Anything Nice for Me?

I had just arrived in Nigeria after some of the craziest and most complicated airport travel I’ve ever experienced. It took us almost 48 hours to get from Virginia to Nigeria. Missed connections, full flights, staying overnight in Atlanta and then all flying separately into Lagos. I arrived a few hours after everyone else, and the first Nigerian I spoke to asked if I had “anything nice for her”. When I said no, she passed my passport to the next immigration official who also asked for something nice. The rest of the passengers filed by me as my passport kept being passed around and the hushed questions continued, slip me something nice, anything nice. Finally, after at least 10 minutes of insisting I didn’t have anything to give them, and they let me through.

Practically everything I heard leading up the the trip was that Nigeria was hard. It’s full of corruption, it’s overcrowded, the hotels aren’t nice, the food isn’t good, the traffic is awful, it’s hot, etc.

Aka Nigeria is going to be rough, so prepare yourself.

Sweet. Can’t wait.

After our frustrations with travel and my first interactions in the airport my outlook for the next 2 weeks began to dim. Prepare yourself.

But the people.

The Nigerian people are good people. They are strong and passionate and generous and kind. They are resourceful and resilient. Nigerians are wonderful hosts, and we were welcomed with open arms and treated to delicious meals wherever we went.

I was there to do a job, to film interviews and stand-ups for Turning Point International (thanks Holly, Erica, Muyiwa and Kenny for making the trip a great one!), but beyond that, I had the privilege of meeting and getting to know some great people, with some interesting names…

T-boy, Prosper, O, Sunny, Bidemi, Halima, Koolaide and many more.

It’s not the landscape, or the climate, or the food, or even the culture, it’s the people. Thanks, Nigeria, for that reminder, and for the goat brains.