Mogadishu and Lagos shenanigans

A recount of travel adventures by some friends made me write this because of the humor which they gave these stories with. Of interest was travels to Somalia and Lagos in terms of arms adventures. My friends are pretty ordinary and have no previous experience with firearms (dealing or using) and so this was a totally foreign concept to them-encountering live ammunition at close range.
Back to the story-so one of them goes to Mogadishu on some work related trip and when done decides to go for some last minutes hopping at the general market which is rumored to have everything from fabric, precious metals, ice-cream, grain, artifacts and ammunition-this in range from grenades, bazookas, AK47s, MAC 10s, Kalashnikovs and an endless list of the lot. True to form all that is rumored about the market was in existence and the chap decides to ‘window shop’. And in seconds he has willing sellers haggling prices and even offering a shooting range/target practice to test the product after purchase, after all he wanted value for money right? And he plays along thinking it’s a hoax till they get to the shooting range and he is shown how to handle the AK, clean it and whatever else you are taught about arms. In the end however he just killed that story (buying the gun I mean), but it has left an impression of Mogadishu being ‘too cool’.
The one that went to Lagos got invited to a ‘local’ for pints by a friend who was mutual friends with a big shot of sorts that side of the world. And as the evening wore on, my friend suggests a change of venue dues to the dubiousness of the local’s surroundings and the impending darkness. His new Oga pal just tells him to be easy and makes a call. Within 5 minutes flat a battalion of cops lands in the area and five secure the local’s exterior and three others join them inside to ‘protect’ them. This is not the end of it, the 3 guards join them for some pints and it starts getting heated as they get frosted and the cops start a pissing contest with whose gun chucks the loudest shots/gunfire and they whip out their guns and have a trigger happy pissing contest. Anyway this was shortly followed by my friend’s exit of the premises and end of his frosting spree ever in Lagos! Shenanigans of Africa, that’s what makes this continents uniquely interesting!

Professionalism

There exist different kinds of professions on this earth- from prostitution to journalism, banking, thieving (on both small and large scale), politicking, artistry and the list is endless. What I have come to know is that there are levels of skill required for these professions and to each that practices them and the results of the worker’s labor speak for themselves. And my point, respect all professions and the skills they entail. This is regardless of whether those doing them trained for them sufficiently or not, and my kudos to those who have (or are on their way towards) mastering their fields. When I watch ladies of Koinange’s ilk marketing their wares on street corners at 3am or in some classy restaurant with random different clients, I get to understand it is not a profession for the weak. And this is the same notion I will have when watching soldiers going through grueling training at their barracks to become efficient killing machines. All I am saying is that it is never easy, hard work comes in many forms in different professions, only issue is, what kind of profession you are in. So to be the best marketer (of different wares-depending on your JD and situation), soldier, artsist, banker, thief, teacher, etc. go out of your way by working as hard as you possibly can, be the best in what you do and kick ass!