I am writing from Tai Solarin University's guest
motel room in Ijagun, Nigeria on a Wednesday morning. A ceiling fan helps with the muggy
heat. Sometime around 10 pm they turn on the generator and we guests have air conditioner
to give us a good sleep. This routine happens every day.
Yesterday our team of 5
had close to 1,000 university college students show up. We have
2 more days to teach about entrepreneurship. Friday we start heading home to
good ol' USA.
I have not had as much time
to draw caricatures as I had hoped. I only have an hour or two a day to draw
in between coming and going. Only made less than 20 caricatures this afternoon.I
have been able to draw almost all the security guards in our enclosed campus.
I am the most popular guest here. They always swarm around me when they see
me. These soldiers are a mix of Christians and Muslims. Here in the Southern part of Nigeria,
both faiths get along. Many have mixed marriages of both religions.
These Nigerians love ceremonies.
They love to parade in their colorful regalia. They love to give long winded
speeches and be in the spotlight. Who cares if nobody is listening to their
hour long speeches? You are their captive audience and they make sure you suffer
in the sweltering heat and echoing halls. To compound the problem, they do not
come on time. It's a contest on who can come the latest --- the latest being
the most important.
I brought a whole suitcase
of books, magazines, toys, clothes, musical instruments (guitars, harmonicas,
kazoos)m etc. Some gifts were donated by Heather, Amy, Sam and Joanne (my business associates),
my daughter and my son-in-law). I've given away almost all my books and magazines.
Will give away my last batch tomorrow. By the time I leave I will probably have
only the clothes on my back left.
I gave our cook (Mama Kitchen)
a bar of chocolates. I don't think she has ever tasted anything like that in
her life. She is a Christian who accepted Christ late in life. Her parents are
Muslim. Like many converts, she saw a better faith alternative. Many Muslims
convert. Ever since that day of my giving chocolate, Mama Kitchen has been extra
nice to me. Others are complaining that I get a pitcher of coffee while they
have to mix the powdered milk and powdered coffee from their plastic bags themselves.
She even "shashays along" when she delivers her food to me. I guess
a little chocolate goes a long long way.
I sweat like a pig during
my lecture because there is no fan directed towards me. I've never drank so
much water and fruit juice. Our only choice of food these past 13 days has been
heavily spiced chicken and fish. Hardly any vegetables. Fried or scrambled eggs
in the morning. It wouldn't be too bad if Mama Kitchen was a good cook. She
isn't. I cook better than her! She, like many locals, has no concept of what
is considered good tasting food. In fact, that is a problem here in the whole
of Nigeria --- a lack of standards. There is no consistency in almost everything.
One day spicy fish tastes good. The next day it tastes half cooked. The chicken
can be soft and the next day too hard to chew. The steps of a stairway aren't
all the same height. You better hold on to rusty guard rails or you will lose
your balance. The walls aren't straight. No one pays attention to time. They
come when they please.
Perhaps my favorite food
here is fried plantain bananas. I eat a ton of them. Even when they are inconsistently
cooked in unhealthy yellow palm oil, I think this is the reason I don't go to the "john"
that often. The banana plugs my digestive system.
The TV choices are so limited
you need to subscribe to DStv cable to get anything. The only news available
is CNN. In this campus we only get one station --- African soap opera mostly.
The script, the acting the stories --- they're all bad. All the actors over-act
with their whole body as if they were on a stage play. I only keep it on to give a semblance that I am not alone
in my little room. But apparently the locals love it. They spend most of their
time sitting down, perspiring in the shade, just staring in the distance. At
least, this is what the security guards do. Speaking of guards we have 2 kinds
of guards. One batch comes from a private company. The other are police who
are paid by the city. They rotate the people so there are new faces every now
and then. Above them are their "commanders" who position their people
in different spots of the campus night and day. Whenever we travel we have at
least one security guard and one police. All of them carry well worn armalites.
We cannot travel alone. In fact, we rarely travel outside the campus. In the
mornings, while everyone else is still asleep, I go outside the perimeter gates,
security follow me, and I engage with the local town folks. I make a small spectacle
all the time because of my skin color.
The first day, I brought
my art materials and asked a store vendor if I could draw her. She, the proud
old toothless woman that she was, demanded that I pay her to pose. I was dumbfounded.
She gave in a few seconds later. (At least she tried to get something out of
this gringo). It was almost school time and kids dressed in their blue and white
uniforms began to crowd around us. The guards had to shoo them away. So some
of them started to buy from the old woman. I think she got more business that
morning than any other mornings.
I wrote a song the first
night when I couldn't sleep. I call it the Trepmaker (Entrepreneur Maker) Song.
Here it is:
It's meant for you
It's meant for me
To create a job
Build a company
Refrain:
Na Na Na - Na Na Na --- Nigeria!
Na Na Na - Na Na Na --- Africa!
Na Na Na - Na Na Na --- Nigeria!
Nigeria, Africa!
If you're serious,
If you're curious
Set your vision free
Future family!
(Repeat Refrain with audience
participation)
You define the need
Then you plant the seed
Fertilize with passion
Endure all with action
(Repeat Refrain with audience
participation)
Build supportive teams
And then share your dreams
Work hard together
Be fair with each other
(Repeat Refrain with audience
participation)
To be the best
of what you can be
All you need
is creativity
Treat your clients with
integrity
Always give the best quality
(Repeat Refrain with audience
participation)
We can spread the love
Of our God above
Start a job invasion
And bless our nation
(Repeat Refrain with audience
participation)
(End with a bang!)
I introduced parts of the
song yesterday and the crowd loved it.
Sorry I can't attach any
pictures. My smart phone and my laptop don't communicate. I have to wait to
get home to transfer the images. And my internet connection is as weak as a
dial up of 20 years ago.
I need to go out and talk
to the guards soon ... to see how they are doing. I hope my favorites are there ---
Jumper (they call him that because he jumps out of parachutes --- he has killed
and tortured several people in battle), Ola (the commander who is my birth year
brother), God's Power, Clement, Steven, Tunde (the electrician), Moses (the
minister), Abraham, John, Kenny (the fashion designer), Jerome (the movie star).
I have spread my gospel
of entrepreneurship even among the guards and the drivers. Stepehen and Clement
are making kites out of bamboo, I've partnered up Jumper and Kenny who are going
to sell clothing. Ola has plans for bamboo furniture. Ade, our driver, is going
for wooden floor tiles.
I love to go out at dawn
and watch the familiar sun welcome this far-flung land to a new day.
The steadfast love of
the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every
morning; great is your faithfulness.
-- Lamentations 3:22
TGIF people!
Comments
Anonymous
Tue, 01/02/2018 - 20:42
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You could write a book
Greetings Raoul: Great article this week, so glad you’re safe and sound even if you’re sweating like a Nigerian. I think you could write a book about your experience. May God continue to cover and protect you in the last few days of your trip and bring you home safely. We look forward to seeing you!
Vanessa
Anonymous
Tue, 01/02/2018 - 20:43
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Great Stories
Raoul: Many thanks for your updates….even though you are facing many challenges, I have regrets for not being with you… travel safe and I look forward to great stories upon your return…..Cheers!
Drexel
Anonymous
Tue, 01/02/2018 - 20:43
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Wonderful
Wonderful!!!
So glad things are well!
Ed