I thought we were going to the VIO office again. But when we arrived there, an employee sitting by his car informed us that the state government workers were on strike. Again? They were just on strike last month! The man asked what we needed and proceeded to offer us his unofficial services for a very handsome fee. Ha! Yeah right. We started to leave, and he told us the Road Safety people—who were supposed to issue our driver’s licenses—would be in after ten.
And that’s how I found myself here, in the recreation room of the JUTH psychiatric ward. At one end of the small room is a table surrounded on one side by men and women in white. Remember the joke, the men in white are coming to take you away? David is with them. It looks like a panel of judges at a court-martial. On the close side of the table are a half dozen men and women in various clothing styles. Patients, I suppose. Facing the table are five slatted steel benches, with another three lining the walls on either side. I sit on a bench near the door. The slats are about three inches apart, and my bottom is already sore. There are bars in a diamond pattern on the windows, most of which are missing their glass louvers. Two of the room’s three ceiling fans are spinning, and the room is actually deliciously cool, without any direct sunlight drifting in. There are four fluorescent light fixtures overhead, but no bulbs. Must be pretty dark at night. They must not recreate after nightfall. The room is painted a steely green, almost grey. It could use touching up. There’s a poster on the left wall. I can’t make out the pictures, but the large text reads, “Who is Normal?”
David has told me that they are finishing up rounds. But, I pointed out, you’re staying in one room. You’re not going round. He laughed. I’m not paying much attention, and after 20 minutes, they’re finished. A resident comes over to me with David, who introduces him, and together we go to the call room. It’s locked, so the resident opens the door for us. Inside are seven chairs, four desks, and a bed. There’s a working fan overhead, and a carpet on the floor. It’s cool inside, and quiet. The room is actually quite nice, painted a creamy yellow with gold and cream curtains in the windows and doorway. David and the other resident leave. I’m alone in the psychiatric ward. Great.
The clock on the wall above the bed tells me that it’s 6:52, but it’s lying. It hasn’t moved in the 20 minutes I’ve now been sitting here. The other resident has returned, and we talk about Chicago, the U.S., Nigerian corruption… He’s been invited by a couple from Michigan to spend two weeks with them in the States, and now he has to face the visa process. Good luck. I tell him if he gets a visa appointment he should tell us how on earth it can be done.
David returns, and it’s 9:45, so we get up to leave. The resident tells me his name is Nantok, and it’s been a pleasure. David and I head to the car and drive back to the VIO office. The Road Safety people are around, but because the others are on strike, they can’t run the generator. (And of course there’s no power without it.) All the gates are locked. David talks through the fence to an officer he knows. I come back to the car and wait. A man comes to my open window and holds up four large ducks. I laugh. “Agwagwa,” I say, the Hausa word for duck (one of the only animals I know). I’ve never seen a duck so close-up before, and they’re actually rather cute. “A’a,” I tell the man, “na gode.” (No, thank you.) I laugh and wave, and he leaves me alone. David returns to the car, and we return home. I relax in an armchair in our living room with a glass of cold (albeit boiled) water and enjoy the ceiling fan.
And then it’s back to work!
LATER--The officer David talked to called us later to say we should come in to see him. On our way, though, we were stopped twice by a mob of people running in the opposite direction, yelling, "Robbers!" This was followed by gunshots. Apparently, a gang was robbing a nearby bank. So we high-tailed it out of there! I guess our paperwork at the VIO office will have to wait until Monday!
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