BONNY TOWN HALL- HELICOPTER AND PRIVATE JET

I still have so much to write about and it is time to go home already. I haven’t even told you about our trip to wild and crazy Lagos, the money changers right out of an episode of HBO’s “The Wire,” Nigerian names- like “Thank God,” “Promise” and Good Luck (the President of Nigeria’s first name, no lie), or our sobering trip to Badagery, the biggest slave port in Nigeria!

But first, I just had to write about today,our last day in Port Harcourt. The Governor insisted we accompany him to the town hall he was holding in Bony, an island within the Rivers States. You can only get there by helicopter or boat. So we took a helicopter!! Pammy, the Governor and 9 other folks in his entourage (there was a second helicopter with another 10 or so folks too) hopped on the helicopter and flew on down to Bonny. Pam and I just looked at each other and smiled. We’re cool like that.




I was able to see Port Harcourt from a different view; it looked very organized and more modern from the air. The helicopter ride also allowed us to see the Delta, with all its swamp-like land, tributaries and rivers that pour into the Atlantic. And, of course, you could also see the oil refineries.


Bony is a place where there are lots of oil companies and lovely homes for those who work there on one side of the island, and the Nigerian folks on the other side of the island, struggling in poverty in some areas and reaching toward progress in others.


When we got out of the helicopter, many folks (including lots of dudes with guns- major security) were waiting to greet us (well the Governor). It is really quite chaotic being in an entourage with lots of security cause you’ve got to move when the main man moves. It's generally a mob scene, so Pammy and I, in our traditional dresses, were running in and out of buildings on to buses most of the day, trying not to get left behind. A number of the governor's commissioners were with us and 3 or 4 of them are women, but most are men.


Men seem to run Nigeria-men are first; it is a male-centric society for sure. Although the men will say the women ultimately control their husbands. Women say Nigerian men don't appreciate Nigerian women and are unkind to them. However, the men in our party, really tried to look out for us, but my experience is that the average guy will just push you out of the way! Several times today, I had to say, "Excuse me sir," whenever one was about to push me out of the door. They usually responded by stepping back. Having said that, Nigerian men are fine dressers, tall and built. They look great in both western and traditional wear.And they mix western and traditional well. They walk and talk proudly. And they seem to like joking and laughing. In fact, the women like to laugh too. Also, many Nigerian women are "thick" as they say where I'm from and they definitely "GOT BACK" (if you know what i mean).





The Governor’s first stop in Bonny was a visit to the tribal ruler. Outside the building there were fantastic music and dancers with colorful customs resembling hippos. Inside it was much more formal and sedate; maybe there were 60 people or so. Pleasantries and gratitude for mutual support were exchanged and then we went off to the real party.







OMG! We got there and it was wild. There must have been 2000 people outside and inside screaming and welcoming the Governor. The place was packed with people of every age and gender (It looked like no one in Bonny went to work today), Chiefs from various areas in Bony, regally dressed were seated in the front rows of the audience. The governor sat on a large stage with his commissioners and various other political representatives from Bonny. A report was read regarding the status of government-sponsored projects in the area. At one point a project was reported as completed and a voice rose from the audience and said “LIE.!” There was wild clapping and shouting. The Governor took the mic and said something to the effect, “you let him lie, you will have a chance to say your truth.” More clapping, shouting,etc.

In some ways it was the typical town hall meeting with questions and answers and in another way, it was not. There was chanting here and there; a lot of call and response; lots of joking and lots of positive energy. There was also prayer to Jesus at the beginning and end of the session. Pammy says Nigerians seem to have a very different idea about what freedom of religion means.

Bonny is a place that needs lots of improvement on transportation, roads, boats, housing, schools, medical services, etc. It must be so upsetting to be located near money (oil) and not experience the benefit of it. People often say the money runs right out of the Delta. Some of the the community service projects that we reviewed for Pammy's program were in Bonny, so I knew a little about the area from that process. I thought the Governor was both responsive, frank and humorous with his answers. He asked for the people of Bonny to be blunt and if necessary, harsh with him. There were way too many people to have much of a dialogue, but he got through lots of questions.

Early in the meeting he read through his list of school building projects and demanded from the audience to know what things were in error on his report.
It was a great opportunity once again to be in the midst (just a fly on the wall really) of the Nigerian people doing what they do in the various aspects of their lives and learning more about the intense set of problems they are trying to overcome. The people there seemed engaged, hopeful and determined. The Governor was presented with a huge fresh fish for him to take home for his family to cook and enjoy.

After the meeting we ran as a mob to the bus again, ate some really hot(spicy) food that had been prepared for the governor and his folks, ran as a mob back to the bus, got back on the helicopter and came back to Port Harcourt.



The governor had promised us that he would get us back to town in time for us to take our flight to Abuja, but of course that did not happen. He also told us that if that didn’t work we could fly with him to Lagos and we could fly on to Abuja on the private jet they had waiting. So away we went. We had more bags than people on this small plane (there were maybe 8 of us). The governor and his folks got off in Lagos and Pammy and I, the pilot, flight attendant and all our bags went on to Abuja. (in fact, i wrote this entry on board) Boy, what a way to spend one’s last day!!

Flying home COACH on a commercial flight tomorrow,
Peace,
V.