This is Calabar

Calabar is the capital of Cross River State and has an estimated population of 1.2 million residents. It is located in the extreme southeastern corner of Nigeria. The city has been named the cleanest city in Nigeria (though not totally rubbish free).


George (working for IBM Nigeria) showing us how to eat Anfang. I tried it today and it was delicious. Didn't finish the big chuncks of goat meat though (the waiters wouldn't let me order a plain vegetarian version).

By Calabar River:

Traditional Nigerian building built of clay and thatch. According to our guide these houses have stood here for over two hundred years...


Calabar was a major port in the transportation of African slaves. The Atlantic slave trade lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Most enslaved people were taken to North and South America to work as unpaid labour on plantations, mines, fields, or in houses to work as servants.

Wall of the slave museum inside the Marina resort:




Our tour guide wearing a national attire. Our team is also planning to get those outfits done for ourselves.


Today we had the security and medical briefings as well as some internal kick-off exercices organised by CDS. Tomorrow we will have a kick-off meeting with all our clients, the governor of Cross River State and the president of IBM Nigeria. Let the work begin!

Team building

IBM is partnering with an NGO called CDC Development Solutions (CDS). The role of CDS is to work with IBM to identify Corporate Service Corps assignment opportunities in the destination countries and provide in-country support for the Corporate Service Corps participants.

Last night Ann Oden, the CDS country representative for Nigeria, had invited us all to her house for a dinner. She had prepared a wonderful dinner for us with so many local specialities. Our client representatives and local partners were also invited. Me and Greg will be working with Mr. Odo Effiong who is a Special Advisor at the ICT Development Department, Government of Cross River State.

This morning we had our first "team building excercise" - myself, Greg, Lindsey and Hermann went running with Odo in the rain at 6:30 am. On a Sunday morning, can you believe it! We had to go so early because Odo would be going to church around 8 or 9 (all the Nigerians are very religious, north of the country is predominantly Muslim and the south is Christian) and according to him it's not good to run in the afternoon. I have to admit that the locals were looking a bit amazed by us.. But there wasn't that much traffic yet and despite the rain the weather wasn't too bad for running either. So maybe we'll go for it agin.

Today we will have a tour around the city. It is hard to believe there are over a million people living in here.

Some shots from our neighbourhood

This guy was posing for me and wanted me to take at least two pictures of him:

Our hotel is located on this road:

Very innovative usage of glass:

An orphaned baby Chimpanzee (only 4 months old) posing for us at the Drill Rehab & Breeding Center just around the corner:

The Drill monkey is one of the most endangered primates in Africa.

Good morning Calabar!

So this is my home for the next month. Here's the view from my balcony, the picture is a bit blurry because the air is so humid:

After breakfast I had to run to my room to fetch my camera - a beautiful bride and several bridesmaids were preparing for a wedding just in front of our hotel. Several people were taking pictures and filming them. I hope the rainy weather is a sign of a long and happy marriage in Nigeria.

Finally here

Leassons learnt nr. 1: always do business with Nigerians in person. As soon as I flew over to visit the Embassy in Stockholm there were no problems getting my visa. I continued my journey back to Helsinki just to catch my original flight to London where I met up with Hermann, a German CSC colleague who lives in Ireland.

We arrived in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria at 4:30 am this morning.

Had a couple of hours of sleep and a nice shower at a Sheraton hotel (picture above) before we met up with 4 other team members (Ron, Lindsey, Michele and Cynthia from the US) at the Abuja airport. The three others, Juan Pablo from Venezuela, Kish from India and Greg, a French guy living in Australia came to Calabar through Lagos.

The flight from Abuja to Lagos took only one hour. I was amazed to see how green the scenery was. I thought Finland is land of forests, but this something unique. We're just a bit up north from the equator, the climate is tropical here. It remains to be seen wheter it'll rain the whole time, or if we'll get to experience the beginning of the dry season as well.

I'm excited to see how the city looks like in the daylight!

Stockholm here I come

SI'll be heading to Stockholm tomorrow morning hoping to find my passport. They said they probably haven't sent it to Finland yet and it would be best if I talked to the visa people in person. So here I come!

You're on hold

It was probably the 100th attempt to call to the Embassy today when they finally answered. Before I got the information whether they still possess my passport or if they have already mailed it I heard "wait one moment" and was put on hold. Now I've been listening to the ringing tone for 20 minutes and I'm starting to loose my faith. Looks like I should plan a trip to Stockholm for tomorrow.

Still no passport

Tried to call the Embassy several times today again, with no results. Sorry-o (Expression of sympathy). I'm still having my hopes up - maybe the passport will come tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I bought the Bradt guide to Nigeria, some gifts to the locals from Marimekko and pens for kids from Tiimari. I'm also having some IBM gifts to bring to the customers, having troubles fitting everything in the suitcase though.

CSC in Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Finance published this article on Corporate Servise Corps today:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/IBM-Expands-Corporate-Service-prnews-4010035348.html?x=0&.v=1

My project is also mentioned there: "create an information technology framework and policies to manage a computer network so that 18 different government departments can collaborate more effectively". Getting excited!

Last moment panicking

I am supposed to be traveling to Nigeria in three days, but my passport is still at the Embassy in Stockholm. I have sent it to them already mid July, but apparently hadn't paid enough for the visa fee (of course I should have known that the information they have on their web site is outdated).

Now, having paid the missing amount and faxed the receipt to the Embassy I'm having my fingers crossed, hoping they will have mercy on me and I'll be able to catch my flight on Thursday. I have also contacted the Finnish Embassy in Stockholm asking for help from them.