INSIDE TRACK, MAIDEN EDITION

Inside the first edition of Inside Track. Please click on photo to enlarge...

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Inside Track Print Edition

November 2008 (Premier Edition)

Section One: PEOPLE AND PLACES
Page 6 - Abuja News
Page 8 - Interview with Toyin Eriye, Female Editor
Page 11 - Abuja Visitor: Jochen Theis, A Student from Germany
Page 12 - Abuja Events: Philippine Independence Day
Page 14 - Expat’s Page: Don’t Die on Third…by Ramon Ruste
Page 17 - Expat Interview: Carolyn Johnston
Page 18 - Remi Raji: Taking Nigerian Poetry to the Rest of the World

Section Two: BUSINESS IN ABUJA
Page 22 - Business Diary: Starting Your Own Business…with Araceli Aipoh
Page 23 - Five Tips to Remember When Choosing a Business Name
Page 24 - So You Want to Start Your Own Business?
Page 27 - Business Tips: Networking to Make Your Business Grow
Page 29 - Martha Stewart’s Ten Essential Rules
Page 32 - Marketing Tips: Did You Say Marketing Plan?
Page 33 - More Tips: 3 Marketing Tips for Your Business
Page 34 - Doing Business Alone or With Someone?

Section Three: ART AND LIFE
Page 36: Guest Writer: Jude Dibia
Page 37: Silkworm Genocide by Emmanuel Mayah
Page 41: True Nigerian Story: Take Me as I am by Segun Oke
Page 45: Growing up in a Bahai Family by Farzaneh Foroozan
Page 46: Read a Book? Or Watch a Movie? by Aureen Oshione Aipoh
Page 48: Tough Guys Write Poetry by Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
Page 52: Tribal Stereotypes in Nigerian Comedy by Dr. Wilson Urhiunu

Section Four: IN AND AROUND ABUJA
Page 56: The Writer’s Village – From Idea to Realization by Odia Ofeimun
Page 63: House-hunting in Abuja? Ten Tips
Page 64: Editor’s Choice: What to Do and Where to Go
Page 68: Coming to Africa: NIGERWIVES – What’s Their Story?
Page 70: Social Events in Photos
Page 72: World View: First Woman
Page 74: Couple in Focus: Tony and Rose Akah – Loving and Living in Two Countries


Meet the people inside the first edition of Inside Track…

Toyin Eriye, former Associate Editor of Genevieve Magazine and current Editor in Chief of Joy Magazine, shares the lessons she learned in her close-to-three-decades career as a writer.

Jochen Theis, a student from Germany, answers questions about his Nigerian experience and how he fell in love with pepper soup…

Ramon Ruste, an accountant with Julius Berger, remembers a day in sports in his native country the Philippines and how his decision to take a risk saved the day…

Maxim Uzoatu, The Poet, writes a short story on Bala, a guy who writes poetry.

Segun Oke, a banker who hopes to be a full-time writer someday, shares how he defied his parents’ wish to send him to Medical School. (He wanted to be a writer, not a doctor…)

Carolyn Johnston, a marketing consultant from the UK, talks about what she enjoys most in Nigeria and what she tells her friends when they ask her about our country…

Remi Raji, back to Nigeria after a two-year fellowship in Europe, answers questions on his poetry, life abroad, and his fear as a writer.

Wilson Orhiunu, a UK-based writer and medical doctor, studies tribal stereotypes in Nigerian comedy and says the joke is no longer funny…

Farzaneh Foroozan, a Filipino-Iranian teenager, talks about growing up in a Baha’i family and how their prayers saved her mom from the hands of kidnappers in Port Harcourt.

Aureen Oshione Aipoh, another teenager, explains the difference between reading a book and watching a movie.

Jude Dibia, 2008 NLNG Prize for Literature finalist, on why he writes.

Isabella Brown, who is also Inside Track’s graphics designer, writes a feature story on starting a business in Abuja.

Emmanuel Mayah, CNN Journalist of the Year Winner 2008, talks about the silkworm genocide that threatens the age-long Yoruba weaving tradition.

Odia “The Poet Lied” Ofeimun writes on his vision of a Writers’ Village in Abuja.


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CHRISTMAS PARTY

Nigerwives Abuja Branch End of the Year Party
December 20,2008
Wuse, Abuja

Nigerwives is an association of foreign women married to Nigerians, and are living in Nigeria. They work for the smooth integration of members into the Nigerian society. Through various charity works, they support the less privileged in Nigeria, uphold family values, etc. The association has been in existence for about 30 years now and has members all over the country.

To join Nigerwives-Abuja Branch, send an email to nigerwives_abj@yahoo.com or contact Bogdana at bkadamu@yahoo.co.uk, or contact The Editor, Inside Track Abuja.

(Please click on photo to enlarge)

GOLF TOURNAMENT

Veteran Golf Tournament
December 13-14
IBB Golf Club
Sponsored by Intercontinental Bank

(Please click on photos to enlarge)

ICS BAZAAR

NOVEMBER 29, 2008
(Please click on photo to enlarge)

ABUJA SUNSHINE WALK by AIWC

November 18, 2008

ABUJA FOOD FAIR by ASOHOM

Association of Spouses of Heads of Missions (ASOHOM) International Food Festival
(Please click on photo to enlarge.)

SPANISH EMBASSY ABUJA

OCTOBER 6-10, 2008
3RD Spanish Cultural Week

JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA BAZAAR

NOVEMBER 29, 2008
Life Camp, Jabi, Abuja

DIWALI FESTIVAL ABUJA

Diwali Festival 2008
Organized by Indian Cultural Association Abuja
Date: October 25, 2008
Venue: Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Maitama

Deepavali or Diwali is a major Indian holiday and a significant festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Many legends are associated with Diwali. Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Lights," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being. Diwali is celebrated on the first day of the lunar Kartika month, which comes in the month of October or November.

In many parts of India, it is the homecoming of King Rama of Ayodhya after a 14-year exile in the forest and after he defeated the evil Ravana. The people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa), thus its name: Deepavali. This word, in due course, became Diwali in Hindi. But, in South Indian languages, the word did not undergo any change, and hence the festival is called Deepavali in southern India. There are many different observances of the holiday across India.

Jainism marks Diwali as the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, which occurred on October 15, 527 BCE.

Among the Sikhs, Diwali came to have special significance from the day the town of Amritsar was illuminated on the return to it of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644) who had been held captive in the Fort at Gwalior under the orders of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir (1570-1627). As the sixth Guru (teacher) of Sikhism, Guru Hargobind Ji, was freed from imprisonment - along with 53 Hindu Kings (who were held as political prisoners) whom the Guru had arranged to be released as well. After his release he went to the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in the holy city of Amritsar, where he was welcomed in happiness by the people who lit candles and diyas to greet the Guru. Because of this, Sikhs often refer to Diwali also as Bandi Chhorh Divas - “the day of release of detainees."

The festival is also celebrated by Buddhists of Nepal, particularly the Newar Buddhists.

While Deepavali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", a more appropriate significance is "the new year of luck and wealth".

Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (Inner Joy or Peace).

Diwali celebrates this through festive fireworks, lights, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship. While the story behind Deepavali varies from region to region, the essence is the same - to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman).

In India, Diwali is now considered to be a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.

(Source: http://www.wikipedia.com/)


The Diwali Festival at a glance:

Name of Occasion:
Diwali (Row of Lights) or Deepavali (Festival of Lights)

Observed by:
Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains as a religious ritual. Other Indians celebrate the cultural aspect.

