After the Election...

The two contenders in the upcoming Nigerian election (Photo Credit here)

For weeks I've been hearing that phrase now. After the election. After the election. After the freaking election. If I hear it one more time I am afraid I might scream.

People are postponing returning to the country until.... after the election
  Businesses are postponing opening until... you guessed it... after the election
     Mothers are even putting off birthing their children until after the election
- OK I may be exaggerating on that last one, but I do so to make a point. 

The country feels like it has been temporarily suspended, and the suspense of it all is stressing me out

Why does it stress me out so much? I seem to hear you ask. Well, apart from being a type-A personality delusional nut-job, I hate it because "After the Election" gives some sense of false hope. When you say it to me it conjures ideas in my head that "After the election" Nigeria will be better. "After the election" there will be change. "After the election" hope will spring eternal.

POPPYCOCK!

I actually wanted to use much harsher language, but then I thought of all the impressionable young children that read my blog... see? delusional

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Personally, I don't foresee much change!

Best case scenario, Nigeria goes back to the same that it has always been. Same corrupt politicians. Same lack of constant electricity. Same inefficient government that cannot muster up enough military might to defeat the terrorists currently invading its territory.

Just yesterday, a bomb blast hit a presidential rally in Gombe...foreshadowing?

Think I am being overly pessimistic?

From the Daily Beast (on Boko Haram)

...the upcoming elections won’t make things better. “We seem to be very complacent or lackadaisical at Boko Haram’s activities, and I don’t know why,” he says. “We are losing ground on the levels of violence, the numbers, the accountability issues—we shouldn't be losing ground on everything.”

 One of my new favorite authors, Chimamanda Adichie (on electricity)
   (Read the amazing piece this quote is excerpted from, Lights Out in Nigeria)

Like other privileged Nigerians who can afford to, I have become a reluctant libertarian, providing my own electricity, participating in a precarious frontier spirit. But millions of Nigerians do not have this choice. They depend on the malnourished supply from their electricity companies.

From this piece "Buhari vs. Jonathan - Beyond the Election"

However, it is my considered view that none of them has any credible agenda to deal with the issues, especially within the context of the evolving global economy and Nigeria’s broken public finance. 

In fact, if there is one thing I am almost certain of, it is that this election is not really about change.
In other words:

At the end of the day therefore they (Nigerian swing voters) will vote “against” the candidate that they dislike more and their collective actions will determine who wins. (The Ugly side of Buhari and Jonathan, by Atedo Peterside -  more here )

If anything, it seems possible  that after the election Nigeria will erupt into mass chaos (well more than already exists). Or,  in the worst case scenario, split in two. After all, if history is any indicator of things to come, in the previous election (featuring the exact same two candidates might I add), human rights watch estimates that post-election violence killed more than 800 people and...

More than 15,700 people have been killed in inter-communal, political, and sectarian violence since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999. (Human Rights Watch)

So be honest. When you say "after the election" you mean, after the election... if and only if the country has not gone to hell in a hand basket.

Photo credit here

For Nigeria to change EVERYTHING has change... and that, if it happens at all, will be excruciatingly slow and not anytime soon "after the election". In the meantime, I need the election to be over, so we can go back to our normal lives in Nigeria, living with the certainty that nothing is certain. Hurry up February 14th...

Photo credit here

<End Rant here>

p.s. FYI all highlighted words are links, which, when clicked, will take you to the source page.

(Let the Nigerian Government) #BringBackOurGirls

By now if you are not familiar with the kidnapping of the 179 208 234 276? (OK I really don't  know as the number keeps changing) girls in Nigeria, you probably either:

a. live under a rock  OR b. live in a rural part of the world without access to electricity and/or the financial means to afford a TV/computer/internet .

 Everyone and their mother has expressed their opinions about it, so I am going to join in. There is so much to touch on, so I will try my best not to get long-winded and repetitive and .... oops

Photo credit: Google images

Let me first start with giving some background information based on what I know and have learned

The kidnapping happened in a rural area in North-eastern Nigeria, in Chibok, Borno. That area has been under a state of emergency along with two other states in Nigeria, for some time. The reason, a terrorist group by the name  Boko Haram, which, loosely translated from the local Hausa dialect, means "Western Education is a Sin". This group has been terrorizing Nigeria (particularly the North) since 2009. They most notoriously bombed the UN building in 2011, but they have also claimed responsibility for bombing churches and Islamic places of worship, and have been known to bomb/burn down schools, markets, whole villages etc. They have even previously kidnapped girls before. In one school they murdered all the males and took all females. There have been stories of eventually finding the kidnapped girls who were by then pregnant. Simply horrifying

Boko Haram had kidnapped before so what changed?
I believe Boko Haram got cocky. 20, 30 girls here and there weren't enough to make people blink an eye (even though it should), but over 200... well that's a massive number. The kidnappings happened in a week when a suburb in the capital city of Abuja (Nyanya) was also bombed, and a ferry in South Korea (a country very near and dear to my heart) capsized, a macabre week all around.

