Monday blues..

At the weekend, I am fooled yet again. I see a bag of crisps in a clear plastic bag - just like the ones you get in Spain (they make the best crisps in the world). I know what to expect, but the hunt for a decent bag of Nigerian made crisps propels me forever onwards. The potatoes here are so lovely, so should the crisps be, so goes the melody of my hope. Of course, I was disappointed yet again: the oil was rancid (it always is). Nigerian crisp manufacturers seem to think they can cut costs by using the oil for far too long. When will they realise that cutting on quality and flavour like this is a false economy? Of course, its a trivial example, but it speaks of the "Idea la need" sloppy attitude that prevails. Then this morning, I tucked into Nigerian-made cornflakes for breakfast. Something was decidely wrong with the way they were made - the flakes were too small and greasy. Over the weekend, our internet connection stopped working (I am typing this from an extremely slow cyber cafe connection). We went to NITEL this morning. The well-nourished person behind the desk was chatting to her friend on the phone, ignoring all waiting customers. Eventually she deigned to come off the call. We first of all wanted a full print out of our bill - at over £100 per month, it seems extortionate. All we have to go on is a summary which could be hiding all kinds of errors. She said to come back next week - they have run out of toner. Perhaps next week there might be toner. Then she went back to another personal call. I do hope that with the privatisation of NITEL (in the next two months), she is among the first to be turfed out.

And so on and so on. If life is frustrating MOST of the time for me in my cosy Abuja bubble, how much more impossible is it for the woman on the Surulere omnibus? The trouble in each case (bad crisps, bad cornflakes, bad service etc) is inept/corrupt leadership, backed up by inept/corrupt business processes. Idea la need indeed. What we need is: Details la need.