Nigeria, the land of plenty

  campaign material reaching new heights election at last Saturday March28th, 2015 is a long expected day, the day of presidential elections in Nigeria which have been postponed by 6 weeks on ground of security concerns with Boko Haram and hence the government's promise to defeat them within 6 weeks to allow peaceful and safe elections to take place in safety.  The Army has announced on Friday March 27th the re-conquest of a town in the hands of Boko Haram as proof of their promise and Boko Haram beheaded more than 20 people on the same day as a response, they also allegedly abducted 500 women and children a few days before. restricted movement After 8am, no cars are allowed to move around in town, except obviously those who are duly authorized like the vans that will bring the polling stating booths. Every voter was asked to register nearest to his house so that he does not need to drive to go and vote. From my window I can see the place where the polli...

faded hope The sun worked relentlessly to illuminate campaign posters, showing a remorseless power to bleach colors. The whole thing then takes a vintage look. One exception the dark green of "continue moving forward that turned to blue! from Nigerian green to blue Presidential elections are coming up this Saturday March 28th, planes are said to be overbooked to leave the country, just in case. In the meantime, I plan to buy some food for the next week and have enough french wine to taste with my neighbors so that time does not have to be boring sitting at home. Cheers in advance! One last picture for the road: the man for the job (not for president but governor of Lagos) super jimi

cheating is corruption Bored by the slowness of evening traffic my eyes, came across a billboard from APC (opposition political party) claiming "cheating is corruption". My driver said yes it is so. So, I wondered, what is the link between "cheating", which in my view means not abiding by the rule or infringing the law, and "corruption", which implies paying someone for getting a service in return? Well, he replied, if a kid of 12 years old is stealing something, we say that he is corrupt. So in effect corruption is not only an active mechanism it is also a passive state in which the mind can be. This boy ('s mind) is corrupt. Hence the possibility that not abiding by the law (e.g. cheating) is a corruption of the mind. I thought that this was an interesting light to the message but was still puzzled by the political meaning of it. Did APC mean that the opposition has a "corrupted mind" because it is cheating (at least those who do)? ...

 hello small world carnival An interesting night took place last Saturday at the Federal Palace Hotel with the Small World Carnival. Small World is a charity run by international women living in Lagos. It aims at helping children and disadvantaged people. It was the 20th year, this year, and a great show for those able to watch it. The evening started with a friendly welcome, greeted by nice ladies dressed up in feathers and glitzy jewelry. And also capes to wrap-up visitors venturing on the picture stage. smile, you're being watched  After such pleasant welcome, one was heading towards the food stands held by each of the participating countries. Syria was one of the represented, serving mezzeh and many sweets. Romania had complete piglets roasted with an apple in their mouth and helped all those who wanted with vicinata (a strong digestive). c'est pour ta pomme South America was also featuring complete roasted piglets. Pakistan was serving...