Alumni

It was just after dusk when the British Airways 747 landed, and all I could think about were the numerous websites painting a very gruesome picture of this part of Africa. There were discussions of how filthy Lagos, Nigeria was. Locals did not care, and it wasn’t unusual or considered wrong to see people urinating or worse on the side of the street. Traffic was a serious problem for the city of near 14 million people as most traffic lights, signs, and even flows were merely a “suggestion”, there were no laws or standards on the quality of vehicles and even several of the paved roads may have been smoother if they were still dirt. Most vehicles would not be allowed on the roads in Western countries. And there was even an article stating that counting bodies floating down the creek was “ordinary”.

What was I getting myself AND my family into? I had taken this assignment “site unseen”, as I did not get the customary pre-visit with my South African wife, Heidi. When she arrived a month later, even Heidi had to admit this was not the Africa that she knew.

After leaving the poorly maintained and technically-challenged airport, one could easily see the electrical infrastructure here was in serious disrepair. Most street lights did not work, making it a little frightening to see people dash across dark thoroughfares in front of speeding vehicles cruising. (My wife routinely took a book in the van in order not to have to watch what our driver was doing to get us from point A to point B.) Most power lines had additional shoddy, homemade connections from electricity being “high-jacked”. There was an average of 4-6 power outages per day, some lasting as long as a couple of hours. Most businesses and compounds had standby diesel generators, as long as there was diesel available.

How does one really explain the daily life there? Basic “freedoms” were not available as most people know them in the States, and ironically, everything was expensive! Most expatriates lived in some sort of compound; so your social scene meant traveling from one compound to the next. Just walking down the street was not recommended, or even to just stroll from one shop to the next. Your driver always picked you up at the exit.

Rent for our 3-bedroom flat was $43,000 per year, plus a $10,000 per year maintenance fee.
A head of iceberg lettuce, when available, was about $20.
A half gallon of Blue Bunny ice cream was about $30.
All Nigerian meat was tough, and imports from South Africa were great and expensive, … if available.
Heidi would routinely bargain for fruits and vegetables at one of the local markets.

Restaurants were abundant and usually good, and usually ranged from about $60 per person upward.
Schools cost about $8,000 to $12,000 per year, depending upon which system your child followed; American or British.

Our children, Cameron and Tristan (now 5 and 3 years old), never had any problems. They had their toys and books, their friends, and Mom and Dad, … so life was just fine for them!

I was the Operations and Procurement Manager at a gas turbine power plant on the Lagos Lagoon. We usually took a 35-minute boat to work for security and convenience. To drive to the plant would take 75 minutes, … and between 2-4 hours to get home due to traveling through three huge markets where people just flooded the streets. The generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity by the government agencies were inadequate due to poor maintenance practices and lack of facilities, parts, services, and training. During my residency, there was an average output of about 3,000 MW for the entire country. In the U.S., that would supply enough power for about 3 million people; Lagos is a city of 14 million, and Nigeria’s estimated population is 130 million. There was a constant challenge on every front inside the fence line and out; personnel problems, customs and immigration issues, political matters; customer payment concerns; getting parts and services into the country, kick-backs and bribes (dashing), social responsibility, … and so much more. My challenge was to find a way to simply get my operators and personnel to understand that they had the ability within themselves and with the help of each other to strive for improvement. It was what they wanted, so I just helped provide the tools and motivation for their success.

We took this assignment mostly because we knew it would be challenging and give us new direction, plus there was the benefit of at least being on the same continent as Heidi’s family. We learned there were a lot of things that we really don’t “need” in life, and there were a ton of things that we take for granted. We “survived” our tour there with the support and love of family and friends, and through our faith and belief in the Lord. It was He that presented this opportunity to us, and provided us the resources to adapt and succeed.

If you would like to hear more, you can e-mail me at jloesche@juno.com. My family and I just moved to the Houston area with a new company, … that could result in another tour in Lagos in a year or so! If that is the case, … no worries (no wahala).