My name is in Hansard

If you read my blog back in September you will remember that I helped to host Jo Swinson MP, who came to Nigeria for a week as a VSO volunteer, VSO have a scheme enabling MPs to volunteer for a short time. Jo came to support ICEED to advocate for a National Climate Change Commission Bill. The bill has now been accepted by both Houses; in this case the House of Representatives and the House of Senates, and is waiting for the signature of President Goodluck Jonathan, which hopefully will occur in advance of the forthcoming General Election. 

On 24th November, the Overseas Voluntary Sector was discussed in the House of Commons, and you can follow the debate on Hansard or They Work for You, or read the whole day’s proceedings which is quite fascinating, I didn’t know for example that they open in prayer and that they really write down AYES and NOES, and list all those who voted each way. And my name is mentioned on page 102!

Jo (left) wearing the dress made by Chisoba (right)

If you look at the links, I recommend the They Work for You link, you will see that Jo has really tried to tell the story of her time in Nigeria, not just the big things she did, lobbying State Government and so on, but the story of Chisoba, my tailor who made her a dress and Dickson, the ICEED driver. Jo didn't tell Chisoba that she was an MP, as she didn’t want to intimidate her, but next time I go to see Chisoba I will take a print out of p102 from this Hansard document and show her that she has been mentioned in the House of Commons.

A bus and a plane – order and chaos!

Last week I went to Ibadan, reputedly one of the biggest cities in West Africa, I travelled there to have a look at an organisation called NEST and to get a feel for the city, as I have been offered a new VSO placement at NEST, from February 2011. If cities can be opposites then Abuja and Ibadan are opposites, Abuja quiet, empty, organised, rich, dry – Ibadan, noisy, crowded, chaotic, lively, vibrant, poor wet. I liked Ibadan by the way. Anyway this blog post is really about transport, as for the first time in Nigeria, I travelled by bus and by plane.

 The bus – air conditioned, lots of leg room, a toilet on board, a proper break for food and toilet stop, a bottle of water and a meal on board. I went to the bus office the day before to get my ticket, and when I arrived to travel there was orderly queue to tag my luggage and then get on the bus. We were searched before getting on the bus, and when the bus stopped for a break, the doors were locked, and before re-boarding we had to be searched again and present our tickets. The bus was quite slow, the journey took 10 hours, however it was comfortable and unlike most public transport I wasn’t expecting to die at any time, I relaxed, slept, listened to music, read my book and looked out of the window.

View from the window - bikes queuing for fuel

The River Niger or the River Benue - not sure which!

The plane was another story. I travelled with fellow volunteers Brent and Ellen to Lagos airport, it was a Sunday and there are no flights from Ibadan on Sundays, we travelled in luxury being picked up from the house and driven straight to the airport. At the airport we had to push and shove to buy a ticket, while in the queue someone put a business card “office of the President” on the counter next to the guy selling tickets, then push and shove to check in our luggage, while some people tried to jump the queue and others somehow managed to get their luggage checked in without queuing. Once the luggage was checked in we were back to civilisation waiting to board, before completing a pleasant flight back to Abuja.

For those of you who complain there aren't enough photos of me!

If you want to know the cost by the way, the bus was Naira 4,700 and the plane Naira 22,000, and being a cash economy I paid, with 44 Naira 500 notes. The biggest denomination here is Naira 1000, around £4.