Nigeria is safer than most developing countries- AUN Librarian
In fact the guys from Abuja called her to report that they did not see me, and the president told them ‘don’t worry, Amed is in Yola’.
When I told the president and other top officials of how I did not look for the person waiting for me because I got a free ride, someone whispered ‘total stranger?’ and I said he was a great guy. That was my positive start with Yola.
Also there was this shop that I used to go to buy stuff most evenings, and the guy was always speaking Hausa for me. But when he noticed that I go there every day, he began to give me some things free. He said he was welcoming me and appreciating my patronage.
I also went to the market, because, everywhere I go, I always like to go to the market place. That is where you meet real people. At the campus, you always meet known faces and elsewhere are the elites. But in the market, you meet the real people. So I went to the market place to change money myself, even though I had a driver I decided to go on my own. At the market, however, I noticed that all the stores look alike, the new modern market, and I don’t know where to go and change the money.
I met one guy and asked him where to go change money, and he began to give me directions, but when he realised I was not getting what he was saying, he said ‘let me take you there’. The people in Yola and Jimeta are really exceptionally hospitable. I am very comfortable here. I have a driver, for seven days a week, but I drive myself on weekends. I drive at night to go out and relax. I go everywhere by myself, I enjoy going to local restaurants and try local food. When people see you try and mix, they really appreciate that and help you with it. They treat you better, and consider you as one of them.
Q. Do you eat the local delicacies?
A. Yes
Q. Which one is your favourite?
A. Honestly I eat everything. I haven’t seen anything I could not eat yet; although I don’t know the names of most of them.
Whenever I travel in Nigeria for conferences, and I tell people I live in Adamawa, Yola, they always ask; isn’t that a dangerous place? It doesn’t make sense to me why people think Yola is a dangerous place to live. I am a foreigner but I blend in. I have been here nearly two years and I have never felt threatened at all. I go out each night, and I drive myself to the hills on weekends in the country side, passing through the villages and the people were always willing to help me.
Yola and Jimeta is a very friendly environment, the people are nice and they go out of their way to help you.
Let me tell you a story. Last year I went to spend two weeks in Paris, and one of the tour guides asked me; where are you from? I know what she meant; he was asking me my ethnic background. But literally; where are you from means where you came from, so I told her, Nigeria; and she frowned her face and said are you joking? I said I am serious, I came from Nigeria, precisely, Yola in Adamawa. But she was not convinced.
She said, seriously; where are you from? And I said ‘ask me the right question: If you are asking about my ethnic background, your answer would be different; I am Kurdish; if you are asking about my nationality? I am American. If you are asking me where I live? It’s Nigeria. She said, Nigeria? Isn’t that a dangerous place? I said no, Nigeria is not a dangerous place; in fact it is much friendlier than Paris.
They picked my pocket and I lost my first Galaxy Note in Paris, and for the two years I have been in Yola, I never lost anything. You can see my door is transparent glass, and it is always open, yet nothing has ever been stolen here.
In two years in Yola, I have never lost anything, but in three weeks in Paris I lost my Samsung Galaxy. You see, there is stereotype. When I said I was going to Paris, no one warned me that Paris is a dangerous place, please watch your pocket. But when I said I was gonna come to Nigeria; People say don’t go it is a dangerous place. And in Nigeria when you say you are going to Yola, people will say Yola is a dangerous place.
Interestingly during my last trip to the U.S. for the American Library Association Conference where we got our latest award; from the Airport, I took a taxi to my conference Hotel, and the taxi driver asked me, where are you from, I said Nigeria; I noticed that he is an African and he said really? Where in Nigeria, and I told him Adamawa, he said that is Cameroon. I told him, it’s not, there is a part of Cameroon called Adamawa, but it is also a big state in Nigeria.
He asked me what do they speak, and I said, well the king is Fulani; I can tell you that. He became convinced, and said ‘you know what I am Fulani too’. But he is from Guinea. He brought out his phone and he showed me the picture of the Lamido. He said he was a delegate to the World Fulani Congress in Lagos and that is where he got the picture of Lamido.
