Nigeria

[R1150R in Africa]

Our latest development/excitement in Nigeria (over and above our resident gay bird flu) :

My family and I live in a compound (apartment block, swimming pool, etc surrounded by a high wall with security guards all round). It sounds much worse / dangerous than it actually is - you CAN walk outside the compound and, on normal days, be quite safe. Down the same street as ours (called Louis Solomon Close) are one or two other apartment blocks and one or two small office blocks, one of which is the shipping company Maersk.

Yesterday we received a warning from one of my customers who received it from his Security Dept at Ericsson :

"Dear all,

Because of the publication of the Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, muslims across Nigeria are planning to stage marches on the Friday 10 of February 2006. Denmark has no Embassy in Nigeria but in Lagos there is a Danish Consulate in Maersk House, 121 Louis Solomon Close on Victoria Island. We have received information of a planned protest at the premises of the Danish Consulate as this is the only Danish Governmental institution in Nigeria.

The street Louis Solomon Close in Lagos is to be avoided and is declared out of bounds for Ericsson staff on Friday 10 February 2006 between 0600 am until 0600 pm.

In other Western interests (especially Nordics) in Western Africa you are recommended to exercise caution.

Ericsson has some installations on Louis Solomon Close and if any emergency actions have to be taken on this places Ericsson security has to approve the movement after due assessment case by case.

Ericsson Security"

Now, the Danish Consulate is in the Maersk shipping building and is next-door but one to our apartment ! So, for the safety of my family, we, along with most of the other occupants of our building, moved out last night to a colleague of mine's place. We thought it better to be rather safe than sorry what with the potential for these natives to become extremely restless extremely quickly ! Cheese Dicks, the lot of them (sorry, but I've been itching to use that ever since I learnt it from my learned friends on this board !!)

Anyway the latest is that the whole of Louis Solomon Close is now jam-packed with, not just the police, but also the Special Police Force, MOPOL, and no God-fearing (maybe wrong choice of words here ??!!) Nigerian with any type of rag on their heads will get anywhere near our apartment. :072:

We will return later on this evening after work and school.

Fun and games in Lagos, Nigeria.......never a dull moment !! :023:

Now just to avoid all those chickens, gay or not ! :117:

[DJ Down Under]

I don't think I could live like that...but I'm sure it's nice within the compound....stay away from the KFC....and re those 'special police'..are they the gay ones...:037:

Geees it all sound very scary.

DJ

[socalrob]

Gary,

Excellant call on moving out for a few days, even if security forces say its safe, best not to trust them with the fate of you & family.

I bet its no more dangerous there than parts of Los Angeles. There is a part of South Central LA having a minor gang war right now, I think 7 people killed since about the first of the year. OTOH, some great places in South Central, not nec. unsafe to walk around, just demands a few more wits. But you definately do need to know when not to be there.

I envy you your adventures living in Africa. I bet it has great rewards in its landscapes & people. Myself, I get ill everytime I travel to Mexico, my Doctor suggested I stick to US, Canada, & Europe in my travels. Always wanted to go to Africa but figure I would be just sick as hell.

Stay safe.

[BobFV1]

Gary -

I think you made a prudent call. Part of my business is actually helping companies make calls like this, and given the circumstances, I think you hit just the right response, balancing your security considerations against the need to remain in the country and continue working.

Stay safe. The one thing I tell all my clients is that political risks evolve, there are indicators to gradual deteriorations in the security environment - the trick is reading the tea leaves and applying appropriate defensive measures. Looks like you did.

Take care, stay safe, Bob

[R1150R in Africa]

DJ, I promise you it really sounds a lot worse than it actually is (much like a lot of the reports we see on TV about incidents happening in other countries - when you are there things can seem quite trivial). The "special police" may all be gay, as well as corrupt lying thieves, but I wouldn't suggest that too them...........call me a coward, come on ...!

It's not very scary here for 95 to 98% of the time we spend here......but I suppose it's the other 2 to 5% that are the real concern hey ? :eusa_think:

Socalrob, I think you would be amazed at the healing qualities of South Africa, the people and the riding country we have. I'd bet you one hundred and forty thousand Nigerian Naira (+/- USD 1,000 !) that your health would IMPROVE with a trip there.......... let me know when you arrive so that I can arrange your airport collection, accommodation, etc !!!