Supposed State of Emergency
The school was already closed down because it was an area under siege.  However the students were called in to take their WAEC exams (for Americans, it's like the SAT equivalent). Several different reports I heard said they were roused from sleep, and they believed the people waking them were soldiers until they were loaded into trucks. Also, an unconfirmed number of girls managed to escape, but the terrorists drove off into the forest. When the news was first reported in Nigeria, they mentioned that they had recovered all the girls save 8, but then the school principal and some parents spoke out, saying that in fact the reverse was true.

But whatever the facts, the truth remains that the kidnappings weren't major news in Nigeria

I'm not really sure why the news was revived three weeks later by international news media (though an explanation is offered here). Several well known international celebrities even joined the movement (click here). And why I say that was because in Abuja, no one was talking about it. A day after the bombing the president was seen at a party having a good time. Not one politician spoke up about it.  In fact, my one co-worker who I will give credit for going around stating Nigeria needed a revolution, was shouted down and yelled at many times, which is how I first heard about it.

Photo credit: Google images

Fast forward 3 weeks later. Protests were being staged in Nigeria, and across many capital cities around the world. Presidents and other important persons in other countries were speaking out against the kidnapping, and yet the Nigerian president had still not yet been heard. Things got to a fever pitch, and he realized he could not be silent any more. Yet, when he finally addressed it, 3 weeks later and the weekend before the world economic forum on Africa was to take place here in Abuja, it was too little too late. In fact, he (and his wife, who later gave such an incoherent performance that my choice words are best summed up on it as - "No comment"), seemed to blame parents, school officials, state governors, anyone but themselves really, for their incompetence.

No one truly understands this video (below)till today, but it spurred some great sayings...

The first lady was even reported as having order the arrest of protesters (here)...

With the news that Nigeria had just been named the largest economy in Africa, and that the World Economic Forum scheduled to be held in Abuja was supposed to bring much more investment into the country, this was not the negative publicity he wanted. Then, as if to mock him, Shekau came out with a video claiming responsibility for the kidnappings, and promising to sell the girls. Additionally reports that the girls had been married off and/or converted to Islam were also revealed.


Everyone demanded that the international community show more concern, and that international forces (read: American) step in to intervene, which they did (here). I disagree.

Even Michelle Obama joined the cause (Photo credit: Google images)

 The Nigerian government can and should be held accountable for the safe return of these girls. There is more than enough money in Nigeria to adequately fund the military, and the fact that it is not being allocated due to corruption sickens and disgusts me. I mean, even if you need to steal money, can you not at least fund the essential things, that include saving the lives of several young women? After all, the Nigerian president has a daughter. No one in the government is outraged because everyone in their family is safe... or out of the country.

Also, was the sudden outrage because of the number of girls kidnapped? Even if just one girl was taken, there should have be outrage in Nigeria, before the global media heard of it. When do we determine the exact amount of damage that should cause us to react? (see addendum below).

Additionally, Nigerian people* should stand together in solidarity.  Polling people in Nigeria gave me the impression that as long as

a. it wasn't their child
b. near them

then not only should they not care, but that there wasn't really much the government could do anyway. I think it is sad when people have lost so much faith in their leaders that they cannot demand more.

If you ask me (and no one is, I know that) the solution is that Nigeria needs to be allowed to do this for herself (why are countries always female...note to self research this later) because she can, and if pushed to, I think she will. And she should not be pushed by the international community, but by her own citizens... I truly believe it can be done
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Addendum (January 2015):

• This article tracks the rise of the hashtag (here) including why it became a global trend. It's rather interesting, if you read just one of my links in this post, let it be that one. 

