Back from Lagos

Time is moving on in its relentless fashion. Four weeks have passed since I left Autumnal Ireland for African soil. On Friday last, I visited Lagos. It’s a place like no other. Lagos and Abuja stand as testimony to the great contradictions and diversity of Nigeria. Lagos is loud, energetic, dynamic and more than a little wild; Abuja a calmer, safer, more prosperous but somewhat soulless city. How to bring some order to Lagos and life to Abuja, quite a challenge? Answers on a postcard please.

When you think of Africa what springs to mind? As I meet new people here in Nigeria, it is quite usual to be asked how long I have been in the country, what are my impressions, and have I been in Africa before?. As often as not, when I recount my experiences of South Africa (a magical country), you will be met with the retort that South Africa is not really Africa, it’s too developed or such like.

South Africa is as much African as any other country. It has a great diversity of people, boundless potential but enormous challenges to meet the needs of its people. As a country it can be a model for the rest of Africa it has good infrastructure (roads and telecoms), a growing economy (albeit without corresponding job creation) and a deepening democracy. Though, there is no escaping the enormity of challenges that face South Africa, reducing poverty and decreasing the yawning gaps of economic disparity in the country.

I can appreciate what people mean when they say such like about South Africa but really what do people envisage for the future of this continent. Will Africa remain forever in peoples’ minds a place of poverty, famine, war and other such ills? Maybe the future will mirror the present? What about my new home, Nigeria? Will it remain a great place to live if one is lucky enough to find a job or hold onto some levers of power or lines of patronage? Money though is not a prerequisite for happiness, for a new study of more than 65 countries published in the UK's New Scientist magazine suggests that the happiest people in the world live in Nigeria. Cash rich, time poor Christmas shoppers of Ireland take note.

In the future, can Africa combines its diverse cultures and people, unforgettable sights and sounds with responsive government who work with and for the people? Will Africa emerge as a place where people are not forced to leave their country or rural areas because of poverty? The future is unknown; we are forever restricted by bounded rationality, for few Irish people in the 1980s could have foreseen the New Ireland of the Millennium.