Abuja Round Two

I am not sure I could have wished for a more fun time in Abuja second time around. Unlike last time which was a mercy mission to avert deportation (okay I may have exaggerated that a little) I was there to relax and to enjoy. I made the trip with my good friend Ayo and his sister. When we got there we had a place to stay and time to roam. I think I had one of the best nights out in my whole time in Nigeria there courtesy of Tolu, the older brother of my friend Femi, who was in Abuja doing his NYSC year.

Tolu picked Ayo and myself up with two of his friends and a car. At first we headed to a pub for drinks but he changed his mind just before we got there and went for ice cream instead. After that we went to the pub for drinks. After that, we went to possibly the coolest eatery I've been to in Naija. It was the Abacha barracks. The name didn't sound too appealing (Abacha was probably the biggest bastard of a military dictator Nigeria’s ever had) but inside it was amazing.

This packed joint was basically a ring of open-air pubs and drinking tables, surrounding the central area which was various barbeques smoking assorted large meats and their speciality, whole cooked fish. For an amazing cheap price we gorged ourselves on two of these monster fish, with accompanying firebrand sauce, cabbage and potato chips. Of course drinks ensued thereafter. The environment was classically beer garden like, with glowing fires from the barbeques, chattering from the punters and the accompaniment of a few dodgy buskers. Most amusing was one fellow with a guitar who sang a horrible rendition of "Hotel California" before launching into "Jingle Bells" and other such classic hits.

After this we went for a pit stop at a friend's house. Regaining strength and sobriety we hit an up-market live music venue. This place was a two level open bar with a good supply of foreigners and good music. One singer after another, often with attractive dancing girls entertained us into the early hours of the morning. This would have continued till morning but one or two were tired. Myself and two others were planning to continue the festivities till dawn but unfortunately my companion, the one driving the car, had run out of cash and so we called it a night.

Might I add, all of this was paid for by Tolu. In other words, one brother of a friend of mine paid for most of the night out for four other people, including one he didn’t even know. If that isn’t the perfect example of generous Nigerian hospitality I don't know what is.