Nigeria, the land of plenty

time for draft, fish can rest The sky brightens progressively turning from grey to pale blue. The line of horizon is filled with large dark-grey clouds. Above my head some elongated clouds have turned to white in high altitude while those a little lower catch their first shade of pink. The illumination of Lekki bridge has just been switched off, it must be around 6.30am. Traffic is light, nonetheless some pick-up trucks carry their loads of construction workers and fill the air with dark exhaust smoke. Probably thirty people squeeze, on the open platform at the back of the truck, around a cement mixer and a few piled up tools. Some of them sit on the platform lid. Truck with passengers look like a truncated pyramid on wheels choking its way up the Lekki Bridge. Coming down will generate less smoke because there will be not need to press the accelerator. Gravity is strong enough for the vehicle to gather speed downwards towards the toll gate. At this hour, there are mor...

everyone is stuck in traffic It has now been two years that I live in Lagos. The indiscriminate fears of a freshly arrived traveler have morphed into a more focused knowledge of the things I like and enjoy doing and those I would rather avoid and stay at home. Let’s start with some of the do’s: military vetted hairdresser (not immune to KAI) Yo!          Go to Elegushi beach or Tarkwa bay to have fun on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and enjoy the swag of young Lagosians          The Eko hotel rooftop to chill, with a music not loud enough to drive you away or discourage you from having any sort of sensible conversation ( however the playlist is somewhat repetitive and short if I recall the number of times,  in the interval of two drinks,  I heard the word “pussy” which was part of the first song). But the view is awesome and the breeze fantastic.        The boat club (if you have a f...

KM 31 is nearing, smile Saturday February 6th, 2015 was the day of the 2016 Lagos marathon. Hold on a Saturday not to collide with church service on Sunday. The event, started at 7am, ran through much of the city. It started on the Mainland at the National Stadium then went through Oshodi before coming to Third Mainland bridge, the emblematic bridge of Lagos that runs on the lagoon for over 10km and offers a view on Makoko where streets are replaced by water and house are perched on wooden pillars. From the bridge one can have a look at the skyline of the islands. Then the marathon went on through Ikoyi to the Lekki Bridge before reaching Victoria Island, going back to Ikoyi before finishing on Bar beach next to the future city of Eko Atlantic. everyone is welcome Many participants joined the run, numbers up to 20,000 could be seen on the bibs. Kenyans arrived on first and second position; an Ethiopian arrived third. The weather was hot and it probably took a toll on the run...

 a wooden candidate  Gubernatorial elections (for States governors) Today is the day to elect States governors. Same movement restriction as during the presidential elections two weeks ago between 8am and 5pm or so. The difference is that people are much more relaxed this time round. I therefore went for a walk on Lekki bridge  before it was too late to be on the street. Joggers and bicycle riders were about the only occupants of the bridge, it was serene unlike the roaring of fancy cars whose drivers are either very much in a hurry (no time to waste) or want to use the clear stretch to feel vibrations of their engines ;-) and perhaps impress the side passenger(s). Right before the bridge, one was greeted by a temporary wooden statue of one of the candidates to Lagos governate. I suspect from the shape that he was gracefully elongated to gum his roundness and appear more towering. It was Kinwunmi Ambode, APC candidate, who was declaring " vote for me I will treasure ...

zoom on Nigeria Future Forecast : war or prosperity Binary Politics explained As the election campaign becomes more and more present in everyone's mind, here is a an interesting diagram which needs concentration to fully comprehend (I was probably slow-brained the morning I saw it). But I guess it could apply to Greece too : Sacrifice - rule of Law and the expected outcome Love and Prosperity. In any case, a much better version to hope for than Greed and Corruption with the proposed outcome of Hatred and War which no one really wants to see happening. In the office, recreational moments (during which work is put aside) generate loud conversations between opponents. The opposition saying to the proponents of the party in power: what have you done with all the money from oil sold at over 100USD a barrel? Now it has dropped by half, and we have very little foreign currency available to prevent the Naira from weakening against foreign currency. This will put strain on our ...