'Welcome to Nigeria!'
Door: Sanne Holtslag
25 Juni 2013 | Nigeria, Abuja
‘Hello! Hello sweety!! You’re so beautiful; give me your phone number!’ As I keep on walking towards my new office I look to the side, straight into two dark, anticipating eyes, belonging to a young man who is now pacing up with me. ‘No, thanks.’ ‘My sweety, my love, I like you, I want to marry you! Now give me your phone number.’ I keep on walking . ‘Nope.’ ‘Ok, ok, I just want to talk to you, give me one minute. One minute, we talk!’ ‘No. I wish you a good day though.’ That does the trick. He slows his pace, lacking behind. One more try: ‘Just talk, one minute! Baby!’ I can’t help but smile, about his persistence and optimism. Lack of confidence is certainly not a good phrase to describe Nigerian men. Thirty minutes and two more wedding proposals later I reach the office. I am greeted by our guard, who opens the gate for me with a big smile ‘Good morning Miss Sanne, how are you?’ It makes me feel like I just came home.
And that is exactly what Nigeria will be for me for the next 12 months: home. My last blog still came from Cambodia, where I worked for VSO (www.vso.nl) carrying out an evaluation on their global programme ‘Making Markets Work for the Poor’. It has been a great experience, both living in Cambodia as well as working in this particular project. So when I finished my work in May, I discussed with VSO the possibilities to keep on working in the same programme. And so, after a couple of weeks in the Netherlands, I am now in Nigeria! I arrived one week ago, and work for VSO Nigeria. My official position is ‘Agro Business Advisor’, but what I will actually be doing in practice will only become clear in the next weeks. I will keep you all posted…!
To everyone I (briefly) met again in the Netherlands: thank you so much for giving me such a great time , being really home again. To everyone I wasn’t able to see in the short time when I was back: I’m sorry to have missed you. Please know that my Nigerian door is always wide open, in case anyone wants to come and visit!
At least, figuratively speaking. Because currently, Nigeria is not the safest of countries. A quick Google-search will tell you about; the State of Emergency that was declared by the government about four weeks ago in the Northern (Islamic) part of the country where they are fighting the fundamentalist organization Boko Haram; kidnappings of foreigners in the Southern part around the Niger Delta; and general insecurity and high crime because two-thirds of the population live below the extreme poverty-line. However, what the media doesn’t show is that the vast majority of the more than 170 million Nigerians is extremely welcoming. They will do whatever it takes to make sure you are comfortable and you feel welcome. Even though some men are exaggerating this a little bit (see above…). Also, Nigeria is BIG. Think in distances from Amsterdam to the North of Italy. It is almost impossible to make general statements about this huge country with more than hundred different ethnic groups. Luckily, VSO Nigeria is very serious about the safety of their staff and I will be working only in States that are declared safe enough by them. So, unfortunately it is not as safe as Cambodia, but as the Security Manager said to me last week during a briefing: ‘Just use your common sense, like everywhere in the world. That will keep you safe, also here in Nigeria.’
Thank you to everyone who made it to the end of this blog . Thank you for travelling with me around the world. Seeing your responses and knowing that you are reading my stories is more valuable than you can imagine. Nagode sose (‘thank you very much’ in Hausa).
And that is exactly what Nigeria will be for me for the next 12 months: home. My last blog still came from Cambodia, where I worked for VSO (www.vso.nl) carrying out an evaluation on their global programme ‘Making Markets Work for the Poor’. It has been a great experience, both living in Cambodia as well as working in this particular project. So when I finished my work in May, I discussed with VSO the possibilities to keep on working in the same programme. And so, after a couple of weeks in the Netherlands, I am now in Nigeria! I arrived one week ago, and work for VSO Nigeria. My official position is ‘Agro Business Advisor’, but what I will actually be doing in practice will only become clear in the next weeks. I will keep you all posted…!
To everyone I (briefly) met again in the Netherlands: thank you so much for giving me such a great time , being really home again. To everyone I wasn’t able to see in the short time when I was back: I’m sorry to have missed you. Please know that my Nigerian door is always wide open, in case anyone wants to come and visit!
