to be continued

So how were my 7 months in Abuja?
I’ll let the smart search engines tell!
These are some of search words people found my blog with:

• nigerian, top and skirt
• how strict is the finnish embassy in nig
• handsome black men (3 times)
• vappu naked (2 times)
• nigerian people selling house
• nigerians in my basement
• where to get rye bread in lagos nigeria
• used internet usb for sale in nigeria
• how to make friends in millennium park
• foreigners hate nigerian girls
• pingviinien matka

After four short weeks in Finland, I left for Washington D.C. to work on my Master’s thesis. My new adventures will be recorded at tracingaid.wordpress.com.

moments…

January. We were happy to discover an ice cream bar from our new neighbourhood Wuse2.

February. Point and kill fish became my favourite dish.
Picture from City Park, also called as our livingroom.

March. An awesome trip to Yankari national park.
Firestarters & the Muses in action!

April. The usual bushbar night

and the usual Sunday pancake breakfast.

May. Finnish girls & Goodluck on the way to Xtacy lounge…

Celebrating National Day of Norway

The rainy season with its fierce storms started.
I admired the dark clouds covering all the sky from the porch of sauna.

June. The Ambassador hosted us a beautiful goodbye party

This picture just brings me so many good memories!

Swedish national day celebrations with Stuart

Finnish midsummer with beer, barbecue, sauna & drizzle.

Sleep deprived & in hangover at the International Day against Drug Abuse on Midsummer day morning, that is working for the UN.

July. Nigerian wedding party with my Canadian-Nigerian friend and work colleague Tolu.

A perfect day – a trip to a fulani market on one of my last Saturdays.

On my last day of work at the UN my closest colleagues took me out for a lunch.

Working with the Nigerians

I had my bubble bath experience of the Nigerian business culture with the Finnish embassy, but now I’m on the real thing.

What I like about working with Nigerians:

Every morning I’m greeted by all staff members. They might pop in my room and we migh chat a while. Or then they just shake hands with me. This might be normal for most of the world, but not for us Finns. In the Finnish company where I used to work people would often pass by without saying a word. Or maybe they mumbled something vaguely resembling huomenta, morning, before hurrying to the kitchen to refill the coffee mug. Here, even in the most terrifying social setting for the Finns, in an elevator, the complete strangers sharing the short ride together often say the good morning how are you fine litany to each other. And I’m actually quite starting to like it.

What I don’t like about working with Nigerians:

I ask A on Monday, if she knows about a particular report that was done last year. Yes, she replies, and promises to send it to me.
On Tuesday I remind her, please send the report, for I need it for this year’s report.
On Wednesday I casually refer to the report, and get yes yes I’m sending it right away.
On Thursday I ask B if he knows about the report. A should know about it, he replies, let me ask her.
On Friday B gets back to me: I think we didn’t do a report last year.
Whatever, doesn’t matter, I already finished the work I needed the report for, as the deadline was on Thursday…

Return to Finland re-booked for Thursday evening on 29th of July, arriving on Friday afternoon. Three work weeks to go in Nigeria!

A week about drugs

The contract for the apartment that I had rented together with Anna expired last Sunday, and since then I’ve been living in the residence of the Ambassador, in the same compound with the embassy. She left for holidays in Finland and was amazingly kind to offer me to stay here, because it’s so difficult to find a reasonable place to stay in Abuja for a short period of time. But I feel a bit lonely to be alone in this massive house, especially because I was already so used to sharing an apartment with Anna. We used to go around so much together that even the supermarket personnel would ask me “where’s the other one” if she wasn’t doing her shopping with me.

the report that kept me busy this week & my new ID card. I wonder how useful the blood group information will be!

Other news to my life include saying goodbye to the beautiful idle early evenings. I have probably not worked as hard during the last 2 months in the embassy that I’ve worked during the past five days at UNODC. Mostly I’ve left the office after seven, completely exhausted. We’re short by one person, and this week has been filled with activities because on Saturday it’s the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Yesterday we launched the World Drug Report 2010 locally here in Abuja, and despite the usual last minute running around like headless chicken, it was a great success. After another event, I was interviewed to the local radio as UN representative, which I thought a bit funny with my 1,5 weeks of experience on drugs & crime -related issues. My week included also popping into the Cybercrime & Terrorism seminar and waking up at 6 on midsummer eve to attend an Anti-Drug walk by our key Nigerian parner Nigerial Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

At the launch of the report

The launch was attended by 70 people, including lots of media.

