Abuja...

ABUJA...in recent times!

I've been meaning to make a post on this, but since I started out commenting in reference to Chxta's recent post, partly talking about "Abuja", I feel it'd be good finishing it.

YES: Electricity really is bad. An office in Zone 3 has been operating with generator power, 24/7, for the past 1month. Go figure! They use a prepaid PHCN meter and yet they've been disconnected 'cos d owner of the building has some 'scores' to settle with PHCN

YES: MOST of the parks (green areas) are looking more bushy now. I won't take chances having a monitor lizard creep under my denim in the name of having some fresh air.

YES: Some places are beginning to record more okada activity than others. While some are legitimate motorbike owners, who use them for commuting, it's not surprising to see some who disguisedly pick people, just to get some fuel money. When u accost them, he says he knows his passenger and he's just helping him to his destination.

Make I no lie, I don do am one of those days wey money finish for my hand for Garki. I needed to get to Berger and god send one guy like dat. I whistle, d guy pull over, I tell am wetin dey, he say no wahala...I enter, end of story

YES: Water scarce no be small. Water board keeps having some bad reservoir being treated. SEE: Electricity. Some things can't work without power.

YES: The STREET AND TRAFFIC LIGHTS on Ahmadu Bello way (from Banex Junction to Apo side, imagine the distance) ARE NOT WORKING. I was on that road Tuesday night, so this is no secondhand tale. Not to talk of countless others within Wuse II, Maitama etc. It's not odd to see "Yellow Fever" abi na MotoPol dem de call them now, manning major traffic intersections, directing traffic and attending to accident scenes, like paramedics

YES: More on the traffic situation the Motor Police (MotoPol), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) are everywhere molesting car owners & car users. You find them at about every nook and cranny, usually by heavy traffic junctions, lying like predators in wait of their prey. And is it only me or are all the traffic lights in Abuja suddenly gone bad? Or is it the no-power situation that has caused this to be so?

- Instead of ensuring smooth flow of traffic when the traffic lights aren't working, some times, they just sit at the corners waiting for motorists to break traffic rules, and then they jump out to flag the driver off the road. They quote some 'laws', then they fine u or impound your vehicle. You are expected to go to their office to claim your car. Unless u do an on-the-spot "settling".

- Some times, when the traffic lights are bad (which now appears to be almost every time, safe for a few places), they wouldn't control traffic. But when there's a bang from two vehicles colliding. Out they come and then you hear the 'laws' being invoked again and the next thing, yeah, your car gets impounded and you are expected to go to their office to claim your car. Unless u do an on-the-spot "settling"

- The FRSC & VIO would readily nail you as they keep an eye on safety belt use, for both front sitters (driver and frontseat passenger). Once you don't have the belts in place, you're pwnd. Other reasons to get in trouble with these two groups: broken/cracked headlamps & windshield, lack of fire extinguishers (on extreme cases, an axe) and some other 'vague' things I can't remember now. Consistent drivers would know better...

On safety belts: Just this afternoon, I was absent-minded as I stepped in to the cab and got on the way to Garki. I forgot to secure the belt and buried my face in the reading material I had on me. Just by the Hilton, the driver was doing this Simon Templar move when suddenly the car swerved twice, sharply. Before I could say "snickers bar", I had to stop myself from lounging headlong into the windshield. If I had my belt strapped over my shoulder, the jerk wouldn't have been that bad.

So see, it's good to wear your belts...never forget to do that, first things first, as you are about to move the car.

...All in all, the skies here are still blue, the sun is shining and burning brightly, the beer's still cold and the peppersoup and suya still burn sharply in the mouth.

Have a lovely weekend all.