Significance:
To celebrate victory over evil.

Date:
New moon day of Kartika, although the celebrations begin two days prior and end two days after that date.

Celebrations:
Decorating homes with lights, fireworks, distributing sweets and gifts.

Observances:
Prayers and religious rituals.

(Source: http://www.wikipedia.com/

INSIDE TRACK, NOVEMBER 2008 ISSUE

Table of Contents of the November Issue of Inside Track (Print Edition)

Section One: PEOPLE AND PLACES
Page 6 - Abuja News
Page 8 - Interview with Toyin Eriye, Female Editor
Page 11 - Abuja Visitor: Jochen Theis, A Student from Germany
Page 12 - Abuja Events: Philippine Independence Day
Page 14 - Expat’s Page: Don’t Die on Third…by Ramon Ruste
Page 17 - Expat Interview: Carolyn Johnston
Page 18 - Remi Raji: Taking Nigerian Poetry to the Rest of the World

Section Two: BUSINESS IN ABUJA
Page 22 - Business Diary: Starting Your Own Business…with Araceli Aipoh
Page 23 - Five Tips to Remember When Choosing a Business Name
Page 24 - So You Want to Start Your Own Business?
Page 27 - Business Tips: Networking to Make Your Business Grow
Page 29 - Martha Stewart’s Ten Essential Rules
Page 32 - Marketing Tips: Did You Say Marketing Plan?
Page 33 - More Tips: 3 Marketing Tips for Your Business
Page 34 - Doing Business Alone or With Someone?

Section Three: ART AND LIFE
Page 36: Guest Writer: Jude Dibia
Page 37: Silkworm Genocide by Emmanuel Mayah
Page 41: True Nigerian Story: Take Me as I am by Segun Oke
Page 45: Growing up in a Bahai Family by Farzaneh Foroozan
Page 46: Read a Book? Or Watch a Movie? by Aureen Oshione Aipoh
Page 48: Tough Guys Write Poetry by Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
Page 52: Tribal Stereotypes in Nigerian Comedy by Dr. Wilson Orhiunu

Section Four: IN AND AROUND ABUJA
Page 56: The Writer’s Village – From Idea to Realization by Odia Ofeimun
Page 63: House-hunting in Abuja? Ten Tips
Page 64: Editor’s Choice: What to Do and Where to Go
Page 68: Coming to Africa: NIGERWIVES – What’s Their Story?
Page 70: Social Events in Photos
Page 72: World View: First Woman
Page 74: Couple in Focus: Tony and Rose Akah – Loving and Living in Two Countries


TO ORDER A COPY:
Send an email to insidetrackabuja@yahoo.com. Cost per copy -N1000, including delivery anywhere in Abuja. N2,000, including delivery anywhere in Nigeria


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Abuja restaurants and fastfood centres

ABUJA RESTAURANTS AND FASTFOOD TAKE AWAY
(Random listing)

Barcelos
Portuguese Style Chicken Barbeque with either rice or chips. They also serve salads, cakes, sandwiches and ice cream. Nice and clean environment. Magazines and TV while you wait. Electrical outlets for your laptop. Music could be loud during busy hours but friendly staff.
Location: 1st Floor, Ceddi Plaza, Central Business District
Hours: 9am to 10pm
Cost: Medium range

Drumstix
Fried chicken with either fried rice or chips; pastries, ice cream, meatpies, beef rolls, softdrinks. Clean environment but parking space, although wide, could be a challenge during busy hours in Wuse; queue at the counter at certain times of the day also in Wuse outlet, but not in Maitama Amusement Park; TV and background music; friendly staff at the Maitama outlet.
Locations:
1) 32 Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II
2) Inside Maitama Amusement Park, IBB Way, Maitama
Open: 8am to 9pm
Cost: Low range

Southern Fried
Fried chicken with either fried rice or French fries; other ready to eat pastries. Clean environment. Background music. Friendly staff.
Two locations:
1) Plot 1268, Arthur Unegbe Street, Area 11;
2) Off Ahmadu Bello Way, Wuse. Cost. Low range.

Obudu Steak HouseRich menu, good steaks, fish, vegetarian.
Location: Sheraton Hotel
Hours: Monday – Saturday from 6:00pm
Cost: High range

Roof Top CafeVariety of light foods, overlooking the Maitama roundabout, covered open- air casual café. Fresh juices, fun cocktails, coffee/tea, sandwiches, baguettes, etc.
Location: British Council Rooftop, Plot 2935 IBB Way, Maitama
Open 9am to 10pm Monday to Saturday
Cost: Medium range

Chyna SpiceCozy space, good for less than 6 people at a time; mostly Chinese & Indian takeaway. Normal choice of soft drinks.
Location: Wuse II, inside the petrol station near Park & Shop
Hours: Daily 11:00am to 10:00pm
Delivery anywhere in Abuja at N300 extra
Contact: 0805-921-3231

Golden Gate Hotel Chinese RestaurantChinese food and other dishes
Location: Golden Gate Hotel, along Herbert McCaulay Way, near Wuse Market, Hours: Evenings

Palace Chinese Restaurant
Sit-down restaurant with tablecloths. Typical Chinese food.
Location: 56 Justice Mamman Nasir St., Asokoro (just below the Norwegian & Finish embassies)
Hours: Evenings
Contact: 09-314-4507, fax-09-314-4508

Sinoni
Sit-down restaurant with tablecloths. Wide parking space and neat environment. Supposed to serve Chinese food but their version of Chinese food is actually hot and spicy (as in the cook, when we tried the place, seemed to be having a grand time with the bottle of powdered pepper… so we had to order another round of drinks…hmm.)
Location: Near Nicon Luxury Hotel
Hours: Evenings
Cost: High range

Chase RestaurantTop of Dunes Center, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama
Variety of Lebanese, Continental and Chinese Dishes on the menu. Brunch on Sundays. Elegant setting. You can also check the Dunes Supermarket downstairs after dining.
Hours: 12 noon to 12 midnight
Cost: High range

Chez VictorFrench & Continental, also some African dishes.
Location: Ganges off Ikoku
Hours: Lunch & Evenings
Cost: High range

L’EtoileFrench & Middle Eastern menu. Clean environment and appealing interior design. Quiet and subdued atmosphere. Uniformed and friendly waiters.
Location: Nile Street, off Ikoku, Maitama
Hours: Evenings
Cost: High rangee

Wakkis
Indian Dishes. Casual atmosphere, wooden tables and benches and natural ventilation. Open grilling and other food preparation activities while you wait. A nice reputation for roasted lamb. Could be busy during weekends, so make reservation if you are going as a group.
Location: Kashim Ibrahim Way, Wuse, Abuja
Cost: High range

Ciao
Sit-down, white table cloths; fully Italian menu; live band on weekends
Location:110 Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, upper corner of building near AP Plaza
Cost: Medium to High Range



Al Basha
Thin-crust pizza for N1,500. Lebanese and other Mediterranean and continental dishes. Indoor and outdoor seating. Ask the waiter for their Mezze.
Location: Usuma Close, off Usuma, off Gana Street, Maitam.
Hours: Evenings
Cost: High range

City View RestaurantLebanese / Middle Eastern menu. Soft drinks only. Indoor or open-air-but-covered seating; limited parking space during busy hours. No TV so gaze at your dining companion while waiting for your order or look at one local paintings inside the restaurant. Simple but easy on the eye interior design. There’s a bakery attached to the restaurant.
Hours: from 11.30pm.
Cost: Medium to High range

