First Impressions

Jan 30

As the airplane approached Abuja from the north, I could see vast expanses of completely untouched land that was mostly forest.  As we got closer to the airport, there were a few small villages with perhaps 10 or 20 structures and livestock.   The airport itself is unremarkable.  It was a slow process at Customs, but once through, my suitcase was waiting on the carrousel looking a bit frumpier than 24 hours previously.  The driver, Bash, was waiting for me, and we drove to the Hilton. 

The Hilton, I’m told, is the largest hotel in Africa.  It’s the only place in Abuja, if not all of Nigeria, which regularly accepts credit cards.  Nigeria is otherwise a cash society.  The room is comfortable with excellent air conditioning and just a couple of small ants.

Jan 31 am

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was excellent.  Bash picked me up at 8:30, and it was a 5-minute drive to the SCMS Field Office.  At 9:30 I gave an “in-brief” presentation to a representative of the U.S. Government and the SCMS Procurement team, which went well.  I’m a little nervous about the cash situation: I’ve tried three ATMs and they only accept “smart” cards with a chip in them.  I have a “dumb” card.

Jan 31 pm

We missed our original flight to Lagos and ended up taking a later one.  This is a very different city than Abuja.  Whereas there is little in Abuja other than government, Lagos is about commerce.  It’s much more crowded, too.  Looking through the airplane window on the approach, there was quite a bit of “suburban” sprawl of one- or two-room shacks.  By the time we landed, the buildings were very densely packed.

The taxi ride to our hotel, the Parklane, was a bit of a free-for-all, but we made it safely.  I’m glad I wasn’t driving.