• I wrote this blog post all the way back in April 2014, but I never published it. I guess you could say I became nonchalant or possibly even indifferent to the lacklustre response by the people around me. I was also asked to avoid all discussion about politics and religion (two things I am very opinionated about) because my views don't really fit in with mainstream opinion, and freedom of speech may not be 100% acceptable. However, in light of more recent tragedies, I feel that I need to say what I've been feeling, and I thought that it wouldn't make much sense if you couldn't logically follow my train of dissension. And... it's been 282 days since the girls were kidnapped! Meanwhile, a German kidnapped in Nigeria was recently released by Cameroonian troops. Seriously, GON step up!

I'm not (that) crazy...

...despite what you might think. I mean I am kind of crazy, but in a nutty good way. I travel to random countries alone. I don't have the same filter that some people have due to cultural and religious inhibitions. I just exist. I am (that was meant to sound deep and existential but if it sounds douchey ... yeah, I can see that)

A few days ago, I returned to Nigeria. It was right after I heard of the massacre of an estimated 2000 people by Boko Haram in a place called Baga, in North Eastern Nigeria, and, the use of a 10-year old girl as a bomb carrier (I have an issue with the term suicide-bomber because suicide implies that she chose her fate, which she did not). Both of these, particularly the latter,  finally caused me to crack and renege my previous stance on blogging about political and cultural issues in Nigeria. I am still working on a post that will articulate what I feel  particularly on the Nigerian response indifference to this issue, which I hope to share later.

But... I'm writing this post to address all the friends that probably think I am crazy to return to a country that is experiencing countless tragedies on such a grand scale. As many people said to me, "between Ebola and Boko Haram, is there nowhere else you'd rather be?". Friends and family offered to find me jobs in the states, or even live with them (for a time I'm sure, if you meant indefinitely let me know I may take you up on your offers). I seriously thought about it... and I wanted to explain to everyone who is so wonderful to care about me why I came back (or didn't run away in the first place), although I almost ditched my flight and absconded in Paris... I'll address the two separately.

An important thing to know is that I live in the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja, situated in the geographical center of the country. It is also technically the religious center as well - the country being approximately half & half Muslim and Christian, with the south(bottom half) being mostly Christian and the north (top) being mostly Muslim. It's actually a decent city (by African standards). Abuja is where all the diplomats, government politicians and many international workers (NGOs etc) live. It's in Nigeria's best interest to keep it as safe as possible. It's also the most developed city in Nigeria (although Lagosians may disagree and/or say their city is more fun - the latter is true).

Actual pictures of Abuja (photo credit: www.naijametro.com)

Ebola:
Ebola has been completely eradicated in Nigeria. In fact, I consider this one of the few successes of government to date, at least since I moved here.

According to Wikipedia (additional emphasis, underlining & italics mine, all dates are from 2014)

 On 22 September, the Nigeria health ministry announced, "As of today, there is no case of Ebola in Nigeria. All listed contacts who were under surveillance have been followed up for 21 days." According to the WHO, 19 cases and 7 deaths* had been confirmed, along with the imported case, who also died.

The WHO's representative in Nigeria officially declared Nigeria to be Ebola free on 20 October after no new active cases were reported in the follow up contacts, stating it was a "spectacular success story" 

The only parts of Nigeria that had Ebola

First of all, 19 cases and 7 deaths is amazing considering the population size of Nigeria (technically, no deaths are amazing, and it is horrible that anyone died, but I mean comparatively). That's out of 173 million people in the country. I've seen how closely people are jam-packed in the city of Lagos, Trust me when I say it could have been much worse. 

But even while it was in the country, there was not much threat to me. Lagos and/or Port Harcourt are approximately 700 km (~435 miles) away from Abuja. I suppose one fluke escapee on a plane could have caused massive havoc in the city, and I did worry about that, but alls well that ends well 

Boko Haram:

So unless you live under a rock, at this point you've probably heard of the terrorist group, Boko Haram. In fact, Boko Haram has probably killed as many  people as ISIS (or the Islamist State, or whatever the hell they call themselves. To give you some more (depressing) perspective, the territory Boko Haram has captured is the size of Slovakia, with about 1.7 million people in it...

So is there danger where you are? 

Click to enlarge 

• Red Circle- Where I live
• Purple lines - Where I've travelled (2x or more) for work
• Blue/Purple circle - cities that previously had Ebola
• Black circle - Baga, the area destroyed by Boko Haram

The short answer is yes, there is some...There have been bombings in Kaduna, Kano, and Jos which are not too far away and even Abuja (where I live). But in general Nigeria is a huge country. There is no immediate indication to me that I am in danger in Abuja. Just as there was no way to know who in Paris was in danger (RE: Charlie Hebdo). 

