Memories of Niger (I)

Niger gave me courageIn a sense the trip to   Agadez began in a  boat upon a swiftly  flowing river in  Bayelsa state. I was making a crossing after having been on  an  island for a few hours,when a call came from Mannir Dan Ali, the Editor-In-Chief, asking if I could travel to Agadez in Niger […]

Niger gave me courage
In a sense the trip to   Agadez began in a  boat upon a swiftly  flowing river in  Bayelsa state. I was making a crossing after having been on  an  island for a few hours,when a call came from Mannir Dan Ali, the Editor-In-Chief, asking if I could travel to Agadez in Niger Republic to cover a festival. The call came at the right time, because I had just been entertaining the  frightening  thought that the boat had gone down a bit, what with the combined weight of four of us within, and that inevitably, it may sink. Hard as I tried I could not vividly recall any gift or skill in swimming on my part. I thought the waters were a bit too close to the edge of the boat. A quick look around did not reveal any life jackets. But none of the others in the boat showed any fear. They were actually smiling enthusiastically at something, maybe they were laughing at the tension which covered me like a cloak, which I was doing my utmost  to hide. Then the call came, and it helped  to take my mind off a very present fear of drowning. I saw in a few minutes that an ability to  focus on a matter, in this case the idea of travelling to Agadez, can turn away looming thoughts of any kind. Niger gave me courage. Never had a call  or any dramatic event, been so urgently, so desperately  desired by anyone .  
Umaru’s  wisdom
The flight to Sokoto the next day, was smooth, although I paid a large sum, simply because a business class seat was the only one available. My hands were tied since I needed to be in Sokoto. Therefore, I promptly paid. Upon disembarking  at Sokoto, it was time to head for the ‘Illela garage’, where I would get the taxi to Illela, a community close to the border with Niger Republic. I was  on my way to Agadez  in Niger where I was to cover the annual Cure Salee,a festival which also featured the popular, exciting and enchanting  Geerewol dance of the Wodaabe. Abubakar Matazu, Executive Director, Vision Media, had hinted that the best way to get to Agadez in time for the festival was to hire a car from Konni ,a community  on Niger’s side of the border with Nigeria. This would remove all delays and assure a fairly prompt arrival at Agadez. There were other large buses heading for Agadez from Konni that Sunday, but  they would have left  long before my arrival from the airport.  

At the Illela garage, I hired a car  to Illela. Soon I was in Illela and I took a motorcycle to the border post at Konni. Umaru,the  slightly talkative, but very helpful man who rode the motorcycle turned out to be an interesting person. First, he wanted to know if I wanted to get into Niger through a ‘bush’ route, or whether I wanted to enter through the normal route. He was giving me all the available options, which showed that he could be useful to a vast clientele with varying interests.  Of course, I opted for the normal route. Next, he made  a remarkable statement which implied that he knows who will, or will not collect a bribe at  either  of the border posts. He added that 50 Naira should be ok for anyone who is making demands. He clearly had a mastery of what goes on at each border post.

On  the Niger side of the border I was asked if I had any letter of introduction from Media Trust. I quickly produced it, but  they said  that the Nigerian border officials ought to have signed it on the reverse side, and kept a copy. Thus, I now had to go back to the Nigerian border post  to get their endorsement on the letter. That done I went back to the Niger post  to present it. At this point I had to wait  there, while I sent Umaru into Konni to make additional photocopies of the letter. It took a while before he returned. This lasted close to an hour, and I was there on a chair by the post, wondering how early I will be able to get a car for Agadez, and after that how soon we will be able to leave for  the famed city. It  was already close to 2:00pm when Umaru turned up with the photocopies of the letter. He had even photocopied the same side twice. I struggled not to scream. Very soon we headed into Konni, and I got my first glimpse of Niger, and began to take in the impressions. I now explained to Umaru what the issues were, principal of which was to  get some CFA. Next was to hire a car to Agadez.
Ibrahim, money changer
Passing through narrow and wide streets, and also seeing much of the grand architecture, I would later see at Agadez and thrill to, we arrived at Mallam Ibrahim’s, a popular money changer in Konni. I was not very comfortable when he said I should change all the money I had into CFA. But I achieved understanding when he said that it will be difficult to  convert dollars to CFA in Agadez. At Ibrahim’s shop, which sits just by the road, can be seen various currencies, most of these in use in Niger Republic. Of  course, there  were loads of Naira notes, and some coins. I noticed an elderly man counting a  large number of coins, which he later took away with him. Ibrahim  has a lot of humour deep in his spirit, and he looked forward to my return from Agadez, cracking another remarkable joke while making this point, and wishing me a safe journey.  
A  man  named  Djibo
Then Umaru and myself went to one of the large ‘garages’ where one could get a bus to Agadez. This was with the intention of seeking any of the local transporters or drivers. It worked for very soon we were taken to the house of Djibo. Then  the extended negotiations relating to the cost of hiring the car began. It was a sunny day, and we negotiated outside Djibo’s house, in one of the many quarters which make up Birnin Konni, as it is rightly called by the locals.

Birnin Konni has an Emir, as Djibo told me later when we had concluded negotiations. We actually agreed on what I termed a handsome sum, and I said that he should not sleep at any point on the way. It was to be a continuous night time drive. He agreed with this request. I began to wonder how I would cover the festival with a sleepy head, but quickly banished the thought. At this point I went for a late lunch in Konni, alongside Umaru. We found a small restaurant where meals such as are available in Nigeria were  being sold. We waited there for Djibo, who turned up a a few minutes past 5:00pm, looking fresh and in a new set of clothes. Then by, 6:00pm after  briefly fuelling the vehicle, and buying some cold drinks and dates, we left for Agadez.