Na im we come comot beyond Customs o, but not before getting my baggage tags thoroughly scrutinized to make sure that I wasn't carting off someone else’s luggage. Speaking of luggage - I know I had my fair share and it never ceases to amaze me how a plane can swallow all that in it's belly and re-unite a passenger with it at the end of the journey - BUT was it only for Nigerians that bags that can unzip and become larger, not once, not twice but THREE TIMES!!!? I saw a lady whose bag was bigger than she was! She needed two men to help her lift it onto her cart! Haba!!! Na because of those kin my sisters dem dey limit how much ordinary person like me fit carry! Anyway sha, thank God say I no get any 'lost luggage' tori; my kaya and me were successfully re-united in Abuja.

I can't casually talk about the trip as though we just flew, I just reached there and that was it! Fa-fa-fa Foul!! As you can imagine, leaving Atlanta International Airport, the weather was, as the Brits would say, brisk. i.e. who born you not to at least hold one kin jacket?! Inside the plane as most can recall, na so-so A/C dey blow person, dem kuku know sef, dats why dem dey give you blanket as soon as you enter.

We come reach Schipol Airport for Netherlands (which one konsain agbero with overload?) Abi dem misspell Nigeria come make am Netherlands? I'm incensed at the time wasted on that 'detour' into Europe on our way to and from home! 5 hours inside A/C and assorted cheeses in Schipol until we enter our home-bound flight - A/C again.

Hmmm... I'm thinking, I could get used to this! A/C all the way till we taxi up to the Abuja airport terminal and the door is opened. That's when we step directly into a wall, nay a furnace, nay a hell of a lot of heat! Oops! I didn't spell that properly! We stepped into H.E.A.T.!!! And this was at night O! Chei! Maybe you go come understand why I bin dey sorry for that Oga wey dey direct us for inside im 'monkey jacket'!

I don't care how long you've lived in Nigeria before; the moment you step into the airport, your eyes take in the A/C units but your skin feels NO cooling and it's particularly difficult after you've sat for hours in those airconditioned airplanes! In moments I was pouring with perspiration and the leather jacket I'd been sporting in Amsterdam quickly found itself abandoned atop one of my bags, never to be contemplated again throughout the trip! Poor jacket! I think it had told all the other jackets in my wardrobe "Make una siddon there. I dey go Naija with our owner! Na me e go dey take dey pose!" Poor thing! During my entire stay in Nigeria, even a glance at it made me break out in a sweat. You KNOW I didn't touch it once, still less put it on! Na that kin thing 'awayans' dey take find people trouble for Naija. You wan make dem know say you don 'arrive' so na your furry timberland boots plus including your leather jacket you go dey wear to take catch okada! No be your fault. How dem no go trail you go house? Even Christmas goat go tire for the kin heat wey you dey generate by yourself!

 A swift 40-odd minute drive in the balmy night got us from the airport to the city proper. Maybe someone wiser than me can answer this: Why is the access road to Abuja from the airport named Bill Clinton Road? Have we NO Nigerians worth celebrating in Nigeria? Oya over to you wise wo/men! There is a certain access route you take that lets you approach the city from atop a fly-over bridge, letting you appreciate Abuja's beauty, what with the streetlights and building lighting twinkling in the distance under the somnolent gaze and serene protection of the ring of hills surrounding the city! My host knew not to prepare me for this and so I was frankly blown away! The downside was I didn't have a chance to take that picture but I got another later in the daytime.

Now I don't know what your familiarity or mileage with Abuja is but I was struck by how much development has taken place in the Federal Capital Territory! Once, 10-odd years ago, at one of those 'fork in the road' moments in life, I attended a job interview in Abuja. At that time, the main road worth celebrating was Festival Road, (now renamed Olusegun Obasanjo Road, I think) leading directly to the International Conference Center. Coming from crowded Lagos, and having time on my hands, I walked the entire, then lonely length of the road, exulting in it's swooping, swerving, street lit ambience and enjoying the way the road hugged the earth's curves, the designers having chosen to go over, around and alongside, rather than blasting their way through 'obstacles'.

