More impressions from Nigeria

I am back in Abuja after a 2-day trip to the northern state and city of Kaduna. Again, I'm continuing to be pleasantly surprised at how much I have been enjoying myself here. Kaduna is a big city, but much quieter than Abuja. The northern area is predominantly Muslim, so you see men in traditional dress, and today we even had to take a "Mosque-break" for some team members to go to the Mosque to pray. The dry deserty climate was perfect for me as the heat felt so good against my skin. Overall, I have been very well received everywhere I have been so far and have enjoyed the lively discussions of work and non-work related things. A few specific observations:

1) Nigerians are very lively, fun-loving, and optimistic people. The fun-loving quality and animated manner of conversation remind me of people in Russia, but unlike the Russians, who are by nature on the pessimistic side, Nigerians are quite happy and have a positive outlook, even though, similar to my countrymen, they complain about the government, prices, traffic, lawlessness, etc, but they do it in a funner and more optimistic way.

2) From what I can tell so far, the roads are quite good, and the traffic is not very heavy---nice change from the rest of Africa and Asia.

3) I am still amazed at how peacefully Christianity and Islam coexist in this country. In the meetings we have had people from both religions, and I have yet to witness any tensions. Christians and Muslims live in same areas, go to same schools, and work on same projects quite well. The collaborators today told me that in the very North of Nigeria, in very Muslim areas, there are more tensions, and there are religion-based politics everywhere in the country. However, both religions are respected and accepted in all areas of life. Interestingly, between the Arabs coming from the North and the British Christian colonists coming from the South, the traditional religions have been almost eradicated, unlike most other parts of Africa where these religions are still commonplace.

4) Nigeria is rich in oil---our driver spent 3 hours looking for gas in Kaduna. Corruption is definitely omnipresent.