I do hope that this is the first and last midsummer when I have to work. Anyway, happy midsummer to you all!

Farewell to the Ministry

On Thursday I had been five months in Nigeria.

On Friday I said goodbye to the warm work atmosphere of the Finnish Embassy, and was touched by the beautiful goodbye party the Ambassador hosted for me and Anna.

On Saturday I cheered for USA in the British village, and was happy for finding some Magners cider.

On Sunday I had a very relaxing day with the usual amazing pancake breakfast.

And on Monday I started as an intern at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

I will be working with issues related to anti corruption, cyber crime, anti-human trafficking and smuggling of migrants. Especially, I will be involved with a project improving the communication between West African airports in order to combat cocaine trafficking. The project and my new boss were featured in one of the Nigerian newspapers.

So I changed the small embassy work environment for a grand UN house that hosts all the UN agencies of Nigeria. Our office of about 20 people is beside UNESCO and UNICEF. I changed the easiness of working with Finns for working with a handful of international staff and a number of Nigerians. And I changed the embassy mindset on trade promotion for a global perspective to crime and drugs.

On my first day I took ‘basic security in the field’ and ‘advanced security in the field’ courses in order to get the appropriate security clearance. Besides learning on spotting suspicious envelopes, the language of radio communication and the planning of a convoy, I was told what to do in an earthquake, how to find water in a desert, how to read North from the stars on the different hemispheres, and how to wear clothes in layers in the cold. So, I should be now properly equipped to work with the UN in Nigeria!

Suurlähetystö 2.0 – teekkarin kokemuksia Abujasta

An article that I wrote to the Ministry’s intranet about my experiences in the Embassy.

Mitä syntyy, kun 19 Länsi-Afrikan maata kattava Abujan suurlähetystö valitsee ensimmäiseksi CIMO-harjoittelijakseen teekkarin?

You are welcome, toivottaa lentokenttävirkailija, suurlähetystön autonkuljettaja ja monumentti matkalla Abujan lentokentältä suurlähetystöön minulle tammikuussa 2010. Saan ensimmäisiksi päiviksi kodin suurlähettilään vierashuoneesta, eikä minua ympäröivä kotoisa Suomi-design sovi alkuunkaan ajatukseen, että olen pahamaineisessa Nigeriassa.

Ensimmäiset päivät ahmin sähköpostini vallanneita raportteja komiteoista, kokouksista ja tapaamisista. Tunnen olevani maailmanpolitiikan kulisseissa! Kännykkäni jaksaa vielä muistuttaa syksyn osa-aikatyöstä: luen Köpiksen ilmastokokouksesta kun suomalaisessa IT-yrityksessä pidetään Product management weekly meetingiä.

Puhun broken englishiä nigerialaisten taksikuskien kanssa, ja opettelen puhumaan suurlähetystöä. ”The Embassy of Finland avails itself of this opportunity to renew to bla bla bla the assurance of its highest consideration”, vau! Tulostan tiistaikokouksen esityslistan kaksipuoleisena ja herätän hämmennystä, ai pystyykö suurlähetystön tulostimilla tekemään noin? Voitko näyttää?

Maaliskuussa vastaanotamme Ministeri Väyrysen ja monikymmenhenkisen yritysdelegaation. Selviämme hiekkamyrskystä vastaanottoillallisella, saamme salin täyteen pyjamapukuisia nigerialaismiehiä ja jännitämme Lagosin turvamiesten brutaalia liikennekäyttäytymistä. Nautin joka hetkestä!