At that time, I was able to walk right up to the glass facade of the Conference Center and peer inside. Amazingly, the entire road and area has been so developed, I could no longer readily identify that road and with the development came security. Who born me to try going to peer into the conference center now? No be slap dem go slap me? I saw a gatehouse, gates and security everywhere and thanked God for my earlier opportunity!

I saw a recent article where President Obasanjo, while inaugurating a tourism master plan for Nigeria, stated correctly that in order for tourism to take root in Nigeria, wholesale changes in the way we operate as Nigerians have to be effected. I love my people but for one thing, the whole paranoid mentality of "don't take pictures", “don’t stand there”, “wetin you dey do for here” and so on has to change. Also, we have to stop closing everything - gates, doors, windows, minds! Geez! More on that later; I call it the 'keyhole' mentality.

I spent the first day back in and around Abuja and my initial perception supports the assertion or accusation by some that it's ending up as a 'City for only the rich'. Since that immediately excluded me, I sought to investigate further. Most of us have heard about the Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam El Rufai (or El Ru-FIRE) as he is 'fondly' referred to in Abuja.

As a design professional, I support the reasoning behind his efforts to restore order to the Abujascape; as a compassionate Nigerian, I also feel that a 'human face' COULD be incorporated into his efforts to return the territory to it's original Master Plan i.e. before you demolish, PLEASE provide alternatives so that people don't end up homeless on the streets. I understand that one of the side effects of the spate of demolitions has been a spike in crime rates in and around Abuja and that is really regrettable!

Here is a sampler of some of the sights I saw around Abuja. Of course I don't know what the names or functions of many of the buildings are because I didn't want security men to break my head!

Entering Abuja

An Abuja Vista

Supreme Court

The Iconic Abuja Mosque

The upcoming Abuja Ecumenical Center

One time Navy Headquarters (I'm told)

Abuja Vistas aplenty! (Oh those rolling hills, in almost every direction!)

Following Abuja, my next destination was further North to Zaria in Kaduna State and I hope to tell you about that next! Peace!

Robot  # 1 | 09.02.2006 16:37

Na im we come comot beyond Customs o, but not before getting my baggage tags thoroughly scrutinized to make sure that I wasn't carting off someone else’s luggage. Speaking of luggage - I know I had my fair share and it never ceases to amaze me how a plane can swallow all that in it's belly and re-unite a passenger with it at the end of the journey - BUT was it only for Nigerians that bags that can unzip and become larger, not once, not twice but THREE TIMES!!!? I saw a lady whose bag was bigger than she was! She needed two men to help her lift it onto her cart! Haba!!! Na becaus...Read the full article.

Jigga  # 2 | 09.02.2006 17:11

Interesting article. Reminds me of my trip to Naija from USA 2 yrs ago (first time in almost a decade) I was shocked at how developed the place is, hardly any potholes, water running continuously (of course NEPA made sure I was reminded of the routine power failure) and so on. When I arrived at the Abuja airport, I only had 1 carry-on luggage and one box. The security guy asked me "Is that all you got?" because everyone else was carrying at least 6-7 bags and boxes. Interesting. Naija, my favourite country! www.refocus.ws

Baba Elemu  # 3 | 09.02.2006 17:39

Bill Clinton Road? I do not think that having a road named after Mr. President Bill Clinton in Nigeria is out of place. You must be travelling to Nigeria from Moscow or China and definitely, not from the United States. President Bill Clinton did a lot for the black race here in the US and by extension to the whole world.

