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[Nigeria]Nigerian glossary

2006-08-09

Back in Maiduguri

Filed under: friends,sukur,travel,VSO — kevin @ 18:00

We had a day of sightseeing in Maiduguri, starting with the zoo. The guidebooks claim that it’s OK. “Many of the animals are captives without cages, and are kept in place by large ditches surrounding reproductions of their habitats” says the Rough Guide. In fact many of the enclosures are empty, all of them are overgrown and the animals looked distinctly neglected.

An elephant picking up scraps of food with its trunk A small zoo cage with a building at the back, lumps of rotting meat lying on the ground

The right-hand picture above is of an enclosure in one of the more neglected parts of the zoo. We could make out something inside the building but couldn’t tell what kind of animal it was (maybe a hyena, there was one in the next cage). The floor of the cage was littered with rotting meat, the puddle you can see below one of the lumps was frothing with maggots and the smell was nauseating.

It seems the locals in Maiduguri keep complaining about the zoo and it seems to be a popular place to go. Maybe the state government could raise the entrance fee from 20 Naira and actually look after the animals a bit better.

Next we went across the road to the state museum. The building was fairly new but had obviously been neglected since it was built. The staff showed us round the few exhibits and explained a bit about the history of the area.

We looked at some craft shops and then had lunch. I got mine quickly but Dave suffered from the common Nigerian problem where everything he ordered had finished.

The next day we travelled back to Jos and had a couple of days relaxing there, on the whole a very restful holiday.

2006-08-08

Sukur Kingdom – day 3

Filed under: friends,sukur,travel,VSO — kevin @ 18:00

We got up a bit later than planned after another uncomfortable night. The rain had made it a bit cold, so I actually climbed inside my sleeping bag, which meant there was less padding underneath me.

After another breakfast of unsweetened porridge we packed our things, including the still damp clothes from yesterday. The leftover food was dashed to George, who seemed quite pleased.

The king and his advisers appeared for a final photograph and to send us off back down the path to Mildo market. Tuesday is market day, so many of the locals had already gone that way.

A group of people sitting on stone steps. A few people walking along a path round a hillside A group of people walk down a stone-paved path towards a valley

At Mildo market we stopped for refreshments with George and the others who had walked down with us. The Site Higher Executive Officer from the National Commission for Museums and Monuments came to greet us and ask how we had enjoyed our visit.

Dave and George negotiate with the owner of a stall festooned with bras, towels and headscarves A few stalls at the quiet end of a market

Dave stopped to buy a present for Marebec and then we headed over to where the buses and motorbikes were. The only taxi driver was demanding far too much money, so instead we arranged motorbikes to take us back to Madagali for 200 Naira each.

Just as we were leaving Simon the guide reappeared in a bit of a flap. He said we should have come to see him at his office to “sign out”, but his office is some distance away beside the District Head’s house. We had visited Simon’s house as we’d promised on Sunday, but he wasn’t there. He hadn’t brought his forms with him, so in the end we just left him complaining at the side of the road.

We were waiting for a bus at the side of the road in Madagali when a man appeared, saying that he was from immigration and we had to come back to his office. It seems his boss had seen us passing on the machines. After checking his ID we hopped on machines again for the short journey to the immigration office.

At immigration we met the man in charge there, whose office was in a garage. Both men were quite friendly and talkative, I suspect they were just bored and wanted a chat. They’d both been posted up to north-eastern Adamawa state from the south and I think they were finding it difficult. We didn’t mention our little trip across the border yesterday.

They eventually stopped a bus for us and it took us all the way to Maiduguri, dropping us just after the university. From there we took machines back to St Patrick’s.

Once we’d showered and changed we walked into town and tried to visit the palace of the Shehu (the local equivalent of an Emir). The guards asked us to sit down while they talked to the Shehu’s secretary and kept popping back to say he’d be coming shortly. After a while he drove out, the guards insisted he’d be back soon. Eventually one of them pointed out a few features in the courtyard then took us outside to show us the front of the palace. It was a very subtle way to get us out, not what you expect from the Nigerian police at all.

A large red brick building with a clock tower over the entrance

We went out for suya in the evening but were concerned by the hygiene standards at the suya stall. They insisted on washing the cooked suya sticks in grotty-looking water. When we complained they replaced with soapy water from an unknown source.

During the night the early morning call to prayer from the mosques seemed to go on for at least half an hour. In contrast the cathedral summoned its faithful with just a few dings of the bell. Maiduguri has always been peaceful but there were nasty riots there this year, Father Marcel told us about how they had had to barricade themselves inside the cathedral compound.

