Naira

By Pastor Steve Nute

Looking back, it seems humorous to have paid $40.00 for a $4.00 taxi ride. At the time, however, it was somewhat less than funny. It comes of not knowing the value of Nigerian money or the values of some of  the Nigerian people.
I shudder to think of my personal plight if Doc had not been there to bail me out at every turn. I think I might be able to repay the money he shelled out, but I can never repay the personal kindness and mannerism he dispensed on my behalf.

Before we checked out of the Lagos Sheraton, we changed some dollars into Naira, and as we received our N960.00 in place of 100 U.S. dollars, the light began to come on. We had not only shelled out a months wages for the taxi ride, but over two months wages to pass through customs and immigration. The newspaper that we picked up listed the monthly wage of a government worker and we suddenly began to look upon ourselves as the American benevolent society. 

The Naira, their version of the dollar, is divided into 100 kobo and appears to be distributed in nothing larger than N20.00 bills. We spent quite a few of those little critters while there, but never were taken for that long ride as we were on the first night in Lagos. 

An average worker might earn as little as N5.00 per day which is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of the average family. If the family wanted to purchase a chicken, they would have to spend up to N50.00. That would be the equivalent of paying $150.00 for an American family to purchase same said beastie. It is no wonder they must live on yams and cassava with a lot of rice thrown in.

Barter and banter is the key to successful marketing in Nigeria. The lessons that we learned decided us on letting Mrs. Ndife buy the essentials for us as she was by far the more astute shopper as well as the most clever barterer. Ephraim, for instance, paid N5.00 for a bunch on bananas that Edith purchased for N1.00. But then, the Igbo women are well known for their trading ability.

Now, lying on the foam mattress in my deep blue room, I feel rather prosperous with my pocket chock full of Naira. I must try to curb my natural tendencies to give it all away. But there are so many needs here, not the least of which is feeding two rather large Americans with an overdeveloped appetite each. 

N50.00, the price of one fat chicken, is also the price for a large tank of water pumped from the Mercedes tanker up to the roof of the Embassy. From there this wonderful fluid works its way down through the pipes and cools and cleans our somewhat sweaty bodies.

Naira; a lot can be accomplished with those little critters, but they sure are hard to come by.