Scenes in Lagos

 Several years ago I had a short assignment in Lagos, Nigeria. I was part of a larger staff that were all housed in a hotel and commuted to the office on a bus with an armed security escort. One day as we were returning to the hotel we saw a guy that appeared to be asleep on the side of the road. We thought nothing of it. The next day, he was still there but he had been stripped of his clothes. He was obviously dead. On the third day, he was gone. We were told that when someone dies, they are quickly relieved of their clothing. Such is the condition of people living in third world countries where the leaders hoard all the oil revenues. 

The route of our bus took us under an overpass for the main highway. Hanging from the railing was a human skull and a sign proclaiming death to Muslims. 

People living in Lagos will do anything to earn a little money. Some build a small fire and roast bush meat on a flat steel plate. Some convert automobile air conditioning compressors to use to inflate flat tires. And, of course, crime is rampant which is why we had armed escorts. My concern about the escorts were: Would they be willing to shoot their countrymen to protect me, and would they be accurate enough not to hit me?

Nigeria is not a place I can recommend.

New Nigerian Scam

My wife and I have a house that we rent. It was recently on the market through our agent, a reputable national real estate firm, who manages it for us. We went there the other day to do a little clean up work in the yard to enhance its curb appeal. Within 15 minutes we had two cars stop and inquire about the house. It turns out that they saw a Craig's List ad for the house and the rent asked was about half of the going rate. When you open the ad there was a long story by the "owners" about how they built the house and were now overseas. All you had to do was to send a money order for one months rent to Nigeria and they would send you the keys.

Folks, come on! Send money to Nigeria?

After talking to one woman, she called her husband to tell him it was a scam. When she called, he was on the other line with the scammers who were trying to convince him that the deal was real. He refused to believe her and still wanted to send the money!

It amazes me that people still believe these Nigerian scams.

Commutes

I was driving to the office the other morning when I realized that my daily commute was rather unique. I cross the Mississippi River on the Crescent City Connection,the 5th most travelled travelled bridge in the country. After I park, I have a short walk to the New Orleans Street Car, the oldest public transportation system in the country and a national historical landmark. That got me to thinking about other commutes I have taken.

I once had a temporary assignment that caused me take the ferry across the Mississippi River just south of English Turn. I would usually be on the ferry right at sunrise. With the city obscured by the bend in the river, all you could see of the opposite shore was trees. It was easy to imagine how the area might have looked to Bienville.

In London, I would catch the tube from Paddington Station to Kensington High Street. I would then transfer to a bus to complete my trip to Hammersmith. The best part was the return trip where my bus leg was usually on one of the historic Routemasters. There was something magical about riding that old bus during the Christmas season when London has its street light displays in evidence.

In Hiroshima, my main transportation was a motorcycle. I would drive a route that had me taking a left turn off the famous T bridge aiming point, travelling past the A Bomb Dome and Peace Park and on to Mitsubishi's shipyard.

In Lagos, we would all board a company bus. A chase car with armed guards would follow us. We would make a short drive to a boat dock where we caught a boat for a run down the river to Snake Island, where we were renting office space. The river was the safest route as you could avoid any hijackings that occur on the roads. Sights along the way might include the odd dead body.

In Dubai, my commute took me on the Sheik Zayed Road and past such landmarks as Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope, and Burj Al Arab, the only 7 star hotel in the world and Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. But the traffic was the fastest and most dangerous I have driven in.

In Paris, I would catch the RER from the stop near the Eiffel Tower and ride it to Versailles. (Not the palace but across the river from it).

And occasionally I would have to commute by helicopter to an offshore platform.

Offshore Attack on Nigerian Oil Field

In a dangerous escalation of their activities, Nigerian militants attacked Royal Dutch Shell's Bonga FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) vessel offshore Nigeria yesterday. Bonga is 75 miles offshore and is capable of producing 225,000 BOPD, or about 10% of Nigeria's production. While there has been militant activity for years in the Niger Delta region, this is the first time a major offshore oil facility has been attacked. Bonga is capable of offloading oil directly to tankers thereby eliminating any need to go into dangerous ports. It was thought that this type of development would be protected from attack by virtue of its distance from shore. Although several people were injured, the militants failed to gain access to the control room. They then kidnapped an American captain of a supply vessel on their return to shore.

Nigeria is a major oil supplier to the US. No matter what the Dimmocrats think, the price of oil will not decrease as long as stuff like this is going on. Not only do we need to start developing our own energy sources, but we will need to protect our interests in producing fields around the world.

PE spent some time in Lagos several years ago helping to set up the Bonga operations offices for Shell. I also went to Port Harcourt to check on facilities there. Everywhere you look, there were young men hanging out with nothing to do. Just the sort of guys that will follow anyone who will give them an AK and a meal. Folks, expect trouble from here soon.