2006-08-07

Sukur Kingdom – day 2

Filed under: friends,sukur,travel,VSO — kevin @ 18:00

We stayed in bed until around 9am, to the accompaniment of creaks and groans from the bamboo beds every time one of us moved. The bamboo beds had looked like they might be more comfortable than sleeping on the floor, but after a night on one I wasn’t so sure. Both Dave and I had bruises on our shoulders and hips from contact with the beds.

Looking through the door of a mud-plastered hut, inside is a bamboo bed with a sleeping bag on top and various bits of camping equipment scattered around

I made breakfast, having brought porridge oats with me. Unfortunately we had left the sugar and tin of powdered milk back in Jos to save weight. I’d intended to buy a couple of sachets of powdered milk but forgot. So breakfast was plain oats boiled in water, tasty! I’d made plenty, so George helped to finish them off.

We’d planned a relaxing day of strolling around the local area, but as soon as George mentioned that people from Sukur often walked across to Cameroon Dave decided that was what he wanted to do.

Terraced fields in a hilly landscape Hillsides and a single tree A dirt track leads up a steep hillside

Passing terraced fields with many people working in them we walked along another stone-paved path. George explained to us that the most fertile land is all owned by the king, so everyone else has to manage on the hillsides.

The views were beautiful and the heavy cloud cover meant that it wasn’t too hot. In a straight line it would be about 6 km, our route wound up and down and round the hills. Eventually we reached a dirt road that the Cameroonians are building to allow motorbikes to reach the border.

There was no sign of the border, no fence, no guards, not even a marker post. It seems that many of the Cameroonians farm on the Nigerian side and the Nigerians take their produce to the market on the Cameroonian side.

By lunchtime we were approaching the town of Roumzou, passing more people working in their fields and the local graveyard. There were three types of grave, Christian, Muslim and traditional. The traditional graves take the form of a mound covered in concrete, occasionally painted with the details of the deceased. On top of the mound are placed stones, in the shape of a gateway for men, I can’t remember what the symbol was for women.

A lump of mortared rocks with 'IL EST MORT FEVRIER 1996' visible on the remaining concrete

Our first priority was to get some food after all the walking. George took us to a chop house beside the market. The locals mostly only speak French, Sukur and their own language but one man was keen to practise his English on us. I had fish stew and a kind of pounded maize lump. We then wandered on to a local bar, where I had a bottle of Top Pamplemousse, my favourite drink from my last visit to Cameroon.

Me with a bottle of yellow liquid

George took us round to visit the local priest, a Frenchman, but he was out. As we left the town it started to rain, gently at first but becoming increasingly heavy.

The trek back took about one and a half hours, faster than the walk to Cameroon but much wetter. We were completely drenched by the time we returned to our hut. I didn’t want the inside of the hut to get soaked, so we stripped at the door and George insisted on taking our clothes away to wash them.

Despite the rain there were still many flies annoying us as we changed and then sat in the hut watching the clouds drift past outside. Later on we had some frankfurters and chicken luncheon meat with flat bread for our dinner.

Once the rain stopped the king stopped by for a chat, this time without an interpreter. We occasionally managed to get a vague idea of what he was saying by spotting one of the few Hausa words we knew but it was mostly guesswork.

In the evening we sat outside for a while, George had warmed up yesterday’s burukutu for us, it’s even more disgusting hot.

2006-08-06

Sukur Kingdom – day 1

Filed under: friends,sukur,travel,VSO — kevin @ 18:48

I saw the Sukur kingdom mentioned in the Bradt guide to Nigeria a few months ago and decided to go there. Dave decided to come along after his re-entry visa was delayed, meaning he couldn’t join Karin and Jenny on their trip to Niger and Mali.

We met up on Jos on the Friday evening and stayed the night at PW and the next morning took public transport to Maiduguri. We were a bit worried we wouldn’t make it in time because the car took hours to fill but in the end we arrived around four thirty having left Jos just after ten.

Father Leo had arranged accommodation for us at the St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral in Maiduguri, where we were welcomed by Father Marcel. We had something to eat, went for a little wander around Maiduguri and then had an early night.

After an early start Dave and I took machines to Bama motor park and then squeezed into an overloaded Golf (which smelled strongly of cow) for the 45 minute and 250 Naira journey to Bama.

In Bama we stopped behind a bus that seemed to already be full and ready to leave, but the driver of the Golf spoke to the conductor and they managed to lever us in. Bama to Madagali cost another 250 Naira each and took about an hour.

At Madagali we stopped for our breakfast of crackers and cheese. This was a bit of a disappointment, the crackers had obviously been stored too close to the mothballs and tasted pretty horrible.

We were now at the point where the guidebooks said transport becomes difficult, but that just proves how little the writers know about Nigeria. We strolled up to the crowd of men, buses and machines at the side of the road and asked about buses to Mildo. There isn’t a regular service, so we chartered a minibus for 1000 Naira.

