…..and most importantly, there was someone at the Abuja airport waiting for me. That is one of the most stressful parts of any job—arriving at an African airport traveling alone and not sure if anyone is expecting you. I’ve been to Africa twelve times now and three times nobody’s shown up and believe me, you are really vulnerable—no local currency, no ride and unable to even make a local phone call for help. It happened to me in Chad, where I had to negotiate a taxi ride at 4:30 in the morning and ended up getting clipped for about $50 for a fifteen minute ride to the hotel (which I did expense); it happened in Cameroon where I had to physically get in a shoving match to keep a taxi driver from loading my suitcase in his cab against my will (a woman from the company I was working for in Douala happened to see it and got a soldier involved then she took me to an office and called for a ride); and it happened to me in Ethiopia where I luckily came across a Hilton Hotel (where I was staying) shuttle driver who agreed to take me to the hotel and charge my credit card.
So when I clear customs and see the driver holding a sheet of paper with my name on it, believe me, it is one of the most relaxing and welcome sights involved with foreign travel. At Abuja, there was my name and four other names on the sheet of paper and I was shuttled to the hotel with another contract embassy employee and three members of US Customs who were attending a conference this week at the same hotel where I’m staying (the Hilton). What was strange about the nearly one hour drive into town was that we were met by a motorcycle escort with police lights and siren at the airport parking lot and he directed us into town—blocking exits as we went through intersections and forcing cars to the side so we could pass through.
There is a lot of tension here right now. Nigeria had its first suicide bombing here in Abuja earlier this year and the United Nations headquarters here was bombed in August with considerable fatalities and injuries. One of Nigeria’s many splinter groups (an Islamic separatist group) is threatening to bomb four luxury hotels in the city this holiday season—the Hilton being on the list.
After unpacking and showering, I went downstairs to eat supper and came across the embassy employee and one of the customs officials and we ate at a Mongolian BBQ restaurant here in the hotel. While the food was being prepared, I asked the employee if that kind of escort is usual around here and he replied that a lot of the customs guys like “to act like cowboys” when traveling around. What is really strange to me is that for the next two weeks, my students and I will be driving around Abuja traffic in a vehicle with US diplomatic tags and absolutely no escort or even contact with the Embassy except for a cell phone.
The hotel is very nice but basically a fortress. It is located on a really large compound with high brick walls topped with razor wire. The hotel itself is probably at least 100 feet from any street. There is also a conference center, some mall shops and of course parking areas and there is a small series of streets inside the hotel compound and all have been lined with large concrete barriers placed on the shoulders so that no vehicle larger than a sedan can get through them. Even the entrance to the hotel has three spaced security checkpoints configured so narrowly that a box truck can’t pass through. The only way a truck can get in is probably the service docks and I’m pretty sure they screen that area thoroughly too—I can’t see them spending that much money on security and not checking the back docks. Even the sidewalks here have concrete blocks spaced so a pedestrian can step around them but a motorcycle can’t use them.
Inside, the hotel is really nice. There are three themed restaurants, several bars, a small shopping mall, banks and other services. They even have a little safari village on the grounds selling Nigerian souvenirs. I probably won’t leave the compound except to work. But as you might expect, all this comes at a price. I have a $132/day meal allowance here and it would probably take most of it to eat three meals a day here. Internet is $45/day and $22/hour although I can buy a 24-hour card in the business center for about $25 and I will probably do that early in the week and maybe next weekend. A cup of coffee this morning (with no refills) was about $8.00.
I had Sunday off as a layover day to recover from jet lag and this afternoon I got a call from the embassy motor pool and the supervisor who will be my contact discussed the coming two weeks with me.
I was picked up as scheduled at the hotel and met my students for the coming week on Monday. Three are Nigerian; one is Congolese; and the fifth is from Equatorial Guinea—and all speak really good English. That is always a concern—standards vary greatly as to what is “workable English.”
The first day went really well and Abuja is actually a very clean and attractive city. I didn’t take my I Phone today since embassies vary as to whether or not they will allow them inside but this one does so I should start getting some photos tomorrow…..
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