It is fantastic, almost sensational, what people won't do for money. There are those who have literally been to the moon and back for it. Those who have lived their entire lives in glass houses. And there are those like me who have moved to Africa.
The amateur's first impression of Africa is as stereotypical as President Bush's speech - of jumbo elephants roaming the grasslands, lions chasing zebras, safaris in open top jeeps, naturalists preserving the forests, foreign doctors setting up camps, and dusty roads criss-crossing the country. It is as false too.
What Discovery and National Geographic channels don't show is the real Africa. Africa does not live in the jungles. Most of Africa lives in its cities. And some of the largest cities in the world they are too. Parts of the urban landscape are reminiscent of their days of greater glory, which years of military coups and absolute corruption have taken a heavy toll on.
More than these physical indicators, the people of Africa are a stark reminder of a generation lost - an entire generation that has no skills because it was either a victim of the military rule or a campaigner against it. You can see it in the eyes. The hope is almost gone. The heart does not know what to believe anymore.
I live in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city and West Africa's largest Port. It has a population anywhere between 10.5 and 15.5 million. Traffic snarls (called 'go-slow' in local parlance) are frequent, and it is not uncommon for vehicles to be driven on the pavement when the roads are too full. Accidents happen often, and when they do the drivers of the vehicles involved decide to settle the matter right there, slowing down the go-slow even more.
Surveys have ranked Nigeria as the happiest state. It is hard to understand how that can be. Most Nigerians live below the poverty line (that is on less than USD 1 per day). But they believe in living for today, for tomorrow is another day. There are incidents of mugging and theft, but I guess they are a part of any big city.
Nigeria is one of the very few democratic African countries. It has been so for the last seven years. Ironically, the present President is a former military dictator. Things have improved since then. Corruption is down from about 200% to about 70%. A lot still needs to be done, but the resilient Nigerian seems to want development. This is one thing about Nigeria that stands out. Years of despotism have not been able to kill the resilience in the Nigerian.
It is potentially the richest African state, and not just with regards to the oil. The soil is fertile, really fertile. There are lots of other mineral deposits that are yet to be explored. What it needs is some political will. It is a nation that has seen the worst, almost fallen apart because of it, yet managed to stay together.
I have been here about ten days now. I love the chaos. There is something in chaos that defines a city. Chaos gives a city its character. From what I have seen, the nightlife is beginning to happen. The clubs are open all night, and there are some gorgeously hot women grooving to the music. Some of them are 'available' too if you get the drift.
The power supply is erratic, and the phones don't always work the way they are meant to. There may not be much to do if you are not the kinds who likes to party. But you just have to appreciate the 'give-respect, get-respect' theory that people believe in. It is almost refreshing to come to a world where people understand family values, where they believe in the family system.
Africa, here I am!
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