Our driver said that we should go and visit the District Head before setting off up the hill to Sukur. We dropped outside his house and waited for him to finish conducting the service, he’s also the local representative of the Catholic church and Father Marcel in Maiduguri had mentioned him.

Father Marcel forgot to mention that the District Head speaks no English, so we managed to greet him in Hausa and then stand around uncomfortably while an interpreter was fetched. It seems that you have to ask him for permission to visit Sukur.

Next the interpreter, Johnson, sent our bags round to the bottom of the path to Sukur by motorbike and led us on a more direct route to the home of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments guide. When we got there we found out that we were supposed to have a letter from the NCMM giving us permission to visit. We told the guide that the District Head had given us permission and he eventually relented and got us to fill in some forms.

From the guide’s house it’s not far to the bottom of the hill. We walked past a small hotel that has been built in the style of local buildings and fits into the landscape well, unfortunately there’s no water so it isn’t open yet.

A dirt track in the foreground leads up a green hill Dave sitting on a stone bench A valley with vegetation-covered hills on both sides, getting smaller in the distance

We finally set off up the hill, Johnson had insisted on carrying my rucksack but Dave was carrying his own and not letting me forget about it. The path up the hill is quite steep but little stone benches have been built so that you can stop on your way up and admire the beautiful views.

Dave eventually relented and we took turns carrying his bag up the stone path , which had obviously taken a lot of effort to build but hadn’t been maintained much recently.

A gap in a dry stone wall, with a stone-paved path coming through

As we reached the first gate of the Sukur kingdom and the path levelled out it started to rain lightly. Fortunately the rain didn’t get very heavy, so we just kept going. Soon after passing the royal burial ground some mud-plastered huts came into view, the guest huts at the royal palace.

Small huts in a grassy enclosure, goats grazing to one side Trees and grass, with small stone structures

The guest huts are in an outer compound of the palace, where the king meets with his advisers and title holders. He has a stone throne, there’s a little shrine and a few large trees for shade.

Scruffily-dressed small boys sitting on a rock
At the palace compound we were met by a crowd of small boys and someone was sent off to fetch the king. He arrived and greeted us in Hausa, the writers of the Bradt guide must have met a different king who could talk to them in “broken English”. He made a speech that Simon (the NCMM guide) translated for us and we thanked him for his welcome.

Mazie being grown inside dry stone walls Huts, trees, crops and rocks in a hilly landscape

Next we were taken on a tour of the palace, which isn’t what you might expect from the name. It consists of several dry stone walls and gateways, with a little compound of huts where the king lives with his wife. There’s also a hut for the king’s horse, a bull-fattening pen and the hut formerly used for dispensing justice.

Once we were back at the asked if we could stay for a couple of nights and everyone became even more welcoming. Various people were dispatched to bring things for us, a guest hut was opened and a young local man called George was assigned to look after us. I gave the king some presents we had brought: cola nuts and some Danish cookies. He seemed quite happy.

Johnson and Simon the guide finally left, Dave and I were getting very hungry by this point and were desperately waiting for them to go so that we could have lunch. Dave had brought flat bread, houmous and processed cheese slices. The only slight problem was that we were plagued by flies all day, I’ve no idea where they all come from or why there are so many but Sukur is full of flies.

A little later the king was holding a meeting and George was taking the minutes so we wandered around a little bit.

Two single-storey school buildings Boys and young men hanging around the side of a building

The local primary education board had built a school last year, which still looks very new. It also seems to be the centre of local social life on a Sunday afternoon, with boys playing football, young men with a stereo and older men playing cards and drinking some evil-looking local spirit.

After the school we wanted to get up to the top of one of the nearby hills for a view of the palace. In the end we managed to explain (in broken Hausa and hand waving) and were guided up by a small boy in green shorts. Near the top there was a lot of scrambling up big rocks, so the locals had the amusing sight of two big Baturis being hauled up by the small boy.

Huts and walls among crops An old man and a few boys (including one in green shorts) on top of a rock

The picture above left is the palace, above right are our guide and some onlookers.

In the evening some more small boys brought water for showers and a kerosene stove was fetched from somewhere inside the palace. We cooked pasta with tuna and cheese and then sat outside as the sun set. George had brought us some burukutu, a kind of beer made from millet that looks and tastes a lot like mud, and also insisted on washing up for us.

We eventually retired to our hut and settled on our creaky and uncomfortable bamboo beds for the night.

2006-06-26

Hosting a placement visit

Filed under: friends,VSO — kevin @ 09:08

Last weekend I hosted one of the new volunteers on their placement visit, just like Phyllis hosted me when I first arrived. David has actually been in country for a couple of months, because he didn’t arrive as part of a “batch”. He’s working in HIV/AIDS down in Enugu.

