Travelling to Nigeria

I was rescued on the way to Abuja by a very nice lady I met on the plane – and I didn’t even know I needed rescuing!

Mrs S is the Head of Chamber in the National Assembly and had been to the UK to learn about British parliamentary procedure (like we are any kind of good example!) She was concerned about my welfare and took me under her wing when we arrived at the airport ... organising porters, whisking me through baggage collection and passport checks. This was fortuitous as the promised driver failed to arrive so Mrs S’s driver shoved her 3 big suitcases, my 2 and assorted hand luggage into her official car. Then she brought me to my hotel, interrogated the night clerk (we arrived at 4.30am) – who denied having a reservation for me – and inspected the room before declaring it fit for my use. She exchanged my dollars for naira and even sent her driver back the next morning with a mobile SIM card and airtime – extracting a promise from me to call her if I had time to visit the National Assembly this week! What a kind and hospitable person!

The hotel is fine – circa 1960s, the AC rattles like a drum and most of it is clean! I’ve been to the gym and in the pool in an effort to stay awake – my body is still 8 hours behind me so it’s hard not to sleep and I didn’t get much rest on the plane. Just how many small children is it possible to get in business class??
The other fascinating thing about the flight was the size and number of pieces of hand luggage brought on by most passengers. Nearly everyone had 3 large carry-on cases and some had all kinds of big bags and packages! It took the cabin crew some time to stow it all before we could take off.

I asked Mrs S about it and she said “We Nigerians like to shop and shop and shop!”