Publications
Partners
South African expat Chris Duncan celebrates his second year in the town of Port Harcourt in Nigeria's South South region. Duncan reflects on a successful democratic municipal election in South Africa but says the same cannot be said for Nigeria, as local elections were cancelled yet again.
Duncan reflects on the country’s ills, a weakening Naira, which saw it toppled as the biggest economy in Africa, militants, expired tyres and a host more.
But as SABMiller taps into Nigerian history with the production of Hero Lager, he wonders as demand rises, if it may be the shape of things to come? – Stuart Lowman
By Chris Duncan
With elections fresh in our minds and the recent positive outcome back home making you realise that our democracy is young and healthy, they are a stark contrast to democracy here in Port Harcourt and surrounds with the local government elections cancelled yet again.
The reasons cited range from killings, violence and arrests to poor preparation and no distribution of materials.
The Electoral Commission was kept away too from the areas due to vote due to continued violence and a deep mistrust of the voting procedure and potential rigging.
In fact the mistrust here in the South South region runs deep against the ruling president and party as the economy slides further and further into recession.
The Avengers continue to disrupt oil flows in the Delta resulting in already hard hit exports of crude slowing down and valuable forex not materializing, the Naira continues to depreciate against the Dollar with the price of imported goods rising daily. The high grade of crude oil from here, Bonny Light which is low in sulphur, is highly sought after and normally commands an above average price per barrel.
Roadblocks and checkpoints are now common all around the town, manned both by the military and police as they attempt to sniff the militants and trouble makers out. Non-cooperative civilians are harassed and made to exit their vehicles and lie on the ground for a while before eventually being sent on their way (the lucky ones).
But all is not doom and gloom, the rain continues to fall and new-born foals appear on the polo field. As an expat living here, little of these matters affect our daily lives apart from those who are retrenched and sent home for a lack of business. It is the hardy locals that have to put up with these inconveniences as they sing and pray, putting their faith in the Almighty to see them through these hardships.
It does not cease to amaze me the scams and methods of extracting cash from the local population here by the variety of law enforcement agencies. Out on the road cars are now stopped and the expiry date on the tyres is checked. This is a new one to me - I could understand a pork pie having an expiry date but not a tyre.
Yes, you will be fined for an out of date tyre. We checked all the company vehicles and only the SUV had expiry dates, the normal car tyres did not. Makes no sense at all.
Chile did a road trip recently to attend a function at the invitation of the General. On the return journey they stopped to refuel and almost 70 litres of very watery petrol was pumped into the car which made it 200 meters down the road and spluttered to a halt, all this with the oncoming nightfall and a desire to return home.
Fortunately the driver had some mechanical know-how, the tank was drained, fuel obtained from a different filling station and they returned safely late into the night. It is not a good idea to be on the roads after dark.
Business remains fickle with very little on the books but typically everything here is last minute. The rented generator continues to roar in my ear almost all day and every day; during the times that we receive city power the silence is deafening, surreal in fact and you can even hear the birds sing.
This week marks my stay here of two years, it has certainly been an interesting time filled with new experiences and adventures and meeting like-minded people who end up here for the same reason – expat income, no one is here for the love of it. From oil field engineers to ex marines involved in maritime security to the bunch of South Africans running the local brewery, a mixed bag but good and welcome company.
And one of the brews that they produce – Hero Lager, tapping into Biafran nostalgia, with rising demand. The shape of things to come?
* For more in-depth business news, visit biznews.com or simply sign up for the daily newsletter
