was always met with the same incredulous, "why?!" I don't blame them, Nigeria can be a dangerous place, but I have been told that South Africa is so different from the rest of the continent that I was looking forward to seeing "Real Africa".

You need a visa to travel into the Nigeria so I went to the consulate and got myself a three month multiple-entry work visa. Who knows, maybe I'll be back! It was actually a really quick and easy process, just hand in the required documents, pay the fee and go back the next day to pick it up (I paid extra for the expedited process; worth it!).

I took my first ever business class flight to get to Lagos, so that was cool. The major benefit really is just laying down (especially when you land at 5am and will be going into the office that morning and doing a presentation that evening) but the movies on these legs were also great (hopefully Economy had the same selection). I was able to finally see Birdman and St. Vincent - great flicks, check them out if you haven't already!

When we arrived in Lagos, we were all immediately shuffled into a queue to get an Ebola test, which is just a little temperature gun pointed at your forehead. If you don't have a fever, off you go, easy as that. Then we were shuffled into a lineup that led to a lineup to another lineup. All the while people were being pulled out of line and rushed ahead if they had paid someone who worked at the airport to get them through the queue. Eventually we made it outside and oddly enough there is no arrivals bay so you just walk out onto the road and try to find your escort. Luckily, we had a fantastic escort so she found us and we hopped right into our waiting car. This car we were in was then trailed by another car full of four armed guards. We made one stop on the way to the hotel to check out some office space and it felt pretty strange to have four armed men surrounding the car as I came out. When we eventually did get into the hotel parking lot, every car entering the premises has the hood and trunk opened, searched and a bomb detector is flashed inside before you are allowed in. Then to get inside the hotel your bag is searched and you go through a metal detector.

On top of all this was the heat and humidity! I felt like I was back in Bangkok where even in the middle of the night you can still feel the heat radiating off the streets and nothing ever feels truly dry. I was sure by the time I left I would be sick from the constant in and out of air conditioning, going from very hot to very cold.

Because of the upcoming elections and the potentially hostile environment that could create, as well as the recent strike of one of our clients, there was a lot of uncertainty about whether every member of our group was going to be able to get into the country, the timing of the interviews, etc. Luckily, all worked out and we were able to complete all the interviews, but that was not without some juggling of schedules. I found out when I arrived that if I didn't leave by 4pm for my 10pm flight, I might miss it due to traffic - I couldn't believe it! But this meant shifting some of my interviews up to ensure I left on time. We also had the internet go down in the hotel for awhile which set us back during the day; the connectivity in Lagos can be hit or miss. All of the candidates were understanding though, they know the issues of traffic and connectivity better than I do, so that helped!

Before I left the city, I was determined to try Nigerian food so the one night we went out to a little restaurant that serves local dishes. I tried a bunch of things: egusi, snails, jollof rice, yam fries, and plantain chips. The egusi and jollof rice were both quite spicy and tasted like they were cooked with lots of fish sauce so I wasn't too keen on either. The sauce the snails were in tasted fine but these snails are not anything like the ones you'd find in France, these are snails on steroids. They were huge and hard; again not ideal. Yam fries and plantain chips however - always a win. The real downside to this experience wasn't the food, it was the fact that we left the restaurant in a hurry because a massive rat ran across the dining room floor. I thought that was hilarious, but my colleagues were not impressed. hahaha

The traffic in Lagos is absolutely mad. No one drives in the lanes, they all just force their way forward and fight to get ahead. This leads to many accidents and some pretty crazy driving. I saw one vehicle drive over the median into oncoming traffic, all the while items were falling off the truck bed, and speed off  ahead. I also saw many cars hitting into each other in the bumper to bumper traffic headed to the airport.

Egusi

Joloff Rice

Lagos is definitely a city where you find the beauty in the breakdown. The hazy glow of pollution and heat emanating off of the city in the sunshine. Or the stalls set up along the side of the road with spotlights on them to keep conducting business in the dark. The old wooden fishing boats out on the water casting nets. The patios lit up along the lagoon. The patriotically painted green and white road medians along the highway, currently riddled with election signs. The men running alongside the cars selling everything from plantain chips and fruit to phone chargers and gum - these guys have much more hustle than the street salesmen in South Africa!

If I had to sum up my trip to Lagos and the overall feeling of the city in one word, it would have to be: hectic.