| Around
Abuja
ABUJA WILL find out one day no doubt, that there is a CHOGM
on. When?
Some companies that do business in Lagos and beyond have
put up billboards in town saying something about CHOGM, and
of course themselves. So that’s about half a dozen interested
managers. Which leaves Abuja almost entirely out.
And if the government is excited about CHOGM, it’s
not showing. A measure of this excitement can’t be just
a certain billboard population. But there is very little indication
on the streets this way or another that anyone cares. Abuja
is not hosting CHOGM, it is only a location where some meetings
will happen in a few buildings over a few days.
Given its stage of development, and the pervasive lack of
it, Abuja is a challenge to the Commonwealth. An Abuja that
doesn’t care says the Commonwealth is not touching the
lives of those it needs to.
And what of the people’s forum? Abuja seems to know
of that even less.
This is just Abuja. That still leaves another two billion
people or so.
. . .
LEADERS OF governments, of business, of
civil society will all talk this week at length on corruption,
how it saps the economy, hurts the people, weakens governments
and what not. And they will all be right.
Tried changing money in Abuja? Then you probably know that
little square with all the shops. A good rate here, and good
service. You don’t have to enter the shops, the money
is brought to the waiting cars.
That there are so many shops is also reassuring in a sense,
it means the spirit of competition is strong in this ‘other’
market. So the rate people get is close to the ‘real’
market rate.
It’s not that different outside this market. The hotels
where so many Commonwealth visitors are staying offer to change
money, and do not always offer receipts. We will talk corruption
this week after emptying several bottles of clean drinking
water bought with unclean money.
. . .
‘NINE-ELEVEN’ is of course a
milestone in the history books of the future. But there is
one corner of Abuja that was never affected by it. At least
it remained unaffected in a rather unique manner.
The 9-11 restaurant got its name long before that event of
2001. “My reason for this name was very simple,”
says restaurant owner Nawab, who migrated to Nigeria from
India to offer a touch of old Mughal dishes with a touch of
more West African flavours. “My restaurant opens from
nine in the morning to 11 at night, so I called it 9-11.”
And did he think of changing the name two years ago? “Why
should I? My opening hours haven’t changed.”
Fine. Except that there is a discomforting touch of anger
in a disregard for that date. How much remains not common.
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