Bob, that sounds like a really interesting and very relevant (in my case) business that you are in. I'd love to sit with you with a couple of beers to discuss some of the things you take into consideration, the risks, etc one day (you never know !). Does Africa and, in particular, Nigeria, feature a lot in the recommendations you make to your clients? Do you have clients based here ?

The funny thing is that I have been based here for about 3 years now (my family being here with me for one of the years) and I have had over 8 to 10 potential security "situations" through which I/we have been. These have included potentially violent strikes over increased fuel price (currently at +/- USD 0.47 per litre - how does that compare with you guys ?), local elections, extremist muslim warblings, etc. Through every situation we have had sufficient prior warning to have stocked up with food, water, books, BEER, etc and have, of our own accord and sense of self preservation (like all other expats in the country) "locked" ourselves in our compunds for the duration of the possible risky situations. Do you know what went on in the world outside our compounds in every one of these situation so far............absolutely nothing, diddlysqwat, zippo. But would that have been different if we had not done what we did ? We'll never know but, will we do the lock up or move out thing if anything arises again ? Oh yes, it's just not worth the "I wish we had done that instead" situation, is it ?

Sorry for another long, possibly boring, post but I should imagine that our situation here in Africa must be so different to you guys over there that it takes some time explaining.

Anyway, how did today go after all the potential problems ? Well, I ended up playing a round of golf with some of my Ericsson customers this afternoon and shot a dismal 102 shots over 18 holes - sucks I know but I have never professed to be much of a golfer, but it's really good relaxing shit if you don't take it too seriously.
My family and I are now back in our apartment, my 3 girls have been swimmimg all afternoon in temps of +/- 38 to 42 degrees Celcius and my wife and I have had a couple of quiet beers and have now moved on to a couple of glasses of chilled white wine imported from South Africa and are watching the opening of the Winter Olymic Games in Italy (I love watching sports like skiing, toboganning, or however you spell it, and ice hockey which we don't have this side). Only two major problems : we are not in South Africa and I won't be able to go for my normal Saturday ride on my R1150R tomorrow morning, and, I almost forgot........we won't be eating chicken here for a while (funny how, of all the countries in Africa plus the ones that are much closer to Asia, Nigeria ends up being the first one to report bird flu !!). Well, will have to stick to some good imported Texas or South African cholesterol increasing steaks for now then !! :eusa_clap:

Thanks for all the concern and comments guys. Please be assured that everything is cool and, for now, everything is relaxed...for the time being :eusa_shifty:

Your lives must be really boring that side................................NOT (I'd swop with Dean-O and Mz Pam tomorrow !!) :icon_biggrin:

[DJ Down Under]

Thanks Gary...I have Friends who lived in New Guinea and then Cambodia...they had lots of stories about living in compounds and all that.

Thanks for the info...it makes me realize how lucky I am living in Oz.

DJ

[R1150R in Africa]

Hey DJ
We have some friends that immigrated to Aus in Sept last year. They absolutely love it there after being very apprehensive initially. He has a job, she has a job, they have a house, a car, their two small children are happy in school, they have braais (barbeques, to you) on the weekend, etc, etc. He doesn't have a bike yet (unfortunately she wears the pants in the house) but watch this space !! It sounds like you live in a great country You definitely stuffed us up at cricket over the last 3 / 4 months thats for sure ! :icon_redface:
Wait until the rugby season starts (rugby union, that is) ! In fact the Super 14 started today.

Maybe I'll need to visit my mates there soon - keep your phone on !!

[Deans BMW]

Gary, we all love hearing your stories, your life is so different to anything that most of us could ever imagine. Mz Pam and I would be honored to have you all as guests.

[BobFV1]

Bob, that sounds like a really interesting and very relevant (in my case) business that you are in. I'd love to sit with you with a couple of beers to discuss some of the things you take into consideration, the risks, etc one day (you never know !). Does Africa and, in particular, Nigeria, feature a lot in the recommendations you make to your clients? Do you have clients based here ?

Africa is always an area of security concern, but it is of much less commercial interest in the sectors I primarily service. Africa is very interesting to the ONG (oil and natural gas) sector and to international and non-governmental organizations providing both relief and development aid. Most of my work invovlving Africa recently has been with aircraft manufacturers - developing markets are great for that sector so I am called upon to talk about risks for demonstration flights and crews from time to time.

My personal areas of expertise are South Asia and the Middle East. My partners are China experts, so we are developing that consulting practice as well.

And I would be pleased to work for beer if we have the opportunity to get together!