I closely follow travel warnings as given by the international community (including the US government/UN), and in general I am unlikely to be in places that would be threatened. Basically, if the US decides it is unsafe enough to evacuate all their employees I'll get out too. In the diagram you can see that Abuja is in the green. Everything in red is currently considered a travel risk, with some parts of it under control by Boko Haram*. I have had to travel to some places in the yellow area (Sokoto) but that has been suspended for the time being, due to the upcoming elections. In the meantime, keep all the people being affected in your thoughts please. They need it more than I.

UN Advice on Travel in Nigeria

*I previously accidentally claimed the entire area in red was controlled by Boko Haram, which is untrue. Some friends were nice enough to correct me, which I've updated to reflect that.

That time I went back to Asia... Or "Thailand & Timor-Leste Adventures"

I've been on the African continent for less than a year, but I've already been back to Asia twice. One of the trips was not even planned, but I'll write more about that below.

Both of my travel routes 

Just when my work was starting to get a little overwhelming, I asked for some vacation time. I definitely needed an escape. Even when my job was not this stressful, I had to board a plane at least two times a year. It just relaxes me. Since I began this job I have been travelling a lot for work - Niger, Sokoto, Kwara, Cross River... but travelling for work (in Nigeria) is not as fun as I thought it would be... Neither the hotels, nor the food, nor the measly per diem I get make me excited to leave my bed. In fact they leave me more stressed out than I would be if I just stayed home. Anyway, I have a website that I check obsessively. If you're a travel junkie, you're probably aware of it. It's called sky scanner. Simply put in your current location and search everywhere (yes you read that right).

When I put it in, I somehow imagined that my next trip would be to somewhere in Africa. After all I am in Africa, so the proximity should equate to cheap prices right? WRONG. The ticket from Abuja to Thailand showed me $620 round-trip. Although I had been to Thailand twice and was looking for a new country to explore it was too cheap to pass up. I mean what's not to love about Thailand? I jumped on it immediately, thus making it my second most visited country excluding countries I've lived in (the winner being Japan with a total of 5 visits).

 The week before I left for my vacation was a particularly stressful one. I had a workshop training in Calabar, and my flight back to Abuja left me less than 24 hours to pack before I boarded the flights to Thailand. Additionally, it was in the middle of the Ebola scare in Nigeria, which left me terrified that I would spend the entirety of my 12 day vacation in quarantine.

Thailand (September 1-13, 2014)

Interesting fact: I've been to all but 3 cities shown on this map

 The journey from Abuja to Addis via Ethiopian air was uneventful, but the plane from Addis to Bangkok was much smaller than I anticipated. Luckily for me, a really nice Polish guy named David sat next to me, and we had really good conversation. He gave me his number to contact him in Bangkok so we could meet up when I returned (I was heading to Phuket), and promised that he would one day visit Nigeria as well (not holding my breath on that one).

Hotel Room Selfie

When I got to Bangkok however, I made the mistake of being too truthful and letting them know I had been in Nigeria within the last 24 hours (I could have just claimed I came from Addis I think). Well I hadn't thought to bring my yellow card (with all my immunization records) and I was coming from a country that had Ebola... I was screwed. My only saving grace was that I had a US passport, otherwise they may not have let me in the country. After making me pay 500 THB (about $15) for a yellow fever shot and making sure I didn't have Ebola, I was free to leave (a mere 2 hours later - ugh). I was so exhausted so I immediately booked my ticket for Phuket for the next day (I had just missed the last flight) so I could take the shuttle over to the domestic airport (you cannot board without a ticket) for the next day. Not caring about my budget I checked into the nice hotel at the airport Amari Hotel Don Mueang, ordered myself some room service, and watched Korean television until I passed out (there's no Korean TV in Nigeria, stop judging me!)

Thai Delciousness

 The next morning I took a plane to paradise. I got to the place I was staying -. Since I was travelling alone, I booked myself a private room in a backpacker hostel. That way, I had my own privacy but could meet other young ones. It was fantastic. Despite having been to that part of Thailand before - I visited Krabi and Koh Phi Phi on my 2010 backpacking tour - I hadn't been to Phuket itself. That Island is CRAZY! I booked myself a ton of tours to keep myself occupied. I got massages and took a cooking class. I found a place that had cross-fit. I partied at night with other like-minded people. I shopped till I dropped. I became famous for the few days I was there, men would yell out "Hello Beautiful eyes, it's you again". People guessed I was from every country under the sun. I can see why I love being in Asia - I love the attention and being exotic.