Maryam  # 4 | 09.02.2006 21:26

I liked the incorporated humor in this piece; it gave the article more life! Looking forward to the rest of the story. P.S I hear you about that Nigerian heat, only when it hits you in the face do you know you've arrived your destination! :p

Kabikala  # 5 | 10.02.2006 02:43

Bill Clinton Road: Mr. Baba Elemu, between Bill Clinton and Tai Solarin, who has done more for Nigeria? Do you know a woman called Gambo Sawaba? Are you aware of the significant contributions of patriots like Micheal Imoudu? Or Dele Udoh? Or Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi? Or Bala Usman? Or Ayodele Awojobi? Or Fela Anikulapo-Kuti? All these other Nigerians are unsung heroes as no monuments are named after them in Abuja or anywhere else for that matter (apart from Michael Imoudu Institute for Labour Studies in Ilorin that is). What about those still alive: Gani Fawehinmi, Abubakar Umar, Anthony Enahoro, Dora Akunyili, General Ovadje, Augustine Okocha (yes, the same Okocha!), Olumide Oyedeji, and many others. It is my view that there are far many more Nigerians that deserve recognition for their contributions to their fatherland before honoring Clinton with the naming of the Abuja gateway road after him. Clinton's contribution (I'm not aware, but Nigerians in diaspora seem to value him, I only remember him for his double speak on June 12) does not rank near the huge sacrifices these people made for the good of this country. I submit!

Naija for life  # 6 | 10.02.2006 05:50

EezeeBee, nice piece again. Your words and pictures pretty much speak for themselves. To support Kabikala's observations, the only thing that should be named after Bill Clinton in any African country is a toilet or a landfill. This is the same Bill Clinton who, along with Warren Christopher, warned journalists not to term the crisis in Rwanda a genocide, as that would have obligated them to act in accordance with UNO provisions. Bill Clinton is nothing but a charlatan who only affects concern for black people when the occassion serves him. Far more deserving Americans would be Jimmy Carter, whose involvement with Nigeria has spanned three decades (if you recall, he visited during OBJ's military regime), or Lyndon Johnson for his promotion and signing of the civil rights act. However, the primary beneficiaries of honors such as monuments and names of infrastructure should be indigenous Nigerians. At the very least, the most prominent structures and institutions should be reserved for indigenous Nigerians, like the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport, for instance.

Naija for life  # 7 | 10.02.2006 06:24

EezeeBee, nice piece again. Your words and pictures pretty much speak for themselves. To support Kabikala's observations, the only thing that should be named after Bill Clinton in any African country is a toilet or a landfill. This is the same Bill Clinton who, along with Warren Christopher, warned journalists not to term the crisis in Rwanda a genocide, as that would have obligated them to act in accordance with UNO provisions. Bill Clinton is nothing but a charlatan who only affects concern for black people when the occasion serves him. Far more deserving Americans would be Jimmy Carter, whose involvement with Nigeria has spanned three decades (if you recall, he visited during OBJ's military regime), or Lyndon Johnson for his promotion and signing of the civil rights act. However, the primary beneficiaries of honors such as monuments and names of infrastructure should be indigenous Nigerians. At the very least, the most prominent structures and institutions should be reserved for indigenous Nigerians, like the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport, for instance.

NextLevel  # 8 | 10.02.2006 07:48

Abuja looks amazing.

ayoni  # 9 | 10.02.2006 10:04

Here we go again. President Clinton or any western leader should not be held responsible for the grave carnage of fellow Africans while our African leaders turned their backs on their citizens. About time African leaders stepped up to the plate. We cannot be spoon fed by western leaders directing our economy as well as social lives. The burden is on our leaders.

Lve  # 10 | 10.02.2006 10:20

What is the big deal with Abuja? I rem when I was there in early 94 the major thing was the good roads enticing and leading you into the city. You had Dantata and Sawoe signs by the side like they were there proclaiming 'look we made this tar road in Nigeria'!! The road was then traffic free. But the city to me was nice but not that great, maybe because I was living at Ife. I always felt even with the people that VI, Lagos Island was the modern architectural design and life. The then Abuja sometimes looked like California with there campus like environment.

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