Mandy’s sister, brother-in-law, and niece were supposed to return home from his hometown in Nigeria today, but they can’t fly because of a strike over fuel prices. Chuks explained the situation to me, and from what I understand, Nigeria should be an Islamic state as far as the number of Muslims there. It has so many different types of people - completely different cultures, languages, customs, religions - all coexisting in one nation because the British made the boundaries. There used to be a war between the two religions, but it’s been peaceful for awhile. However, the Muslims have started bombing churches and kidnapping people and telling the Christians in the predominantly Muslim areas to leave. So, basically, the country is in distress, and the new President has decided that now is the right time to raise the fuel price from .40/liter to .86/liter. The people are angry because fuel not only runs their automobiles, but also their generators. And in a nation where the electricity is spotty, at best, generators are crucial for running businesses and homes. So, the people have gone on strike, and there are no flights going in or out. Not only will Mandy’s family’s tickets expire (so they’ll have to buy new ones), but they won’t be back for the start of school tomorrow (they both work there) and don’t even know when they will be able to get out. So please pray for that country to find peace and solutions to their problems.
(This next paragraph was written a couple of days later) Chuks and Mandy explained to me a little more about life in Nigeria...and it's so interesting! EVERYONE has generators. You have to chain them to your house or else they'll be stolen, but you need them to have power. In fact, people actually make their money by setting up generators in public places which they use to charge people's cell phones and such (like while you're away from home). As a result, it's really noisy and really dirty. But the noise doesn't bother people much because they don't sleep there. I know...I was like, what?! People have to sleep. But he said at 1 in the morning it's like it's midday - restaurants are open, people are out and about - and Mandy concurred. He said, here he’ll carry his wallet in his back pocket, but as soon as he crosses the border his wallet goes in the front. Mandy said there are like no white people. Which probably makes sense since Chuks said that white people there get kidnapped. He said, “God even knows not to put white people there”…haha…since there are no non-African missionaries called there, not even the temple presidency.
So yeah, this President now started out as a college lecturer, so “he’s one of us.” His rise to power was very interesting. As assistant governor his governor was convicted of a crime, so he became governor. Then the President at the time appointed him as his Vice President, I believe (not sure why he could do that), and the President dies suddenly, so he became President. But the people were SO happy! Everyone was SO happy because he’s a normal guy, and promised them electricity, which is what the country totally wants right now. And now, just a couple short months later, they want to impeach him and are saying to not be surprised if he wakes up dead! Anyway…just thought it was all fascinating.
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