At least, figuratively speaking. Because currently, Nigeria is not the safest of countries. A quick Google-search will tell you about; the State of Emergency that was declared by the government about four weeks ago in the Northern (Islamic) part of the country where they are fighting the fundamentalist organization Boko Haram; kidnappings of foreigners in the Southern part around the Niger Delta; and general insecurity and high crime because two-thirds of the population live below the extreme poverty-line. However, what the media doesn’t show is that the vast majority of the more than 170 million Nigerians is extremely welcoming. They will do whatever it takes to make sure you are comfortable and you feel welcome. Even though some men are exaggerating this a little bit (see above…). Also, Nigeria is BIG. Think in distances from Amsterdam to the North of Italy. It is almost impossible to make general statements about this huge country with more than hundred different ethnic groups. Luckily, VSO Nigeria is very serious about the safety of their staff and I will be working only in States that are declared safe enough by them. So, unfortunately it is not as safe as Cambodia, but as the Security Manager said to me last week during a briefing: ‘Just use your common sense, like everywhere in the world. That will keep you safe, also here in Nigeria.’
Thank you to everyone who made it to the end of this blog . Thank you for travelling with me around the world. Seeing your responses and knowing that you are reading my stories is more valuable than you can imagine. Nagode sose (‘thank you very much’ in Hausa).
-
25 Juni 2013 - 16:01
Sandra De Boer:
U made me smile, I hope u are not followed to your house every day by
men :P I wish u the best of luck there, and know u will feel at home soon!
xoxo Sandra -
25 Juni 2013 - 18:55
Hanneke:
Aint no sunshine when your gone.... i juist hear on the radio.... make me think of you hahahah
Any way nice to here you are on a mission again. Maby you never know i visit you!
Als ik t durf held op sokken die ik ben!!
Tot snel kus -
25 Juni 2013 - 21:19
Marianne:
Hi Sanne,
Wat enorm fijn dat je weer voor VSO aan de slag kon, zo snel! Jammer dat we elkaar niet gezien hebben en dat we je moeten missen bij onze vergaderingen. Een hele goede tijd daar!
Warme groet,
Marianne -
25 Juni 2013 - 22:59
Marlise:
Lieve Sanne,
Groetjes van Loic en mij!
Marlise -
26 Juni 2013 - 08:51
Emma:
He lieve Sanne,
fijn dat ik je verhalen nu ook kan lezen! Geniet van de nieuwe avonturen daar.
X emma
-
26 Juni 2013 - 16:14
Hannah:
Ah, dus toch gewoon huwelijksaanzoeken ;) Abrazo -
26 Juni 2013 - 17:11
Ranjana:
Hoi Sanne,
Nieuwe avonturen!
Veel plezier.
Groetjes,
Ranjana -
27 Juni 2013 - 19:33
Lieke:
Sanne, lieve sanne in Nigeria.... Pas gewoon goed op jezelf okay? Use your common sense, ik wil je meer dan graag heel en gelukkig terug. Geniet daarnaast met al je andere senses van de wonderen die het land je te bieden heeft. Dat verdien je! Kus, Lieke -
30 Juni 2013 - 15:48
Hank :
Dear Sanne
Zo snel al weer op pad met je nieuwe uitdaging. Ik wens je een hele goede tijd in Nigeria. En verheug me om via jouw verhalen een stukje mee te reizen, en kenns te maken met een voor mij onbekend land. Take care. Liefs Hank -
30 Juni 2013 - 22:53
Lies Kortenhorst:
Ha die Sanne
We kijken weer uit naar je verhalen. Nu uit een land waar ze niet wakker liggen van een huwelijksaanzoek meer of minder. Het ga je goed de komende tijd op je nieuwe plek.
Geniet van de warmte.
lieve groet Lies en Johan -
03 Juli 2013 - 22:12
Ankie:
Oh yesssssss, lieve Sanne, dat is alweer smullen en meebeleven van je 1e impressies. Dank je wel!
Ik ben een trotse tante en hoop dat je een geweldig jaar gaat krijgen in Nigeria. Keep up the good spirit & stay safe!! Ja, gebruik je boerenverstand, hahahaha en alles komt vast goed.
Hier wil het maar niet zomeren, maar ach dat soort problemen is zo relatief ;-)
Ik verheug me op je komende blogs!
Dikke zoen,
Ankie
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