My meeting with gani Adams

• Oyvindsandve's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Lagos

Trip Start Mar 24, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End May 25, 2008 Next
Entry

  Lagos, Nigeria
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

I woke up at half past seven in order to get to an early start. I was supposed to meet Gani Adams at two, but I hoped to meet him earlier as I had to be at the airport at 16:30, two hours before my flight left to pick up my ticket. For those of you who do not know who Gani Adams is (the most of you I guess), he is the leader of a socio-cultural organisation with around three million members, fighting for more independence for the biggest ethnic group in Nigeria as they feel left out of the power equation. He is a much known person in Nigeria and he is also very charismatic. Hence meeting him was very important for my thesis. I had gotten directions from this guy from Lagos, and I can assure you that I would never ever have found the place without his help, cus Lagos is huuuuge. I took a bike to a taxi park some km away and found a car ready to go. They tried to fuck me over, but I started screaming and shouting like all Nigerians do, and they gave me my 200 naira (less than two US$). The drive towards Lagos was ok, but as we got to Lagos the traffic started to jam and as it was early morning smog was lying over Lagos like a carpet and it felt like eating gasoline. The driver dropped my off somewhere in Lagos, and I had no idea whatsoever where I was. I had no idea which part I was in or how far away I was from the centre. I struggled a bit to find the right bus, as I really did not want to get lost in Lagos. After I found the bus and got off some 20 minutes later, this old man showed my the OPC office, and he refused to take any money for it. I arrived at 11:30 so Adams was not there. I sat in his office and read a bit while waiting for him, as I was two hours early. He came at one and we greeted. It was a bit awkward at the beginning, but after a minute I felt more comfortable. Adams was really big, and did not look like an academic, rather more like a 'boy from the hood'. He took off his sandals and put his feet on his massive desk. We started the interview and he talked and talked, and I had some problems making him answer the questions, and he seemed a bit annoyed when I had to stop him from drifting too far away. He was very loud and used his hands a lot. I taped the interview so if you want you can hear it later (only for people who are especially interested). After the interview we took some pictures and he gave me two of his books, which he signed to me personally. All in all that was really cool, and he was also impressed with me taking public transport to the office, as that was not easy to find (as I already knew). Found a taxi to take me to the airport and I got a taste of Lagos and one word sums it up: Chaos. The roads were packed and people were hanging out of the window screaming at each other. Everything was jammed and when the police put on their lights it didn't help as there was no way to give way, hence the police pretty much got stuck as well. After 45 minutes I got to the airport and I was able to change my flight to 17:00 instead of 18.30, which was really nice as I was tired already. Went trough the security check with a scalpel and lots of fluids and a pair of scissors, which was ok cus I had no plans of hijacking the airplane anyway. The guy next to me borrowed my book during the flight, as I wanted to sleep. We started talking and I took Olly's advice asking if I could get a ride back to town as a taxi is 4000 naira (35 US$). Turned out he was an insurance broker and an economist and he had read a lot about the Scandinavian countries and he had written a book about Nigerian economic development, which he wanted to give it to me. I have to say that I tend to meet just the right people. I joined him and a bank director and we had a hefty discussion about Nigerian politics, the American economy and nationalism. As gratitude I invited them to the conference we have tomorrow at CDD about the Nigerian constitution, and they really wanted to come. So that concludes my first Nigerian adventure, and I hope for more. I have been recommended Jos, which is a small (less than a million) city north east, and it is on a mountain plateau. Perhaps I will go there next week, we will see. Still going strong, and as I'm writing this Chelsea has just fucked up against Wigan and the trophy really seems to have found its way to Old Trafford this season as well.

Print this entry Share Lagos hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry