Former Nigerian minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala promotes investing in Africa. On of the interesting examples she gives is the privatization and rapid growth of the telecom market in Nigeria, from 4300 landlines to over 32 million mobile phone subscriptions. Although she doesn’t mention the name, there is clearly a sense of “Glo with Pride” in her talk. Glo is a domestic mobile phone enterprise coming up second to South-African MTN and growing. Their slogan is appealing to Nigerian pride: “we can do it ourselves”.

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Skip to the section starting at 8:00 where she talks about the telecom and mobile phone market in Nigeria:

* NM fieldtrip part 1

* NM fieldtrip part 2

* Google Earth animatie:

* Robot demo TheUpgrade!

Business in Nigeria has changed a lot with the advent of the mobile phone. It has become much easier to arrange logistics and deal with customers. It comes at a price however. First, costs are very high for most people. Mr. Dominic spends between 10.00 – 15.000 nairas a month on mobile phone use (approx. 60 – 95 euros). One of his colleagues we spoke to – running a retail shop with many different customers – even claimed to pay up to 30.000 naira a month! And another cost is that while the mobile phone gives individual freedom to communicate and engage in business, it also places a heavy burden on ones shoulders, since family and friends are now constantly calling for help and support, even when far away. So mobile telephone technology in the west-African context seems to paradoxically promote individual possibilities and entrepreneurship and a discourse of modernity, while at the same time being a medium that provides possibilities for stronger reliance on ones social circle and strengthens tradition.

The whole trip to Jos lasted 2 days. The first day was not so quick due to engine difficulties. At the fall of night we had to split up and go ahead in the security car that followed us. This became a hallucinogenic 4 hour nightly speed-drive to Abuja, including deep potholes, sudden roadblocks, bushfires, the fear of armed robbers and joining a spontaneous car convoy at up to 140 km/h through thick layers of smoke. We arrived in Abuja at 22:00, 4 hours after dark. The next day drive to Jos was more comfortable

This is an older pic shot in Jos. I was out on Ahmadu Bello way talking to some people selling all kinds of addon items for mobile phones. Joe here was very fond of his very small handset. Before this one he owned 2 earlier models.

We were shown around by the proud Italian captain of the new port in Lagos, owned by Grimaldi.

Just a shot of a shot inside the WAMCO warehouse. We were comparing the quality of our photocams.

Hilltop in Bachit where we made a stop to call to NWO for the Co-Ops launchs. THis was the best place for reception.

Esther pointing at some maps that hung from the district chiefs house whom we visited.

Esther, Sadik Balewa and Ab at Dini & Jaap’s place

Talking to the Berom chief under the Mango tree and explaining our purposes in the village of Shonong

Ab, ElHadj Masseia and John talking about routes

Ab, ElHadj Masseia and John talking about routes and drawing a map on the ground

Fulani Woman in Shonong preparing my first nonno (yogurt drink)

Another Fulani woman after having prepared my second nonno at the market of Makera. Here Fulani Milk and Peak come together – see the cans in front!!

Ya’u milking a cow. I followed some Fulani men with their cattle for a day in the field.

Ya’u, Isa and Hassan with fresh milk. Hassan is wearing the GPS device I gave him. He has walked a really nice trail that I hope to post later.

Hassan and Ya’u in front of their hut, near where the cows spend the night, and they too

Ya’u, Hassan, Isa

More Fulani boys show up, with their own herd

Oldest brother Maikudi has a closer look at the GPS device Hassan is wearing

Who said being a herdsman is hard work…?

Everything I wrote down caught the immediate interest of everybody. The Fulani are very keen on mediation!

The making of Fulani milk

Maikudi killed a viper in the field. The Berom farmer cut off its head and tail, let it drip empty, skin it, and dry it. The next day he told me he had a nice chopchop!

Again, everything I photographed or filmed was very interesting to the men

The Fulani men I went walking with are looking at the pictures I made with Esther’s camera. So I took a picture of that with the cellphone. How meta!

One of the things that struck me most during that day was the close interaction of agricultural life and semi-nomadic pastoralism. As soon as fields were harvested, the Fulani could access the land for their cattle to graze. The cows both strip the land clean of remaining plants and shit on it, so it is fertilized again. Here sorghum is harvested.

Hassan on his favorite cow. Maikudi behind it.

And after a hot day in the field, I saw a large can of Peak Milk standing near one of the houses of the family of Ahmadu Idris (the father of Maikudi, Ya’u and Hassan)!!

OK, tha-tha-tha-thatsallfolks!

Strange name indeed for a phone vendor. They sell all kinds of moderately recent phones there, from 4900 naira (~= 30 euros) up to 45000 nairas. Odd behavior by the guy behind the desk. He did not seem to want to sell us a phone at all. According to Ab, this is a much wanted item among Fulani!

Dini and Jaap, the incredibly hospitable Dutch couple in Jos where we are staying, gave us one of their many golden tips that the Ministry of Lands Survey & Town Planning sells beautiful old maps. We arrived by okado just a little before 16:00, when everyone was just leaving the premises after a hard days work.. Luckily we talked 2 men into at least showing us some of the maps.

The state these maps are kept in is just ridiculous: dust, half-eaten by 137 generations of rodents, yellowish from moist, rolled up and thrown under a table, etc. Tomorrow we will go there early and see if we can find anything useful of the area we plan to do research on Fulani herdsmen. Good and detailed maps are hard to find. Ab Drent, our good man in Nigeria, has been able to contact some groups of Fulani and will introduce us there this Saturday, insh’allah/deo volente.

Believe it or not, these are real Dutch cows in the heart of Nigeria. They were once imported by Dutch-owned WAMCO company, producers of Peak Dairy, to experiment with milk production within the country itself. The farm changed owners.

Anywhere you go, people have started their own enterprise by putting down a parasol and a table. When you want to make a phone call but don’t have a phone or are out of credit, you can make one here for 20-25 naira. These guys told me anyone can now start a small business here selling phone calls and cards.
Another great example of increasing value by number: the more there are available, the more it becomes a truly useful service that fills up a need. The whole question of personal possession is perhaps less relevant when you can always use a phone to make a quick call.

Not a particularly uncommon sight in Nigeria, apparently. But this was out first!