Houkuttelen isän ja siskon Etelä-Afrikkaan pääsiäislomalle, ja tunnen itseni Afrikan-konkariksi kun näen miten heitä hermostuttaa Port Elizabethin tummaihoisten suosimassa keskustassa. Viikon matkustelun jälkeen minun onkin jo ikävä tiistai-saunaa, lattarileffailtoja, pienen lähetystön kodikasta tunnelmaa, sunnuntain leppoisaa lettuaamiaista ja Abujan tiivistä expat-yhteisöä.

Kevään lopulla askit ja nootit ovat jo arkipäivää, ja kaupallis-taloudelliset työtehtäväni saavat seuraa minulle tutummasta aihepiiristä. Korjaan satelliitti-internetin, asennan Skypen lähetystön kannettavaan, opetan suurlähettilästä kuuntelemaan maailman kuulumiset kävelylenkeillä BBC:n podcasteista, haravoin lähetystön nettisivut ja puhun IT-tuen ympäri antamaan meille paikallisen verkkolevyn tiedostojen jakamista varten.

Innostun Stubbin Facebook- ja Twitter-puheista: mehän voisimme tavoittaa kaikki Nigeriassa olevat suomalaiset vaivattomasti Facebook-ryhmän avulla! Lauri voisi kirjoittaa blogia Nigerian liiketoimintamahdollisuuksista ja tarjota kaksisuuntaisen keskustelukanavan suomalaisyrityksille Länsi-Afrikassa. Miksi meillä ei ole netissä ajanvarausjärjestelmää viisumiasiakkaille, ja miksi konsuli tuhlaa kiireistä aikaansa matkustusilmoitusten hallitsemiseen kun se voisi olla automaattista?

Joskus sekavalta kokoelmalta tuntuneet poikkitieteelliset opintoni piirtyvät suurlähetystössä mielekkääksi kokonaisuudeksi. Kuka voi enää väittää, että todellisuutta voisi katsoa vain yhdestä näkökulmasta?

On kesäkuu ja tuntikirjanpitoni väittää, että ylityötunteja on pitämättä kolme viikkoa. Ei voi olla totta! Kuin tilauksesta saan kuitenkin jatkoajan Nigeriaan: YK:n paikallistoimisto kysyy, jäisinkö heille harjoittelijaksi vielä kesäksi. Tiedän anti corruption, cyber crime, anti-human trafficking ja smuggling of migrants -aiheista suunnilleen yhtä paljon kuin tiesin Nigerian taloudesta joulukuussa, mutta suurlähetystöharjoittelu on antanut minulle ymmärrystä kansainvälisistä instituutioista, varmuutta hypätä uusiin tehtäviin, ja ennen kaikkea herättänyt palavan kiinnostuksen oppia ymmärtämään maailmaa paremmin.

Olen hyvin kiitollinen Abujan suurlähetystön henkilökunnalle, Ulkoministeriölle ja CIMO:lle upean, antoisan ja opettavaisen harjoittelujakson mahdollistamisesta.

Life on the other side of the fence

There is an empty plot beside our compound. It’s fenced but our top floor apartment has a nice open view to it. The plot has nothing but a few basic constructions.

In January, when we moved in, we thought they operated a small kiosk. Once we tried to go and buy some drinks, but they wouldn’t sell. Later we understood that they sell local food, and it’s too local for them to accept us as their customers.

Now I’ve developed a habit of checking every morning when I leave for work, and every afternoon when coming back, what’s happening with our neighbours. It’s a good reminder of the other Nigeria.

Here’s some documentation of what the other Nigeria looks like.

A typical afternoon. Women are cooking and taking care of children, with chicken running around the plot.

Boys are playing with a rope while their father is cutting grass.

We thought this was a kiosk.

Laundry day! Doing homework while mom is cooking.

Washing moment

Our house

The Jos Repertory Theatre had once again come up with a brilliant play. This time the ingredients for the story were collected from youth across Nigeria, with the help of the British Council’s money.

“Our house” is a metaphor for the country of Nigeria. The story runs through the history of the Nigeria. But more interestingly, the play is about portraying the reality of what is it like to be a young person in Nigeria.

There is a hard-working girl thinking of quitting her work, as she’s is requested to ‘open her legs wide open’. The understanding mom is sorry, but with the only proper income for the family, her advice is to ‘open just a little’. Finally, she beats all the business objectives, but is also diagnosed positively in a HIV test.

There’s also a young, educated, smart man, who seeks a job with a ministry, run by such an old granddaddy who can barely read due to his bad eye sight – and still he firmly sticks to the position, still seeking to advance his career, and throws out the humble applicant with no prospects of finding a job.

Based on a true story, there’s a wife who has given birth to six daughters. Despised by her family and husband for not giving birth to sons, she prays to god and tries her best to fulfill the expectations. She gets four more times pregnant with a girl and makes an abortion each time, until after the fourth one she dies to the complications of the abortion.

a night out

As I was requested: a Saturday in Abuja. This time as a photo journal!

afternoon
We hang around in the Millennium park with our new Nigerian friends, who I had met in the climate change meetup event. We talk a lot about Nigeria and the Nigerians’ reputation abroad. Here’s a message to the Europeans from these young Nigerians: come to see Nigeria for yourself, rather than just judging the whole country from the distance!

at Millennium park. I got credits for wearing an African dress.

early evening
We hop on a taxi for the 2nd Abuja suya festival. A huge field has been converted to an open-air restaurant, with small booths selling food and drinks. The popular Nigerian music is played in the background.

Some more friends join us

A Nigerian journalist insists on taking a picture of us, the only foreigners around, for his story on the event. I’m never really happy for being noticed because of being from abroad, but I guess it’s just impossible to blend in.

Posing for a journalist

around 22:00
Karl’s work friends had invited him for a Cameroonian party, and we decide to take our changes of crashing it. The event, advertised as a crazy party, turns out to be more of a peaceful dinner.

at the Cameroonian party

to Cameroon!

chilling out just outside the party venue

A Cameroonian wants to take a picture of us. Just before taking the picture below he wants to put his arm around Anna, and accidentally spills my drink. “You should not take drinks outside”, he tells me, turns around, and says nothing more to me. Was he in a bad mood (did not seem like, anyway we were at a party?), should we not have taken drinks outside (come on, this is Nigeria, why not?), or are men just never wrong in Cameroon (because it’s the women who are wrong)?

it's nice to meet you too

after midnight
We feel a need for a bit more exciting party, and head to a party by a friend from the US embassy. It is a chilled out party as well, but with a lot of people we know, so it is fun to catch up with them. The picture looks a bit uneventful, but this is how middle aged diplomats like to host their parties.

party by the pool

around 2:30
Time to go for the clubs!
We decide to split up: I’d go to see what was going on in our usual night club Eden with my new business men friends, and Anna to the Basement with an embassy crowd.

We drive to Eden in Asokoro, but to our suprise, the place is closed! As my new friends describe Basement as “an instant attack of your wannabe husbands”, we go to Soho instead.

around 4
When the party slows down in Basement, Anna and our Nigerian friend Akins join us!

with Akins & Anna

I really like the weekends in Abuja!

Talking about family…

Can you guess which one is me, which one a Nigerian?

~~~

– Do you want kids?
– Well .. I haven’t really been thinking about it .. I don’t know…
– What!! If you marry an African man, he will tell you how many kids to have.
– Well, isn’t it the woman who usually takes care of the kids here? So shouldn’t she have a word there, too?
– Well, the wife will take care of the kids, but it’s the husband who is taking care of her. So he gets to decide.

~~~

– My father has three wives.
– Really? What is it like?
– I hate it. I will have only one.
– Why do you hate it?
– Having so many wives just creates jealousy. Everyone wants best just for their children, so you have to compete about everything. It’s not good for the family.

~~~

– What do you want to do in life?
– Well, there are many things that I love doing, so I couldn’t name just one. And I don’t think there’s just one thing for me. What about you?
– First of all, I want to be a good mother, and a good wife. Secondly, I want to [–]

~~~

– How many siblings do you have?
– Seven. How many do you?
– Just one.
– Really? Just one?
– In my country, the average is like one and half per family. How many do you think you’ll want to have?
– For me, three would do.