I went on several tours, and I even took a cooking class, so if you need me to whip you up some Tom Yum Gai,  let's just go to a Thai Restaurant let me know.

James Bond Island

Beach at Sunset with Beer

 While I was in Phuket, I found out I had won a travel scholarship to visit East Timor for a mobile health workshop the following month (October). I was over the moon. I left Phuket back to Bangkok, where I did all the things I had not done on previous trips to Bangkok. Then, I was told my flight had been moved a day later, so Ethiopian air put me in a hotel, paid for all my meals and gave me a $250 travel voucher for my next trip. Totally worth it, and a much needed vacation.

  Timor Leste (October 19 - 26, 2014)

Sunset from Timor Plaza, Dili

 About a month and a half later , I was off to Dili in East Timor (also known as Timor-Leste). At the time of departure, I could not fathom what a massive undertaking it would be to visit such a remote part of the world from Abuja. My first two flights were with Lufthansa. I would go from Abuja to Frankfurt, then to Singapore before getting to go to Dili. The layover at Frankfurt was 7 hours so I decided to make the most of my time by seeing the city. In the end Frankfurt wasn't really that great (sorry).

Vino Verde

 My trip to Timor-Leste was amazing. My first international, professional workshop, and I got to meet people from all different countries, and endless networking opportunities. What I learned was invaluable. How to implement a successful m-Health program and the varying stages one must go through.

Souvenirs from Dili

We flew in this plane to Manufahi

Oh, and I got to fly in a med-evac plane. We even witnessed a historic signing between the NGO and the Telecom organization. Plus great Portuguese/Indonesian influenced food and wine. It was amazing. Because the time was so short (just a week) I spent more time flying than actually in Dili. On my return I stuffed my face with goodies at the Singapore Airport, and was forced to check my luggage at the Frankfurt airport (long story) which gave me a chance to go shopping (again I am very aware of the fortune of being a US citizen in situations like this... so lucky). I got home thoroughly exhausted, and honestly have been trying to recover ever since.   But I have a feeling it won't be that long before I'm back on the continent again (I'm looking at you Seoul)

P.S. I didn't go into too much detail about the trips as this is a Nigeria blog, but if we're facebook friends check out the Albums (click on the name to access it). I've got tons of pictures:

• Thailand
• Timor Leste 

Flip Side of the Coin: The Expat Bubble

I'd mentioned before that I'd like to try (in as much as it is possible) to write the positives I can see about Nigeria. To be honest, a part of me feels like that is a dis-service to honest discourse that needs to be had about what exactly is the matter with Nigeria, but I promised my parents I would try not to make this an (overly) political blog, as freedom of speech is not as much a guaranteed right here as I am used to in America.

Ironically, the first positive thing I am going to talk about in Nigeria is not related to Nigerians, but to living as an expat in Nigeria. It can also apply to the (upper)middle class to wealthy Nigerians, but they still get to live outside the expat bubble unless they actively choose not to, so it's a bit different. I don't get to live in the bubble per say, as I am in a rather unique situation, but I get to interact with those that do, and it's where I am most comfortable. You see I feel I am as much an expat in Nigeria as let's say, Korean-Americans are in Korea, they are, but they aren't... (I call myself a returnee, I guess, and there are others like me)

For the Health Conscious - Eating Gluten-Free

What most Nigerians said when they heard I was vegetarian

I should start of by saying; I have the world’s most accommodating mother. My freshman year of college, I decided to become a vegetarian. A Nigerian vegetarian is almost unheard of. I think she realized at an early age that I wasn't a "normal" Nigerian kid anyways. My mom learnt (excuse my British spelling – learned to you Americans) to modify her cooking for me. She didn't have to, but she did and I love her for it.

I'm not dead ...yet

Nope, I haven't forgotten my blog.  In fact, I have somewhere between 7 and 10 new posts coming up. In the past three weeks though, I have been traveling quite a bit for work, often with unstable electricity and/or internet connection (and security, but that's another story). I usually have a computer with me though, so I just type my feelings into MS Word, and eventually I will upload them here. It takes a bit of work (not the typing but the editing) to make the posts presentable, and add in photos and links etc. Kudos to the people who blog professionally, and even more so to my favorite video blog of all time Eat Your Kimchi (Simon and Martina, I don't know how you do it, and although I don't watch your videos anymore because they make me miss Korea too much - coping mechanism, suck it- I have mad respect for you). Matter of fact I have took the day off work today, so I am catching up on much needed relaxation time.