Can Chizo go home again?
My wife, Chizo, left Accra for Lagos this morning just as rebels in her native Niger Delta region declared an “oil war” against the federal government of Nigeria. Some days ago, I decided against joining her on a visit to her parents and siblings, most of whom live in Port Harcourt. Chizo plans to stop briefly in Port Harcourt later tonight and then head to a town a few hours away where her mother has been staying with one of her sisters. Fortunately, the bus company she is traveling with held a prayer vigil before take-off. A well-dressed man with a red-covered bible entered the company’s 12-seat van and led the passengers in a spirited prayer. The man, it turned out, is the official prayer-master for the bus company, which runs two vehicles daily between Lagos and Accra. The premium service, which costs about $125 (RT), includes the guarantee that the passenger need not leave the vehicle at any of the three international borders traversed on the way to Lagos.