<div dir="ltr"><div>"He asks which team I support and when I tell him none, he then says that is why you will never go to world cup."<br><br></div>Brilliant :)<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 11:54 PM, Bitange Ndemo <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Three days in Nigeria<br>
Standing outside Abuja Airport in the soaring temperatures you get amazed<br>
on how similar to Kenya Nigeria is. This is Africa's most populous<br>
country. People idling around and women talking animatedly with their<br>
hands akimbo and they are larger than you can see in Kenya. I had missed<br>
the person who was to pick me up. Oga! Those who walked by me remarked.<br>
I assumed it was some greetings to a brother. Colours of their clothing<br>
is similar to ours and perhaps the only difference with Kenya is that more<br>
men wore multi-colour kanzus. Open shoes, Akala type are more prevalent<br>
here.<br>
<br>
I walk towards the taxis. They are gentler than I have read in Nigerian<br>
literature. They were honest too with the fare to the cities. I had<br>
begun to settle down and give Nigeria the benefit of doubt but my mind<br>
takes me back to Odili, the narrator in Achebe’s 1966 novel, Man of the<br>
People. Also not forgetting the many stories told about Nigerians.<br>
<br>
For a while I savor the beauty of Abuja scenery. Green everywhere. It<br>
must be within the rain forest. Land is expanse and untilled. I turn my<br>
attention to my driver Oku Moses. An affable young man perhaps in his<br>
early 30’s. I tell him I am from Kenya and in Abuja for the CTO<br>
conference. He smiles broadly and asked me what I thought of Nigeria as<br>
if he had read my mind. I said so far so good and immediately I divert<br>
his train of thought to football. I tell him Nigeria is the main<br>
hindrance to Kenya’s quest to get to World cup. We became friends<br>
instantly as he opened up to tell me more.<br>
<br>
You see that road, he says it leads to nowhere. Corruption is the only<br>
problem here he adds as his tone begin to sound angrier. I calm him down<br>
and tell him it happens all over Africa. The 50 kilometer super highway<br>
from the airport to Abuja is as good as it gets, actually better than<br>
Nairobi Thika highway. The Hotel I am headed to, is called Chelsea, named<br>
after the English league team Chelsea. Oku is a fan of Arsenal another<br>
English league team. He knows all the players. He asks which team I<br>
support and when I tell him none, he then says that is why you will never<br>
go to world cup.<br>
<br>
At the hotel Oku bids me farewell and hands me his card. Call me he says.<br>
I will show you the best of Nigeria. It is still hot and my room was<br>
steaming with heat. This three star hotel does not have a centralized AC<br>
but I could do with an old cranky stand-alone cooling system. As I<br>
cranked it up, it made more noise that I could not listen to news on TV.<br>
Then suddenly the lights went off – blackout!!. Outside it was raining<br>
heavily. I said Geez this is home but soon some generator boomed just<br>
outside my room to bring light. I wished they had shut it down.<br>
<br>
Dinner time I joined other colleagues, Sonia, Karin, Robert and John for<br>
Dinner. Me and Sonia were the vegetarians and so requested for pasta, the<br>
only vegetarian dish on the menu. Alas! when the food came there was<br>
chicken on pasta instead of tomato. The young waitress tells me she<br>
decided on chicken since there were no tomatoes. After a few exchanges<br>
she seems to remember something and says I can make it vegetarian. Wala!<br>
like magic she comes back with pasta alone. I said thank you but as I<br>
start to eat, I discover or rather the waitress had forgotten that the<br>
base was chicken and she had only removed the toppings of chicken. She<br>
meant well and wanted to do well but she missed the point.<br>
<br>
As I watched Nigerian channels that evening, I say to myself, Nigeria is<br>
Kenya and Kenya is Nigeria. We were colonized by the British. We<br>
attained independence at about the same time in the 1960s. We have new<br>
constitutions with devolved powers. Just like Kenya, Nigeria continues to<br>
experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although in<br>
Kenya’s 2008 as in Nigeria’s 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were<br>
marred by significant irregularities and violence, but both countries are<br>
experiencing relative peace interrupted by the Al-Shabab and Boka Haram<br>
respectively.<br>
<br>
On Nigerian TV as in Kenya politicians complain that they need more power<br>
to states and counties. They seem not to understand that they are the<br>
ones with the power to change legislation and so when they complain, the<br>
masses have no representation. They also need more money yet they are the<br>
ones who appropriate resources. They complain about soaring crime yet<br>
they are the ones who have the mandate to bring better security<br>
legislation.<br>
On the roads, motor bikes ride on the assumption that every motorist<br>
should watch on them. Careless and dangerous like in Kenya. If you<br>
admire the cleanliness of Abuja while driving, you will for sure hit one<br>
of them. Public places including hotels are guarded by armed policemen.<br>
<br>
In my speech at the conference I said I was glad to visit Nigeria, land of<br>
Okonkwo from Umuofia (one of a fictional group of nine villages in<br>
Nigeria, inhabited by the Igbo people). Only a handful of the people in<br>
the audience who knew that I was referring to Achebe’s 1958 novel, Things<br>
Fall Apart. Later Funke, a prominent Nigerian businesswoman and friend<br>
tells me that intellectualism died in Nigeria. There was a time in<br>
Nigeria prominent writers were the role model of society. These were the<br>
people who put our oral history on paper but we decided to chase them<br>
away. It is sad that Achebe had to die in foreign land alone without his<br>
people. I tell Funke, it is so strikingly similar to Kenya that our<br>
prominent writers are getting old and wasted away in foreign lands.<br>
<br>
Haruna is driving me back to the airport. He like Oku is polite but with<br>
much better intellect than an ordinary driver. His grasp of African<br>
matters is excellent. Out of the blue he tells me, you worked with<br>
government. I tell him yes and I quickly ask him why. No I just wanted<br>
to know, he says. Then he tells me that he is driving a car (VX Land<br>
Cruiser) that he will never afford to buy in his entire life. I note the<br>
ambition in him and tell him that if you know then you are capable of<br>
buying the car. I am not in government, he says. I tell him you do not<br>
need to be in government to buy the car. You see I was in government but<br>
I still cannot drive such a thing. He looks at me then he says, it is by<br>
choice on your part. I tipped him $20 and bade him farewell. He was<br>
stunned.<br>
<br>
I leave Nigeria with many fond memories. It was three days but enough to<br>
grasp the dreams of other people. Their desires. Their hopes. We are<br>
all the same and hopefully one day we shall change the stigma of<br>
corruption by improving the fortunes of our Africa. God bless Africa.<br>
<br>
<br>
Ndemo.<br>
<br>
<br>
University of Nairobi<br>
Business School, Lower Kabete Campus<br>
<br>
<br>
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