When I told the president and other top officials of how I did not look for the person waiting for me because I got a free ride, someone whispered ‘total stranger?’ and I said he was a great guy. That was my positive start with Yola.
Also there was this shop that I used to go to buy stuff most evenings, and the guy was always speaking Hausa for me. But when he noticed that I go there every day, he began to give me some things free. He said he was welcoming me and appreciating my patronage.
I also went to the market, because, everywhere I go, I always like to go to the market place. That is where you meet real people. At the campus, you always meet known faces and elsewhere are the elites. But in the market, you meet the real people. So I went to the market place to change money myself, even though I had a driver I decided to go on my own. At the market, however, I noticed that all the stores look alike, the new modern market, and I don’t know where to go and change the money.
I met one guy and asked him where to go change money, and he began to give me directions, but when he realised I was not getting what he was saying, he said ‘let me take you there’. The people in Yola and Jimeta are really exceptionally hospitable. I am very comfortable here. I have a driver, for seven days a week, but I drive myself on weekends. I drive at night to go out and relax. I go everywhere by myself, I enjoy going to local restaurants and try local food. When people see you try and mix, they really appreciate that and help you with it. They treat you better, and consider you as one of them.
Q. Do you eat the local delicacies?
A. Yes
Q. Which one is your favourite?
A. Honestly I eat everything. I haven’t seen anything I could not eat yet; although I don’t know the names of most of them.
Whenever I travel in Nigeria for conferences, and I tell people I live in Adamawa, Yola, they always ask; isn’t that a dangerous place? It doesn’t make sense to me why people think Yola is a dangerous place to live. I am a foreigner but I blend in. I have been here nearly two years and I have never felt threatened at all. I go out each night, and I drive myself to the hills on weekends in the country side, passing through the villages and the people were always willing to help me.
Yola and Jimeta is a very friendly environment, the people are nice and they go out of their way to help you.
Let me tell you a story. Last year I went to spend two weeks in Paris, and one of the tour guides asked me; where are you from? I know what she meant; he was asking me my ethnic background. But literally; where are you from means where you came from, so I told her, Nigeria; and she frowned her face and said are you joking? I said I am serious, I came from Nigeria, precisely, Yola in Adamawa. But she was not convinced.
She said, seriously; where are you from? And I said ‘ask me the right question: If you are asking about my ethnic background, your answer would be different; I am Kurdish; if you are asking about my nationality? I am American. If you are asking me where I live? It’s Nigeria. She said, Nigeria? Isn’t that a dangerous place? I said no, Nigeria is not a dangerous place; in fact it is much friendlier than Paris.
They picked my pocket and I lost my first Galaxy Note in Paris, and for the two years I have been in Yola, I never lost anything. You can see my door is transparent glass, and it is always open, yet nothing has ever been stolen here.
In two years in Yola, I have never lost anything, but in three weeks in Paris I lost my Samsung Galaxy. You see, there is stereotype. When I said I was going to Paris, no one warned me that Paris is a dangerous place, please watch your pocket. But when I said I was gonna come to Nigeria; People say don’t go it is a dangerous place. And in Nigeria when you say you are going to Yola, people will say Yola is a dangerous place.
Interestingly during my last trip to the U.S. for the American Library Association Conference where we got our latest award; from the Airport, I took a taxi to my conference Hotel, and the taxi driver asked me, where are you from, I said Nigeria; I noticed that he is an African and he said really? Where in Nigeria, and I told him Adamawa, he said that is Cameroon. I told him, it’s not, there is a part of Cameroon called Adamawa, but it is also a big state in Nigeria.
He asked me what do they speak, and I said, well the king is Fulani; I can tell you that. He became convinced, and said ‘you know what I am Fulani too’. But he is from Guinea. He brought out his phone and he showed me the picture of the Lamido. He said he was a delegate to the World Fulani Congress in Lagos and that is where he got the picture of Lamido.
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