I am staying in a hotel that’s probably the most expensive I’ve ever been to and it still feels more like just a normal European hotel. But at least the bed is as wide as it is long, and I have a balcony to the sea. The embassy actually would have paid for a bit cheaper room with a view of the city, but I convinced the receptionist to give me an upgrade due to the ministerial visit next week. Today, I also convinced the airport security to let me in to the “with an authorization badge only” area. Clearly the diplomatic environment is beneficial to negotiation skills!
So I’m in one of the largest cities in the world, Lagos. Flew in last night; my original flight was cancelled and the replacement one hour late, and when I arrived, my driver with the promised “Embassy of Finland” sign was nowhere to be seen. Luckily I had his number, and so I called and heard that he was expecting me tomorrow! While the car hiring company was busy checking the locations of their drivers and the Embassy staff in Abuja terrified, I decided to accept the hospitality of a Lebanese art gallery owner from Abuja that I’d made friends with while waiting for the delayed flight. I shared a taxi with him to meet with his friends in a nearby hotel. It was already so late that I changed the planned work program for a few drinks with a group of Lebanese who had been living years and years in Nigeria. I don’t know what’s with the Lebanese, but all of them seem to have very prosperous companies, and so I spent the evening hearing business stories ranging from the construction industry corruption to setting up of a furniture factory. At the end of the fun evening they kindly dropped me off at the hotel.
Today I spent driving around Lagos with my easy-going driver who I made to play all his favourite Nigerian songs to me. Checking all the details with all those actors involved with the next week’s ministerial visit was fun, but it felt quite a responsibility, too.
In the evening I went to the airport to pick up security police and someone else, and after waiting two hours in the tropical micro climate of the airport, I finally received the two grumpy visitors who had lost their luggage.
My day was so busy that I did not even have time to have lunch or dinner (fortunately the room service makes sandwiches 24h!). I need to come back to Lagos sometime during the spring, to see what the city is really like. But I already like it, despite most of the expats (again) advicing me otherwise.