On Sunday we met up with Monique, who has just returned from the Netherlands, and went to the park. Here are David and Monique with the crocodiles.
David and Monique standing in front of a pond

2006-06-12

Saturday in Kaduna

Filed under: friends,VSO — kevin @ 18:40

On Saturday I joined a couple of busloads of my colleagues at the wedding of Bello from the exams department. After a bit of a delay we missed the church part of the wedding but made it for the reception. Like Tayo’s wedding it was a Yoruba affair, with lots of singing and dancing.
Wedding party standing in the car park in front of a church

Afterwards myself and Omoba from the computer centre went back to his place. He lives near where the wedding was held, in Kaduna South, the mainly Christian and non-Hausa part of town. The picture is him with three of his sisters, in the small business centre and computer training place he owns.
Omoba and three of his sisters

We moved on to Barnawa Complex, an area packed with bars and shops, to see another sister. This sister owns a tailor’s shop and has just recently returned from almost ten years living in the Netherlands.

2006-05-25

A week away from Kaduna

Filed under: friends,travel,VSO — kevin @ 07:54

I spent last week at the VSO office in Abuja, updating the “Welcome Pack” that new volunteers get on arrival in the country.

Some of the materials inside were in serious need of an update, especially the guide to Abuja which had been written over five years ago. Abuja has changed a lot in the last five years, particularly in the last year or so with all the demolitions.

It was slightly worrying when I asked for an up-to-date list of volunteers in country and was given a list that included people who left weeks ago and others who haven’t arrived yet! The electronic copies of welcome pack documents were scattered all over the network, making it difficult to be sure I had the most recent one.

While I was doing this work I was living in the VSO guest house, a small building on the VSO compound. This was obviously originally intended as the servants’ quarters (“boys quarters” is the local phrase) for the house that is now the VSO office. There are two small bedrooms, one used for storage, a toilet and shower and a filthy kitchen.

Bob and Karen were very kind and invited me round to dinner three of the nights, so I wasn’t even tempted to use the kitchen.

On Friday a group of us headed up to Jos, to meet Fathers Noel and Leo (the Kabba Boys) at the PW camp. It was Leo’s birthday, so we celebrated with a few beers.

On Saturday we had lunch at AfriOne in town and then half the group stayed to do some shopping while the rest of us went back to PW to watch Munster beat Biarritz in the rugby.

Nicole had bought some plastic “Hello Kitty” tennis rackets, various people tried to play but Ronan and Noel managed best:
Two men playing tennis with children's bats on a gravel car park

That evening we went to a restaurant owned by a German called Walter, who had been at PW on Friday night. The restaurant, Felak’s, is in the bush just outside Jos and the food was fantastic. We had leek and potato soup, chicken with lovely deep-fried aubergine and cake with cream for dessert. There was also plenty of fresh bread and cottage cheese to go with it all.
People sitting at a table

The next morning Noel and Nicole went hiking, while the rest of us lazed around or attended Leo’s Mass.

After a lunch of pizza and pasta people started heading back home, Bob gave me a lift to the motor park and I then had what seemed like a very long journey down the incredibly potholed road back to Kaduna.

2006-05-02

Saying goodbye to Janita

Filed under: friends,VSO — kevin @ 11:40

On Friday night we met up at the usual place, PDP. This was apparently once the local secretariat for the dominant Nigerian political party but is now a bar. It’s one of the few bars in the (largely Muslim) north of Kaduna city. It was a bit of a special occasion because Janita was leaving us, travelling back to Abuja and then home to the UK.

Here’s a picture, Janita is in the middle of the group next to Victoria (headmistress of the school for deaf children):
A group of people sitting around a plastic table with beers

2006-03-14

Walking in the bush

Filed under: friends,VSO — kevin @ 10:09

Jan joined me on Saturday morning for a walk in the bush behind the NTI campus. It’s quite nice up there, very peaceful given how close to Kaduna and the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway you are.
Dry, dusty landscape with fields. Trees and roofs on the horizon
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2006-01-30

My goodbye picnic (and mobile phone problems)

Filed under: friends,VSO — kevin @ 10:44

I organised a little picnic yesterday, to celebrate me leaving Abuja. The organisation was complicated slightly by the fact that MTN’s mobile network was barely functioning for most of the weekend. In the end Tim, Dave, Gina, Jasper, Ilse, Diseye, Marebec (behind the camera), Alex and Kate made it and everyone brought lots of food.
Group of people having a picnic on a rock by a reservoir

MTN‘s network seems to be getting less and less reliable, with long periods where it’s impossible to make calls or check credit and text messages sometimes getting held up for days. I’m starting to think about moving to a network that actually works, Glo are apparently good.

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