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Three days after the citizens of Nigeria went to the polls to cast their votes for the next president, results are still filtering into the Independent National Election Commission (INEC). Results have been slower than expected because the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV) failed or was not used to record votes. BVAS and IReV were created to enhance the transparency of election results and instill… Read More
Voters in Africa’s most populous country go to the polls today to elect its next president and decide the political party makeup of its National Assembly. Over 93 million Nigerians are registered to vote. More than a third of those registered voters are youth between 19 and 34. There are 18 candidates in the race, but only four have the notoriety and money to compete for president. The four are Bola Tinubu… Read More
I wrote this blog a few months ago and never posted it. I wrote it after traveling to Nigeria in August 2022. https://fredayinafrica.com/2022/09/24/my-return-to-nigeria/. I was excited to return to Nigeria, two and half years after we departed for South Africa. But I am not sure what I expected when I landed in Abuja. Reading newspaper articles outside of Nigeria painted a picture of a country where passengers on trains were being kidnapped… Read More
Sheila and I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and affection as we have prepared to depart Nigeria. It feels like Nigeria doesn’t want to let us go (there might be some truth to this). Since announcing that we would be leaving Nigeria, Sheila and I have participated in ten going away events (send-forth as Nigerians call them). Yes, TEN! Between events sponsored by my work or church or a combination,… Read More
The cat is out of the bag! A very American colloquialism for the facts have been revealed. It is true, Sheila and I are leaving Nigeria. Each time I say that I have to take a break and let it sink in. After five and a half years, Sheila and I are heading out of Nigeria to a new exciting destination. I don’t even know where to start to express my sadness… Read More
Earlier this year, Sheila and I planned a hiking/camping trip to Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Finland) to celebrate my 40th birthday. We were going to drive to the northern reaches of the area and hopefully experience the midnight sun. Instead, I found myself in a doctor’s office checking my vital signs and ensuring everything was in tip-top shape. Welcome to mid-life! I can report that I am in good health (for a 40 year… Read More
I always like to tell people that when I arrived in Abuja, I was only supposed to be here for nine months. I was sent to Nigeria to fill a crucial vacancy in our Nigeria office as the country prepared for the 2015 General Elections. 1,825 days later, I am still in Nigeria and I have grown a lot (including the few pounds added to my waist line). When I woke up… Read More
Living in Nigeria, I have seen some crazy things, especially they way people drive on Nigerian roads. It is quite common to see drivers going against traffic on the freeway because they don’t want to be inconvenienced and drive to the next off ramp. I have also been stuck in several traffic jams caused by herders who are moving their cattle from one location to the next through the streets of Abuja…A… Read More
In April, Sheila and I traveled to the United States for Easter. We were on a mission! Our first goal was to visit the most magical place on earth…and after some close flights, we arrived in Orlando where we had a personal visit with the top mouse himself, Mickey. (Our connections were tight because the U.S. Customs & Border protection agents had some additional questions for my wife. I thought I was… Read More
I have lived in Abuja for over three years and I can tell you that there is not much to do in terms of tourist attractions. If you google Abuja, you will run across the Nigerian National Mosque and the Nigerian National Christian Centre or maybe even see a photo of the famous rocks in Abuja, Aso Rock and Zuma Rock. The National Mosque was built in 1984 and the Christians in… Read More
A FREDAY in AFRICA! 