"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"

I can't stand this indecision, Married with a lack of vision, Everybody wants to rule the world..

Today marks the beginning of our fourth and final "lock-down" weekend due to the National Election taking place in Nigeria this month. To be fair, we skipped out on two of them and took the kids to South Africa for the Easter break but nonetheless, it's about to get Real Quiet.

I'm not sure I can define how completely bizarre and stressful the past 6 months have been for us. First Ebola, now the Election. We used to call Enron Corp "the Evil E" after the Hell we all went through for them, but clearly that title has been usurped. 

The first weekend was an unforeseen lock-down following the announcement that the Presidential Election, originally scheduled for February was being postponed by.. wait for it..  6 (six!) weeks. Cue flashbacks to the Ebola-driven school delays totaling 7 weeks here. Our Company's security department was concerned there would be backlash following the announcement and we were "asked" to stay inside the boundaries of our compound.  At the time, the election drama plus the constant threat of Boko Haram had really added to the tension so everyone agreed it was the right call.

Being under "Lock-Down" essentially means there is no driving to or from the office, school or basically any movement outside of our residences. A lot of people think we live on some kind of "camp" or golf resort with stores and clubs within the walls of the property but that is not the case. Our compound consists of four major apartment blocks, a gym, a pool area, and a building where much of the staff lives called the DQ (Domestic Quarters). It is similar in size to many apartment communities in Houston - just with armed guards outside. It is clearly not a hardship when compared to how most Nigerians live - I know this. I remind myself of this - constantly. However, when you are already living in a restricted environment it feels a bit unfair to be sequestered in your own home. You also find yourself engaged in "hurricane level" shopping in a grocery store the size of a CVS with every other expat in Nigeria. Milk, water, cooking gas, staples like pasta, cereal, canned goods, ahem ALCOHOL.. these are things that can be hard to come by under normal circumstances let alone when there is a national panic. Not. Very. Calming. 

The second Lock-Down period was for the Gubernatorial (yes, that's a word) Election, which was for the governor - not as contentious but still, another weekend under lock-down.  The third Lock-Down was for the actual Presidential Election and the fourth was a placeholder for the run-off in case the vote was too close to call (read: all Hell breaks loose and there is a military coup. lovely).

And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Surely, you can go somewhere.. down the street or to a friend's house?". But No. On the actual voting days, only Nigerian citizens with voting rights (and the paperwork to prove it!) can be on the road during voting hours. Some say it's a security measure - to keep protests from escalating and to keep non-Nigerians with ulterior motives from voting illegally. Most believe it is a way of deterring poor people with no access to transportation from voting. I am not sure what to believe. I just know that it would be far more interesting to be out in the street watching Nigerians practice their democratic right, even change their fate than to be stuck under lock-down watching from our golden perch.

I feel this is one of those overseas experiences that no one can really prepare you for - not that you will be under lock-down for 4 weeks straight but that you can't even experience major changes within the culture that you're visiting.

I guess all you can do is try to talk to the people around you, ask their opinion and engage them in conversation about what's happening in their country (theirs.. not yours). I mean, hell, what else are you going to do under lock-down?