We've had a wonderfully relaxing weekend - I can't remember the last time we had a Saturday/Sunday without a single commitment and it has been great to have had some time to re-charge the batteries. Last week was pretty full-on for me work-wise, although very rewarding; we ran a training workshop at the British Council for the research assistants on the gender/teacher education project I'm involved with. It has been 8 months since the 13 members of the research team all met in person, during which time the researchers have completed the first phase of the project despite incredibly challenging circumstances, including a suicide bombing on one of the College of Education campuses in Kano at which we were collecting data. Researcher safety continues to be an ongoing concern, but it was fantastic to be back together to reflect on the past few months and begin planning the next phase of the research.
Although my hacking cough has abated slightly, I'm still rather under the weather, which I used as an excuse to spend Saturday morning reading in bed - I'm taking NY resolution no. 3 extremely seriously - whilst Simon looked after the children. (I'm pretty sure that the severe eye-strain they will have incurred by watching 101 Dalmations three times before noon will be only temporary). There has also been significant progress on resolution no. 4 as I threw out 19 back issues of The Economist this morning. It felt very painful to do so - and not only because there are no recycling facilities here. I have had to reconcile myself to the fact that I may now never know precisely why China's suicide rate is plummeting, how Big Data could help stop Ebola or how the West lost Ukraine, or indeed be able to talk knowledgebly about the economics of airline seats, the Japanese luxury car-market or why the future of music is Swedish. But the spring cleaning is doing wonders for my morale and I'm feeling more on top of things than I have for months. I also caught up on three Omnibus editions of The Archers (still trying to fathom out why the producers are insisting in replacing almost every character by people who sound just like the previous actors but a bit posher (Tom, Kate, Pip) - although I must admit the less whiny Pip is a blessing) and Simon and I have resumed our Borgen-watching marathon.
This afternoon, we popped down to Millennium Park for a Sunday afternoon stroll. We'd not been to the park before as Sunday afternoons are often the time we take the children swimming at the Club, but this time of year is unusual in that it is cool enough to actually go for a walk without melting - and swimming is not a great option as the pool is coated in dust (as are our garden, the entire house, including inside the kitchen cupboards and the wardrobes, the car and my lungs). The Abuja tourist website states that 'a typical visit to the park at the weekend, most especially on Sunday, is thrilling'. Even by Abuja standards, it would be a bit of a stretch to describe our visit as 'thrilling', but it was indeed a lovely way to spend an hour or so. The park, inaugurated in 2004, is beautifully well-kept, and was full of families, dressed in their Sunday best, out for a stroll. Everyone we passed greeted us - paying special attention to the children ("Hello boy!' "Hello girl!", "You are welcome"). We only got asked to pose for one 'snap' (Simon was quite happy to do so), and the only minor encumbrance encountered was from the cheeky 8 year old boy who had been playing football with Alex who asked me to dash him 50 naira. Which of course I didn't. Although a variety of traders sold refreshments and snacks (including the ubiquitous suya) outside the park gates, there were very few hawkers inside the park itself, which made for a much more relaxing experience than I'd anticipated. A church family party was taking place in the park (with a full-sized teddy bear mascot organising proceedings), families sat picnicking on raffia mats, children played on the swings and climbing frames, others waited to have their faces painted, an amorous couple canoodled under one of the the hedges - in short, this was 'normal' life in Abuja.
It was rather strange to have had such a tranquil day, given the carnage that is taking place elsewhere in the country. The only reminder of the bloodshed and unrest in the north-east was the solitary 'Bring Back Our Girls' banner hanging opposite the entrance to Millennium Park, the back-drop to a couple of rows of empty plastic white chairs, presumably there to accommodate the handful of committed individuals who still rally every day near the Unity Fountain in support of the Chibok girls and their families.
I was musing yesterday afternoon how calm life feels in Abuja at present, which is somewhat contrary to expectation given that the election is only 5 weeks away. But then I opened our copy of the Saturday paper to be confronted with the following headlines: 'How Jalingo grandma was killed, mutilated' (hacked to death while working on her sorghum farm, her eyes gouged out); 'Dad allows man who raped daughter to wed her (the father of a 13-year-old girl gang-raped by four youths in Kano state apparently deciding the solution to the problem is to marry her off to one of her attackers, having 'advised him to become a more responsible person'); Shocking Tales of Baga Survivors, describing how women from Baga trekked over 150km to safety following the raid by Boko Haram insurgents that massacred an estimated 2000 people from the town. The Guardian reported that the District head, Baba Abba Hassan, said most victims in the Baga attack were children, women or elderly people who were not able to escape when insurgents forced their way into the town by firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. And this on the same day we hear news of a 10 year old girl acting as a suicide bomber, killing 19 people in the market in Maiduguri - the same market which was targeted twice by female bombers late last year. This will only increase the speculation that young women and girls are being recruited to become 'human bombs' by Boko Haram terrorists, the reason being that they are less likely to be searched than men. The gendered nature of so much of the violence taking place in Nigeria is striking - and not only that instigated by Boko Haram. Meanwhile, hundreds of young men have faced (and continue to face) court-martial, accused of negligence of military duty and cowardice for refusing to fight militants in the north-east, faced with a lack of weapons, leadership and morale. Despite the enormous budget allocated to the Nigerian army, army recruits report that salary payments are not made for months and equipment is severely deficient. 54 soldiers accused of mutiny were sentenced to death by firing squad on December 17th, and the Premium Times reported at the end of December that a further 118 are set to face court-martial charges shortly. Rather a depressing situation, all in all. Trying desperately how to end this post on a more positive note, but that feels pretty difficult given the scale of the challenges facing Nigeria at present. So instead I'm going to simply give thanks for the peaceful weekend we've had here in Abuja, and sign off to go and watch another episode of Borgen...
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