Clubs, Carjackers, and Undertakers

Perhaps the most interesting and revealing aspect of the summer was how I spent my time outside of work. Socially, we hung out with three distinct groups of people characterized by how we got around.

The first were the working class, primarily our coworkers. This involved going to bars, watching football (soccer) games, and sitting around eating pounded yam and fish sauce, which was about as good as it sounds. When meeting up, we’d travel via public transportation, which never ceased to be an adventure.

The second group was made up of wealthy Nigerians, primarily people who had studied abroad and received advanced degrees. Here we traveled in Land Rovers and Escalades to the poshest Nigerian clubs, clubs that would be uber popular even in Manhattan. The only problem was the DJs all went to the same school. I heard ‘Candy Shop’ so many times that I started singing it in my sleep. We also hung out with U.S. Marines and Consulate Officers. This involved rides in armored vehicles with police escorts.

Befriending the Consulate guys had its advantages. We were invited to the U.S. Ambassador’s house (John Campbell) for his 4th of July Party. I began a conversation with one attendee only to find out he was the local undertaker. Asking one of our consulate friends why an undertaker was at the party, he said – no lie – “We were told the first two people we should befriend are an airline official and the best undertaker, because you never know when you may need to ship a dead body home.” There were times when I was slightly concerned that that dead body might be mine.

Our free time in Lagos wasn’t all fun and games as I have stories of Al Qaeda threats, witnessing a murder, being in the midst of the ensuing riots, abandoning vehicles in an attempt to escape from armed carjackers, and escaping a voodoo demonstration that, if observed, was supposedly punishable by death. I could go into more detail, but I’m relying on selective memory to allow me to forget most of those events. Though these events were traumatic in their own right, they did add an element of excitement.

Much like New York, Lagos is a city of extremes. From the chaotic to the blissful our social calendar was filled with wide ranging events, each leaving an indelible mark on my Nigerian experience. via: Sosauce