Jevinik
Authentic Nigerian dishes and Nigerian atmosphere, complete with water basins for washing your hands right on your table. A place to have a taste of pounded yam, draw soup, melon soup, catfish, cow leg, etc. Fast service. Tables almost always occupied due to high patronage. Wide parking space, but challenging during lunch hours. Security guards doubling as parking attendants give you directions as you maneuver in and out of the parking lot.
Location: 494 Bangui Road (off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent), Wuse 2
Hours: 9:00am – 10:00pm Monday - Saturday
Contact: 0805-124-7743
Cost: Medium Range

Emmy Kitchen
Calabar Dishes
Location: Suite 3-7 Garki II, Shopping Complex Mohammadu Buhari Way
Hours: Mon-Say 9:00am – 10:00pm
Contact: 0803-311-2219, 09-870-6972, jents_2002@yahoo.com
Cost: Medium Range

Crystal Palace Hotel Royal RestaurantBuffet lunch and dinner. Choice of Nigerian, Continental and Mediterranean Dishes. Space good for about 40-50 people
Location: Plot 687 Port Harcourt Crescent, Off Gimbiya Street, Area 11, Garki
Hours: 24 hours
Cost: Medium range

Mama Cass
Nigerian and other African dishes, plus typical Nigerian snacks.
1) 336 Amino Kano Crescent, Wuse 2
2) Federal Housing Authority, Off Limpopo Street, Maitama
3) Corner Shop, Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki
Hours: Daily
Cost: Low to Medium Range

Tetrazzini
Nigerian pre-cooked food under cafeteria-style glass. Usual rice meals with either fish, meat or chicken. Snacks like meatpie and beef rolls. Clean environment.
Locations:
Hours: All day
Cost: Low range

French Cultural Center
Baguettes, sandwiches, Nigerian specialties – outdoor seating
Location: 10 Udi St. off Aso Dr. off Maitama Rd., Maitama
Hours: Lunchtime
Cost: Medium

SalamanderSit-down bakery, ice cream, coffee, sandwiches; also free wireless internet when you eat. Margarita Night every Thursday evening. Tea/Coffee with cakes.
Location: 72 Aminu Kano Crescent, below Colors in Africa
Hours: Daily 8am to 10pm
Contact: 09 708 4518, 0702 785 0932
salamandercafe@gmail.com

Sawadee Oriental Cuisine (Thai restaurant_
Extensive and authentic Thai menu.
Location: No. 42 / 45 Kumasi Crescent, Wuse II
Hours: 10am to 10pm

Assorted FoodsAsian, Nigerian, and other cuisines in one spot, attached to a newly opened grocery store with household items and gifts.
Location: Aminu Kano at the corner of Ahmadu Bello, Abuja
Times: Lunch & Dinner
Cost: Low range

The ClubhouseIndoor or outdoor seating by the swimming pool. Variety of Italian, Lebanese, American, Vegetarian dishes.
Location: TAK Continental Estate, Gwarinpa, Abua (just after the the roundabout on your way to Life Camp)
Hours: Daytime & Evenings
Cost: Medium range
Contact: 09 780 3517
GSM 0807-704-0404 or 0808-989-0700

Oriental RestaurantOne of the several restaurants at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. Oriental Restaurant serves different menus (or themes) on different days. For example, Thai food on Saturday evenings or Mongolian on other days. Special Feature: For a cost between N3000 to 4000 per person, you may choose from previously prepared ingredients…and watch (or give instructions) while your stuff are being mixed and cooked in a large wok by the chef, Asian style. Second, third and 4th servings are welcome at no extra cost. Indoor or outdoor seating and very friendly staff. Soups, appetizers, and desserts included. Definitely a place where you can stay late in the night…and take another slice of cake.

Fulani Pool Bar and Restaurant, Trancorp Hilton HotelAlso located at the Hilton Hotel, this is located just beside the swimming pool, in an open but covered setting. Full meals, snacks and drinks. Buffet lunch on weekends; tandoori grills on ordinary evenings.
Cost: High range. This is Hilton.
Contact: 09 413 2418(-19)

Protea Hotel AsokoroStratton Place Restaurant is the name of the restaurant and they serve Nigerian, continental, and themed buffets. A la carte menus, etc.
Location: Protea Hotel Asokoro, Bola Ige Close, off Mohammadu Ribadu St., off Shehu Shagari Way, behind police HQ, Asokoro
Hours: 7am – 10:30pm
Cost: Medium to High Range.
Contact: Rudi (GM) 0803-668-4762, Sandy (DGM) 0803-780-5000, Nkechi (Sales) 0806-684-8689

O’Neal’s Food Pastry and SnacksFastfood, either eat-in or takeaway. Smoking and non-smoking sections. Large ground for parties and where kids could play. They serve short orders: pizza, shawarma, meatpies, burgers, etc.
Location: Plot 116 Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Wuse 2
Open: 8am till midnight
Cost: Low range

Tantalizers
Casual fastfood chain. Pre-cooked Nigerian dishes and mixed snacks, usually warm and fresh. Eat-in or takeaway.
1) Rochas Plaza,Conakry Street, Off Sultan Abubakar Street, Wuse Zone 3
2) Amino Kano Crescent, Wuse 2
3) Udjah Street, Garki 2
4) Borno Street, Area 10, in Villa Hotel
Hours: 7.30am to 10pm
Cost: Low range

Caesar
Serves Italian cuisine. Take out menu that you can order by phone: 413 1451-3 .
Hours: 6pm to 9pm, daily except Sundays.
Location: Mississippi Street, Maitama (near Chopsticks)
Cost: High range

Rasi CafeteriaContinental and African dishes. Cafeteria style. Indoor seating for their fried chicken, salads, rice, suya and other pre-cooked snacks.
Location: Plot 10B Mohammed Idriss Way, Ahmadu Bello Way
Hours:

Mediterranean SuitesThe bar and restaurants are called 100 Degrees Bar and Restaurant, also known as Sky Lounge Bar. Located in one place but with different setting and appearance. Nice and clean ambience for adults and children.
Location: Plot 1467, Hon. Justice Mamman Nasir Crescent, Asokoro
Hours: all day and all night
Cost: High range

Papillon RestaurantBuffet of mixed international dishes for either breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Location: Abuja Sheraton and Towers, Ladi Kwali Way, Wuse 2
Cost: High range
Hours: 6.30am to 10pm

Boat House RestaurantCane/wooden tables and chairs under a thatch-covered kiosk beside the swimming pool. Open-air ambience for your choice of Continental and African dishes. Full bar. Kids menu available.
Location: Pool side, Sheraton Hotel, Ladi Kwali Street, Wuse 2
Hours: 10.30am to 11pm
Cost: High range

Luigi’s Italian RestaurantIf you are looking for imported beef steak cooked according to your specification, go to Luigi’s on Thursday evenings. Italian buffet on Wednesday night. Formal indoor setting and great interior design. Sparkling utensils and courteous waiters.
Location: Sheraton Hotel and Towers
Ladi Kwali Street, Wuse 2, Zone 4
Hours: 6.30am to 10.30pm daily
Cost: High range

Ming’s RestaurantChinese and Indian food. Can seat 30 to 40 people.
Location: Grand Mirage Hotel
Plot 691 Port Harcourt Crescent, Garki
Open: 11am to 11pm
Cost: Medium range

The Great WallAuthentic Chinese meals in a large open setting. Can accommodate between 300 to 500 persons. Location: The Landmark Plaza
Plot 3124, IBB Way, Maitama
Hours: 11am to 11pm
Cost: Medium range

FICTION: Short Story

Tough Guys Write Poetry
By Maxim Uzor Uzoatu

On the first day of my honeymoon, I hardly thought of my wife and me. I spent the hours thinking of another man. Chike literally stood before me, his large and impish eyes boring into mine with characteristic abandon. Then I would recall for the umpteenth time the moment during the send-off party when he kissed Victoria and soulfully told her: “When I look into your eyes I see the Statue of Liberty.”

Until recently, you could not quite count Chike among my friends. We had been classmates at the University of Ife in the early 1980s, and I can count on my fingers the number of times we ever exchanged pleasantries. We met infrequently at parties and tutorials; he complained to a couple of my friends that I ‘carried a permanent chip on the shoulder,’ while I felt he was an insufferable wag. We naturally drifted apart after our university studies, and it was such a surprise when I got to the office one Friday morning late last year and a saw a note that simply said: ‘Bala, I’m around.’ – Chike Ofoedu.

The Chike I met later that day looked emaciated, his head somewhat larger than normal and his scrawny body hiding inside a red jumper some sizes to big.

‘I’ve been down, my brother,’ he had said, as though reading my mind. ‘But now that I’ve found you I shall be up again.’

Chike regaled me with stories of what he called his misadventures since graduation from the university. A frustrating job as a teacher in a rural secondary school ended on a ‘quit or be fired’ note. During the long period of unemployment that followed, he made do with creative writing, churning out a rash of manuscripts that only fetched rejection slips that usually said, ‘Fine writing, but what are you saying?’ Abandoning writing and the rural haunts, he travelled to the city of Onitsha to do a bit of trading with an uncle. The business went as catch-and-catch, spanning the selling of foodstuff, second-hand refrigerators, books and clothing, with a wee bit of money-lending on the side. The deal became sour when Chike was conned off a substantial amount of money by a dupe who introduced himself as a money-doubler. Chike thus left his uncle’s business in disgrace and soon joined up with an itinerant Zen Buddhist who took him to Ghana.

‘It was sad day,’ Chike narrated, ‘when I suddenly found myself back on the streets of Onitsha naked as Adam.’

It was while undergoing psychiatric treatment in an Onitsha hospital that Chike chanced on an article I wrote in the Daily Times. He could not convince himself that I was actually the writer of the article, doubting with the benefit of his appreciation of me that I could ever muster the gumption needed for the journalism trade. In the university most people called me Bala Mohammed – after the erudite scholar murdered by Muslim fanatics in Kano; only some close friends or classmates like Chike knew my real name, Stephen Nnopu, with which I now wrote articles for the Daily Times. At any rate, Chike made the point of buying subsequent editions of the newspaper until he saw my photograph against my name.

‘Boy, you looked heavy,’ Chike said. ‘Like Ernest Hemingway.’

The hands of the office clock then stood a few minutes before eight, and Chike appeared in no mood to stop talking.

‘Let’s go to the canteen and get some food,’ I said, expecting Chike to jump at the offer.

‘Don’t you have a house?’ he asked.

Taken aback, I made awkward noises, unable to mobilise coherent words of reply. ‘We can eat in your house, can’t we?’ Chike laughed a throaty laugh that reverberated through the office walls.


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In retrospect, I cannot now say that I regret taking Chike to my one-bedroom apartment in Surulere, a crowded suburb of Lagos. At first it was like taking a certified lunatic to the church. Chike was a nuisance in overdrive. What I initially thought would at most be a one-weekend affair turned out to be a yearlong wedlock of strange bedfellows. Chike never thought of leaving once ensconced in the ambit of my narrow and stifling dungeon.

My neighbours had become used to the rather aloof journalist who stayed home all morning and afternoon only to saunter to work in the evening. I hardly exchanged a word in greeting with any man, woman or child. Nobody in the neighbourhood had ever paid me a visit, social or otherwise. All that changed with the advent of Chike. From morning to night, he made it his duty hosting all the children on the block to raucous session of story-telling. The overflow of wretched and grimy brats always spilled into my bedroom, and I could not but remonstrate with Chike about this. He answered me with a laugh.

‘At the university you were so full of talk about doing work for the masses.’ Chike said, presiding over a melee of children. ‘These here are the masses. Do some good for them. Go buy us some buns, will you.’

With Chike, one could swallow as much disgust as could brim the Atlantic. He carried on as though he had not a care in the wide world. My apartment soon became known to all and sundry as ‘Chike’s place.’ His capacity for comradeship was quite astounding, and he gravitated with fluid malleability from gruff market women to slick young ladies, from street urchins to smart lawyers. Everybody it appeared accepted him on his own terms. He would borrow from me to lend to people not caring that I needed the money back. I once in exasperation asked him to pack out of the house.

‘Of course you don’t mean it,’ he had answered with his trademark laugh.

Chike would not be frustrated into packing out. In fact he revelled in my wickedness.

‘I am the mosquito in your scrotum,’ Chike would say. ‘Smack the mosquito and you ruin yourself.’

It took me more than a dozen weeks and as many hear attacks to realise that instead of asking Chike to pack out of the house I should direct my attention to getting him engaged in some kind of occupation. This way, I reasoned, he would no longer have idle time with which to frolic with ‘the masses’ and engage in those other pursuits that played havoc with the palpitations of my heart. I was thinking of when best to broach the issue with him when he suddenly pulled me aside, abruptly breaking his early morning Zen meditation ritual.

‘I suppose you must be wondering why I’m not looking for work,’ he said, staring up at me from his Buddha-like sitting repose.

I sighed, startled. I stammered for some moments before I managed to bring some coherence to bear on my words. ‘If you need work we’ll try to find one for you.’

‘Working in Nigeria is nonsensical suffering!’ he shot back with a grimace.

I could not offer a reply. There was the insult to deal with, smouldering anger at the hypocrisy of Chike living off the meagre benefits of work he considered unworthy of his while. Let the truth be told, Chike took me for a fool who must do the dirty work for the sustenance of rare genius like him. I was so annoyed I was way past explosion. I was stiff and shaking and no words could form in my mouth.

Chike smiled. ‘You are a great soul, Bala.’

He paused, a new seriousness showing on his lugubrious face. I did not know what to make of his words, except that they helped in an imperceptible way to assuage the hotness of my anger and the deadly imperatives of my implosion. Time stood at a point, and I could only stare and wonder at the sitting and inscrutable Buddha.

‘I was lost and gone in darkness until your light beckoned,’ Chike continued, bulbous tears clouding his eyes. ‘You have given me the choice of life and I can never forget that. I shall forever be grateful to you, Bala.’

I saw a shiny tear fall down his cheeks; it dropped on the carpet with a plop. I was soon finding it difficult to see through a haze of my own tears; the image of Chike that formed in my eyes was a hoary pantheon dominated by a goddess with a bosom of gold.

‘I hope I can pay back just a little of what you have done for me.’ It was Chike’s voice all right, but it appeared to come from recess only the sublime can reach. ‘Ours cannot be an unhappy story.’

I awoke with a start, finding myself cuddled on the floor with Chike. The sun filtered in from the window eaves, forming grotesque patterns on the khaki-brown wall. A sharp ray stabbed me in the eyes and I stood up. Was it a dream? I furtively looked at Chike and images of things flooded my mind. I took my eyes away from him, involuntarily fiddling at the creases of my orange pyjamas.

‘I think I have had my fill for now,’ Chike said, sitting up. ‘I feel I should make it to the United States.’

It is infuriating, Chike’s insane capacity for talking profound philosophy one minute and uttering wooden-headed nonsense the next minute. What would one make of a jobless pauper talking of travelling to the United States currently when they do not grant visas to the U.S. to even wealthy Nigerians? I felt that what Chike’s utterance deserved was utmost mum. I kept mum. He repeated the utterance.

‘Don’t you know that procuring an American visa in Nigeria is tougher than crossing the old Berlin Wall?’ I said, glaring at Chike with the searing scorn of my bulging eyes.

‘But you can help me with that Bala.’ He said it as though it were the most matter-of-fact of truths.

‘Journalists like you do not find it difficult securing the mighty American visa.’

I laughed. ‘Like George Orwell’s animals, some Nigerian journalists are more equal than others.’

‘So?’

‘Even if you do get a visa how would you pay your passage into America?’

‘You wait.’

I expected Chike to keep pestering me with his dream of America in the following weeks. Nothing like that happened. He never again mentioned the United States to me; he just kept on being his ebullient self, entertaining the children and writing new chapters into a book of bad behaviour. He brought a hirsute magician into the house. After a week of complaining, I hired a bald-headed fetish priest who chased the magician away. The crazy confrontation brought the neighbourhood on its knees.

‘Good theatre,’ was all Chike saw of it.

On the morning after the celebrated confrontation, Chike literally dragged me out of sleep. He had a compelling object he could not wait to show me. Pointing through the window at the statuesque lady opening the door of a posh Mercedes Benz car he hollered: ‘Do you know that girl?’

‘She lives there,’ I said with a weary shrug of the shoulders.

‘What’s her name?’

‘I don’t know.’

Chike sighed, looking on in a naked adoration as the girl cruised away in the car. He shook his head, moaning wistfully.

‘You chased the girl and she turned you down or something?’ Chike said.

‘Who told you that?’ I cried, grimacing. ‘I’ve never spoken to the girl. Ever. I only see her from time to time. I guess she equally sees me. And that’s just about it. We mind our own businesses.’

‘My friend, stop being worked up,’ Chike said, ‘smiling. ‘Boy, if the girl should come to confess love for you, tell me, won’t you collapse with joy?’

‘I need my sleep to catch,’ I hissed, walking back to bed.

‘Chike, why die in silence?’

I got back from work at about ten in the night that day. A note was waiting for me on the table.

Bala,
I am at that girl’s house.
-Chike

I decided against going to look for him there. Just as well, for he came home with the girl within a handful of minutes of my return.

‘Bala, meet Queen Victoria!’ Chike was in his elements, shouting as though introducing the girl to the gods in the sky.

I could not look into her eyes. She was that intimidating. Heavy. She stood tall and cool and clean, an angel of the ages. I was all nerves and jitters and clumsiness. Would to Paradise the earth opened up and swallowed me!

Chike and Victoria put me in ungainly contortions of speechlessness. Getting into their groove was way beyond me. Mercifully Victoria eventually left.

However, she would always be there every day, doing Chike’s every wish, making spirited play and wondering at my lack of joie de vivre.

Chike had turned a girl I had at a distance thought more aloof than a parish priest to a frolicsome tomboy. Before, she could have been a statue for all I cared. Now I was the statue in the pack.

‘We make statues of one another when we fail to communicate.’

I cannot now make out whether she said the words or Chike did. No matter. The point really is I needed to come out of the shell into which I had been inexorably cast. Nevertheless, I cannot in good conscience blame myself. My upbringing was in lowly poverty, and tangling up with the rich and famous was always awesome. It comes naturally to the Chikes of this life. God bless them.

Chike now spent as much time in Victoria’s burnt-brick duplex as he did in my place. Victoria was always around, vainly striving to draw me out of my shell and into the family that their company presaged. On occasion I would wake up and go to work without seeing Chike; and I would come back and fall asleep without setting eyes on him. I was preparing for work on Friday afternoon when Chike burst in on me, smack in this dark and trendy double-breasted suit.

‘The American dream is real,’ Chike said, presenting me with his passport.

The sun slowly descended from the sky, exploding on my face.

‘How come…’ I said when I found my voice.

Chike smiled. ‘Victoria fixed it.’

Victoria put up a splendid send-off party for Chike on the Sunday. It was my first time inside her house. Marble columns, brass balustrade, chandeliers, Persian rugs and curtains, opulence. The music was hip and the dancing more so, and Victoria succeeded in making me uncomfortable by jigging unrestrained blues with me. The real highlight of the night happened when there was no music. Chike had all the attention and he called Victoria ‘the Statue of Liberty.’

Chike travelled out of Nigeria on Wednesday night. Victoria and I were the only ones at the airport to see him off. Tears stood in my eyes and Victoria could not be consoled. Chike was different: his face was sunshine.

‘Bala, take care of Victoria.’ Heart-rending parting words delivered as only Chike could. Driving me back from the airport in her Mercedes Benz, Victoria pulsated with distressing sobs. Smack in the middle of Isolo Expressway, she collapsed against my lap, unable to drive further. The car managed to slowly stop on the curb of the service. It became my duty to drive her home, but I had to own up to the crushing shame that I had never learnt how to drive.

She would later recover and drive us home. She passed the night in my place – and several nights thereafter. She was too afraid to return to the emptiness out of which Chike has so sweepingly drawn her. She was the most vulnerable I had seen a human being. She laid open the book of her heart before my eyes: her unhappy childhood after her Nigerian father left her English mother in London; the tragic death of her mother when she was barely ten; the unpleasantness of a foster home; her training as a lawyer; her return to Nigeria and to a wealthy runaway father…

I didn’t not need to propose to her. It stood as a given. Some lives are much too dramatic in the living to bear a rehearsal. Our marriage was a forgone conclusion. Even so, Chike beat us to the hallowed institution. His first letter from the United States, a month after his departure, talked of his recent marriage to an African-American.

‘I entered into this marriage simply to secure the American Green Card,’ Chike wrote in his spare cursive. ‘I can only pretend to love the woman and she somehow knows it. I’ve been reduced to a grinning statue. I write her love poems to patch up the rough and tough bits.’

The onus was on me to prove that my reason for marrying Victoria was something loftier than Chike’s predation.

“My dear, no love poems please,’ Victoria said, shuddering.

I smiled. ‘I’m not tough enough.’

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Grab your share of the market this 2009!

Networking to Make Your Business Grow
It’s not ‘who you know’, it’s ‘who knows you.’

In the past, if you wanted to get a job, secure a contract, have your cause supported, get invited to posh gatherings and things like that, it was a clear case of “whom you know.” These days, however, the rules have been changed, or at least they have been re-phrased: it’s clearly now a case of “who knows you?” In other words, you may know who the consumer is, but does the consumer know you? If you want to get ahead of the pack, especially if you are an entrepreneur, you have to face that question sooner or later and deal with it. With too many people seeking attention, looking for jobs, offering a million different kinds of goods and services, the lucky ones are those who have made a mark, showcased their goods, demonstrated their skills, impressed someone enough to make him or her give you a phone call so that they could try your products. So how many people actually know you? How many people really know your business?

If you have not been doing your own quota of networking activities lately ( introducing yourself and your company to one creature or another), then chances are great that you cannot answer those questions. And if only a few people know you, then you are not aware of the power of networking as a way of building up a business. Forget about giant billboards and flashy neon lights to make a name – those are for mega-rich companies only. But if you are working on a limited budget, or you just want to let people know you could provide specialized skills and services, then your best bet is a sound networking strategy, the one-to-one kind. Ignore that and you will remain where you are. You remain non-existent while others, your competitors, are not only all over the place but are also flying high. And it’s not like you see their full-page adverts in the dailies, because who can really afford that when you are just starting out? The truth is that, more often than not, they have developed the art of networking, and have used it to their advantage.

Networking – which is another word for establishing contacts and finding potential customers (some people call it ‘blowing your own horn’) is a non-negotiable prerequisite to any form of marketing for all business owners. To get the most of networking, here are some tips we would like to share with you:

One: The sooner you network, the better. If you want to be known in a couple of months, it’s probably too late for you to do any networking at this time. But if you want to be known in a couple of years, you still have a chance to make it – get into some serious networking activities now.

Two: You establish contact when you meet people, not when you need them. Whoever said that nobody likes being used or manipulated was saying the truth. People will know from a mile away when you call them just because you need something, or worse, you need to sell something or ask for a favour.

Three: Take advantage of the ‘I know someone who knows someone’ rule. If you are a fashion designer, for instance, it’s not enough that your aunt knows you can make exquisite clothes. Her friends and their friends will have to know it, too. Her sister-in-law’s cousin’s husband’s colleague who was at the wedding of another friend’s friend five years ago (if you get the drift) should also know it too.

Four: Be nice to everyone. You can’t grow a business with a few relatives, especially if you are not in good terms with some of them. That’s why they say it’s good to be nice to your in-laws, or to everyone for that matter – because you’ll never know when you need them. Remember that many small businesses thrive on referrals or word of mouth. Who will refer you or patronize you if you are such a grumpy one? Or worse, you are reclusive and invisible?

Five: Know the rules by heart. When it comes to effective networking, as in anywhere, there are certain things you have to know. There are networking tips: “Don’t wait for the opportunity, create it.” “Have your materials – business card and brochures – handy.” There are the DO’s: “Do exude confidence.” “Do make an effort to be easy to work with.” And DON’TS: “Don’t be pompous.” “Don’t monopolize conversations.”

Six: Be very familiar with every networking etiquette available on the planet. Whether you are at parties, dinners, cocktails, seminars, you should know how to behave accordingly. And it goes the same way with people. Know those who can take a joke or not. Know those who wouldn’t mind an unexpected visit or those who demand for a prior phone call before you show up. Understand the background or culture of the person or company you are dealing with.

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ADVET

19 ways to grow your business

Starting your own business takes only a minute, making it grow takes two to 20 years.

Unless you are willing to spread the word about your business like a wildfire, it will take some time before you start making profit from your investment.

There are several ways to let people know about what you are doing and increase your customer base.

CHOOSE ONE THAT YOU THINK IS BEST FOR YOU:

Word of mouth
Flyers
Newspaper Advertisement
Local Magazine Advertisement
Radio and TV Advertisement
Network with other businesses
Attend events and functions
Create your own website or make use of one existing ones
Create your own newsletter
Join fairs and exhibitions
Host a party
Sponsor or co-sponsor an event (golf tournaments, beauty pageants, competions)
Join local clubs and associations
Write a book
Produce a marketing kit (a folder containing information about you)
Produce a calendar showing your products or services
Send out post cards
Give out corporate gifts
Send out emails

TIP: A combination of at least 3 or 4 of the above is what you need in order to have an effective marketing strategy that will produce results.

It’s okay to choose the cheapest form of advertisement, but make sure it is the most effective way to market yourself.

From Inside Track Business Partner





.....

AT THE ITALIAN EMBASSY

EMBASSIES AND HIGH COMMISSIONS IN ABUJA

AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
Oakland Centre
48 Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja
Tel: o9-4612780
Fax: 09-4612782
Email: ahc.abuja@dfat.gov.au

BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION
Chancery – Plot 364, Shehu Shagari Way,
Maitama.
Tel. 4132010/2880/2883/2887
Fax. 4133552
Visa & Consular: Dangote House,
Aguyi Ironsi Street, Abuja
Tel 4134559 – 64
Fax 4133888
Dangoti Fax. 4124565

CANADIAN HIGH COMMISSION
3A Bobo Street, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4139910
Fax. 4139911

GAMBIAN HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 1304 Yankari Street, Off Parakou Crescent Wuse II Abuja
Tel. 5241224/5
Fax. 5241228

GHANA HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 301, Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Area 10, Garki Abuja
Tel. H. C – 2345187
Dep. H. C - 2345189
Mins. Counsellor - 2345186
Head of Chancery – 2345192

INDIAN HIGH COMMISSION
No. 15, Rio Negro Close, Off Yedseram St. Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4132726, 4132323
Fax; 4132324
hoabuja@mea.gov.in (email)
http://www.hicomindlagos.com/ (website)


JAMAICAN HIGH COMMISSION
70 Yakubu Gowon Cresent Asokoro Abuja
Tel.2345107

KENYAN HIGH COMMISSION
18 Yedseram Street Maitama
P.M.B. 5160 Wuse Head Office Abuja
Tel. 4139155
Fax. 4139157
kenyahi@alpha.linserve.com

MALAYSIA HIGH COMMISSION
No. 2, Pechora Close, Off Panama Street, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 2909278

NAMIBIA HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 1738. T. Y. Danjuma Street, Cadastral Zone A4, Asokoro District, P.M.B 5097, Wuse , Abuja
Tel. 3142742, 2744
Fax. 3142743
Email namibiahcabuja@premiernetng.net

PAKISTAN HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 1805 Samora Machel Street. Asokoro
Tel. 3141650/51
Fax.3141652
Telex 99007 PHC ABI NG
E-mail pahicabuja@yahoo.com

SIERRA LEONE HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 308 Mission Road, Diplomatic Zone, Central Business District, Abuja - FCT
High Commissioner D/L 2349332
Deputy H/C 2349048
Head of Chancery 2349890 (fax)
Confidential Secretary 2346179
Email slhcnig@yahoo.com
Laison Office Lagos:
Plot 148 Younis Bashorun Street
V/I Lagos
01 – 2621761

SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH COMMISSION
No. 3 Usuma Street, Off Gana Street Maitama Abuja
Tel 413862/3776
Fax 4133829
Email sahcabuja@yahoo.co.uk
Chancery: 24 Molade Okoya Thomas Street
Victoria Island, Lagos
Tel: 014612067/4612981/4612982.
Fax: 014612064

TANZANIA HIGH COMMISSION
Chancery: No 15 Yedseram Street, Maitama
Tel. 4132313
Fax. 4132314

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO HIGH COMMISSION
No 7 Casablanca St. Off Nairobi St.
Off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja.
Tel: 5237534/ 5236417
Fax: 5237684
trinitobagoabuja@yahoo.co.uk

UGANDA HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 44, Ontario Crescent,
off Mississippi St. Maitama Abuja
P.M.B. 223 Abuja
Tel. 4138069
Fax. 4138070
Amb’s Res. Plot 946, Ovia Crescent,
off Pope John Paul II St.
Tel. 4134828

ZAMBIA HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 351, Mission Road, Central Area District
Garki Abuja
Swich board – 4618605
Direct line – 4618601
Fax - 4618602

ZIMBABWE HIGH COMMISSION
Plot 282 Parakou Crescent,
off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II
Abuja
Tel: 5239795, 5239793, 5239868, 5239811
Fax: 5239924

ALGERIA EMBASSY
Plot 1398, Justice Mamman Nasir Street, Asokoro, Abuja
Tel. 3142840/1
Fax.3142842
Website http://www.mae.dz/
Email ambalg_abuja@hotmail.com

ANGOLA EMBASSY
No. 31 Pope John Paul II Street, Maitama, Abuja
Tel.4134164, 4135121
Fax. 4134136, 4134082


APOSTOLIC NUNCIATURE IN NIGERIA (HOLY SEE)
T4138381-4 F 4136653
Plot 3133, Pope John Paul II Crescent, Maitama

ARGENTINA EMBASSY
Plot 1611, Yusuf Maitama Sule Street, Asokoro Abuja
T. 3148680, 3148681
F. 3148683

AUSTRIA EMBASSY
Plot 63 Usuma Street, Maitama District, Abuja
Tel: 09 4130772, 0773, 0774
Fax: 09 4130769
Email: abuja-ob@bmaa.gv.at

BELGIUM EMBASSY
Plot 67, Mississippi Road, Maitama
Tel. 4131859
Fax. 4133796/4133797
Email Abuja@diplobel.org
Amb’s Res. Same as above

BENIN REPUBLIC EMBASSY
Plot 2579, Yedseram Street A6, Maitama Abuja, (Near Algon Guest House)
Tel. 4138424,
Fax. 4138425

BURKINA FASO
Chancery: 4 Freetown Street, off Ademola Adetokumbo Crescent, Wuse II Abuja
Tel. 4130491
Fax. 4130492
Amb’s Res. Plot 974, Pope John Paul II Street, off Gana Street, Maitama

BRAZIL EMBASSY
Plot 173, Mississippi St. Maitama Abuja
Tel: 09 4134067, 4135739, 4135749
Fax: 09 4134066
Defence Attaché Office
15 Mississippi Street, Maitama Abuja
4139443, 4139444, 4139444
Fax; 4139444

BULGARIA EMBASSY
Plot 3227, Euphrates Street, Off Aminu Kano Crescent, Maitama Abuja
Tel: 413 00 34, 413 00 35
Fax: 413 27 41
E-mail: Bulgarian@nigtel.com

CHAD
53 Mississippi Street, Maitama Abuja
PMB 488, Garki, Abuja
Tel. 4130751
Fax. 4130752

CHINA EMBASSY
Chancery: Plot 302-303 A. O. Central Area, Abuja
2344743/2340270 Amb’s Res. No 9 Gurara St. Off Yedseram St. Maitama Abuja
Commercial office
Plot 2292A, Yesdseram street, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4137993/4137994/4137995/4137950

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Plot 940 Azores Street, off Aminu Kano Cresc. Wuse Abuja
Tel. 4131105/07
Fax. 4132311

CONGO
Plot 447 lobito crescent, wuse 2 Abuja
Tel. 4137407

COTE D IVOIRE
Plot 329H, Jimmy Carter street, of Shehu Shagari way, Asokoro Extension Abuja
Tel. 4133087
Mobile 080330270613

CUBA
Plot No 339, Diplomatic Zone Area 10
Tel: 2348934, 3876
Fax. 2348942
E-mail cubabuja1@linkserve.com
Cubabuja3@linkserve.com

CZECH REPUBLIC
Plot 1223, Zone A4 Asokoro District, Gnassigbe Eyadema Street Abuja
Tel. 3141245 – 47
Fax. 3141248
Consular & Visa: Tue, Thur 09:30 – 11:30am

EGYPT
Plot 3319, Barada close, off Amazon Street, Maitama Abuja P.O. Box 5069 Wuse Abuja
Tel. 4136091/2, 4132679
Fax. 4132602
egyemb2006@yahoo.com

ERITREA
Plot 3354. Osun Crescent, Cadastral zone A6, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4136086
Fax. 4136085
Email algen23@operamail.com

ETHIOPIA
No 19 Ona Crescent off lake Chad crescent maitama district Abuja
Tel. 4131691, 4131692

EQUITORIAL GUINEA
Plot 199 Cadaastral Zone A7, Benue Plaza St., off Parakou Crescent Wuse II Abuja.

FINLAND
Plot 1547, Iro Dan Musa Street, Asokoro Abuja. P. M. B. 5140 Wuse Zone 3
Tel. 3147256, 3147257
Fax. 3147252
Email. Sanomat.aba@formin.fi

FRANCE
32 Udi Street, off Aso drive, Maitama Abuja
Tel. chancery – 5235506/10, 5235088/5235419
Fax. 5235482/5235076
Commercial – 5235362

French Cultural Centre
52 Libreville Crescent,
off Aminu Kano Crescent,
Wuse 2, Abuja
http://www.ccfabuja.org/
Tel: 0805 94 78 456
Email: ccfabujafct@yahoo.fr


GABON
No 21, Lingu Crescent, off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II PMB 5172 Abuja
Tel. 09-5232466/5232364
Fax. 5232408 / 5232466
Residence 5232335

GERMANY
3323, Barada Close, off Amazon Street Maitama Abuja F. C. T.
Tel. 4130962, 4130964, 4130965
Fax. 4130949
Email GermanEmbassy@mltsn.com

GREECE
Plot 1, Tahum Close, Wuse II, Abuja ( Behind British village)
Tel. 4139433 – 4
Email greekemb.ng@cybaaspace.net

GUINEA
Plot 349 Central Business District
Opposite United Nations Common Premises,
P.M.B. 591 Garki Abuja
Tel. 5233465

HUNGARY
Plot 61 Jose Marti Crsc. Cadastral Zone A4 Asokoro Abuja
Tel. 3141180/1
Fax. 3141177
Email mailto:hungembaby@hotmail.com

INDONESIA
Plot 683, A5 Barawa Street, off Gana Street, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4138625
Fax. 4138626

THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
No 2 Udi Street, off Aso Drive, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 5238048/9
Fax. 5237785
Amb’s Res, as Chancery

IRAQ
No 5 Kainji Crsc. Off Lake Chad Cresc. Off IBB Way, Maitama
Tel. 4139359
Fax. 4139524


IRELAND
Plot 415 Negro Cres, off Aminu Kano Crescent.
Off Shehu Shagari Way, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4131751/2/3
Fax. 4131805
Amb’s res, same as above

ISRAEL
Plot 12 Mary Slessor St. Asokoro Abuja
Tel. 3143170-9

ITALY
21st Crescent off Constitution Avenue,
Central Business district Abuja (5244036, 5244041, 5244048/9)
Fax. 5244034
Tel. 3141643

JAPAN
Plot 585, Bobo Street off Gana Street Maitama,
P.M.B5070, Wuse, Abuja
Tel. 4138898/9258/9718/9719
Fax. 4137667

KOREA
Plot 654, Cadastral Zone A5, Maitama District, Abuja
Tel. 4136524
Fax. 4136525

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Plot 350 Central Area District Cadastral Zone A.O.
Tel. 5239480(Not so sure)
Tel. 2347200 (Correct No)
Fax. 5239766

THE STATE OF KUWAIT
Plot 1258 Zone A5 Gurrara St. Off IBB way, Maitama District
Tel. 4130537 – 8,
Fax. 4130569

LIBYA
Plot 1591, Mike Okoye Close,
off Hon. Justice George Sowemimo Street,
off Jose Marti Crescent, off Samora Machel Street,
Asokoro Exten. Abuja
Tel. 3148356/7
Fax. 3148354

LEBANON
Plot 762, Lake Chad Crescent, Maitama Abuja
PMB 5187, Wuse, Abuja
Fax; 4139904
Tel; 4139901 - 2,
Amb’s DL 4139903
Email: emblebanon@hyperia.com

MALI
Plot 465, Nouachott, Wuse zone 1, Abuja
Tel. 5230494/5238546
Res. Plot 1006 (No 55) Lake Chad Crescent Maitama Abuja

THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO
Plot 1306, Udo Udoma Crescent, Asokoro Abuja
Tel. 3141961/62
Fax. 3141959

NETHERLAND
Consular Section: Plot 622, No 1 Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja
Tel. 4612500
Fax. 4133791

NIGER
7 Sangha Street, off Mississippi street, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4136206/6205

PALESTINE
Plot 34, Lobito Cresc. Wuse II, Abuja Abuja
Tel. 4135311, 4135059
Fax. 4135308


THE PHILIPPINES
16 Lake Chad Cresc. Corner Kainji St. Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4137981/2, 4137829, 4133649
Fax. 4137650
Consular Office 4137830

POLAND
10 Ona Crescent, (off Lake Chad) plot 775, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4138280/4138283
Fax. 4138281

PORTUGAL
No 15 Lake Chad Crescent, Off Ibrahim Babangida Way Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4137211-2
Fax. 4137214

ROMANIA
Plot 498, Nelson Mandela st. Asokoro
Tel. 3142304/5
Fax. 3142306
Email romnig@gmail.com

RUSSIAN
Plot 715 Panama Cresc. Zone A6 Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4134951
Fax. 4135374

NORWAY
Plot 1529, T.Y. Danjuma Street. Asokoro P. M. B. 5136, Wuse Abuja
Tel. 3149127, 3149128
Fax. 3149130
E mail emb.abuja@mfa.no

SAHRAWI ARAB DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
No. 4 Niger St. off Suez Crescent off Ladi Kwali St.
Ibrahim Sani abacha Estate, Wuse Abuja
Tel. 5240936
Fax. 5240937
Email Embsahrawi@hotmail.com

SAUDI ARABIA
Plot 2666, Volta Close off Thames Street,
off Alvan Ikoku St. Minister’s Hill Maitama
Tel. 4134143/1880
Fax 4134906

SENEGAL
No 12, Jose Marti Crescent, off General Yakubu Gowon way
Asokoro Abuja
Tel: 3146054
Fax: 3146054
Email. senembassy@hyperia.com

SERBIA & MONTENEGRO
4139492

SLOVAK REPUBLIC
No. 14, Lord Lugard St. Asokoro Abuja
Tel. 3143731 - 2,
Fax. 3143730
zusrnigeria@yahoo.com
P. M. B. 582. Garki District Abuja

SPAIN
Plot 8 Bobo Close, Maitama Abuja
Tel. 4137091-4
Fax. 4137095
Email embespng@mail.mae.es

SUDAN
Plot 337 Zone AO, Mission Road, Central District Area Abuja
Tel. 2343344 / 08034234567
Fax. 2346265
Email sudaniabj@hotmail.com

SWEDEN
Plot 1520 T. Y. Danjuma St. Asokoro Abuja
(near Namibian High Commission),
Tel. 3143399
Fax. 3143398
Email swedenemb.Abuja@linkseve.com

SWITZERLAND
Plot 1098, kwame Nkrumah cresc. Asokoro district, Abuja
Tel. 3147263 / 2307-8
Fax. 3148364
Trade Section
The Economic Counsellor
No. 157, Adetokumbo Ademola Crescent Wuse II Abuja
Tel: 4131081 – 2
e-mail vertretung@abu.rep.admin.ch

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Plot 2420 Amazon St. Maitama A6, Abuja
Tel. 4138334-5
Fax. 4138337

TURKEY
No 5 Amazon St., Ministers Hill, Maitama A6 Abuja
Tel. 4139787, 4138795, 4138692-3
Fax. 4139457
Email: turkishembassy@rosecom.net

TUNISIA
No 9 Usuma St. Off Gana St. Maitama Ab uja
Tel: 4132966 – 7

UKRAINE
Plot 1273 Parakou Cresc. off Nairobi Street, Wuse II Abuja
Tel. 5239577, 5240087, 5240088
Fax. 5239578
Email emb_ua@linkserve.com

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Central Business District, Abuja
Tel. 4614000
Fax. 4614036

United States Consulate General
2, Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos
Tel: 01 2610050/ 2610097/ 2610158

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
3rd Floor Metro Plaza, Plot 992 Zekaraya Mai Mailary Street,
Central Business District, FCT, Abuja
Recent No. 4619300
Fax. 4619400
Tel: 092342364/ 2342175/ 2342189/ 2342048/ 2347173
Fax: 2342930

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
3rd Floor, First City Plaza, Plot 252, Herbert Macaulay Way,
Central Business District, FCT, Abuja
Tel: 6702530/ 6700798/ 2340783
Fax: 2340804

VENEZUELA
No. 1 Queen Ida Street, Asokoro Abuja
Tel. 3140900-02
Fax. 3140903
evenigeria@yahoo.com

ZIMBABWE
No. 60 Parakou Crescent, Off Amin Kano Crescent,
Wuse II Abuja Abuja
Tel. 4137996, 3624,
Fax. 4137644
Amb’s Res. No. 6, Mekong Close, Off Euphrates Street,
Maitama Abuja.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (EC) DELEGATION
21st Crescent, off Constitution Avenue, Central Business District Abuja
P.M.B. 280, Garki Abuja
Tel. 5244000 - 7
Fax. 5244021
E-mail Delegation-Nigeria@cec.eu.int
Website http://www.delnga.cec.eu.int/

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

ECOWAS EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
60 Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro
Tel. 3147647-9, 3147427-29
Fax. 3143005-6

F. A. O. FOOD & AGRIC. OF THE U.N.
No. 3 Oguda close, off lake chad crescent, maitama Abuja
Tel. 4137546/7
Fax. 4137544
Dl. 4137543
(UN House Plot 617/618, Central Area District, Abuja)

THE WORLD BANK OFFICE
Plot 433 yakubu gowon crescent Opp ecowas asokoro
Tel. 3145259 – 75, 3145274-5
Fax. 3145267-8
Country Director’s DL 3145262,

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (I. M. F.)
House No. 9, Hon. Justice Mohammed Bello Stree, Asokoro
Tel. 09-7822506 or 08056948086
http://www.imf.org/

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS
Plot 436 kumasi crescent. Off Aminu Kano Crescent Wuse II Abuja
Tel. 4619613-5

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN FUND (UNICEF)
Plot 693 Usuma St. Off Gana Street maitama
Tel. 4134687-89, 6713315-8
Fax. 4134226

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (UNDP)
Cooperative bank building maitama
Tel. 4132088-92,4618526
Fax. 4132109
(UN House Plot 617/618, Central Area District, Abuja)

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATION & SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
Plot 777, Bouake St. off Rabat St. off Herbert Macaulay Way, Wuse Zone 6 Abuja
Tel. 5237088
Fax. 5238094
http://www.unesco.org/
Email Abuja@unesco.org
(UN House Plot 617/618, Central Area District, Abuja)

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
Plot 1620 yusuf maitama sule street, off yakubu gowon crescent asokoro
Tel. 3148776-7, 3140578-9
Fax. 3148778, 3140578
Email whoabuja@who-nigeria.org

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK NIGERIA COUNTRY OFFICE
No 8 Lake Chad Crescent maitama District
Tel: 09 413 3261 – 3262
001 1 321 956 3853 – 6
Fax. 09 413 3260
001 321 956 3851
Mobile 0803 667 0043