A few days before August 31st, I received an email from the High Commissioner's office in Abuja, Nigeria. The email inviting all Malaysians in Nigeria to attend the Flag Raising Ceremony to celebrate the 58th Anniversary of Malaysia Independence, the National Day or "Hari Merdeka" as we call it back home. Merdeka means Freedom in Bahasa Malaysia.
Both Malaysia and Nigeria gained independence from the British and since both nations are members of the Commonwealth, instead of embassy...it is the high commission and instead of ambassador, the high commissioner is the head of the mission. In general, both of them have the same role (ambassador and high comm) only the term high commissioner is used when one Commonwealth country sends its diplomat to another Commonwealth country.
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| MMIA Domestic Terminal |
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"You Are Welcome" a phrase I find synonym to the Nigerian.
The old gateway into Abuja |
Took Arik Air again to Abuja, a 9am flight which got delayed for about 20 minutes. The domestic terminal for Arik Air is well equipped. There were cafes on the mezzanine floor and some shops and stalls selling snacks, fabrics, books, phone accessories etc.. The tannoy (PA system) would call for the passengers to board the aircraft, but since to save time, they would call two flights in one go. Have to be extra careful and not to line up in the wrong lane. From the terminal to the aircraft waiting at tarmac, we board a bus and before boarding..another pat down check by the security officer.
In Abuja, Anthony a colleague from Madam's company fetched me even after I refused politely. He insisted...oh my...he does. Along the way, we talked about the language and culture which has always been my interest. I joked about the food which is piping hot. We also talked about names, the local ones and why it is important to pronounce it properly. I will write about it, in the next posting. Managed to borrow a book from the library about African names. The journey from airport to the high comm took about 30 minutes, or maybe more.
But I've been a chatter bug since I landed in Nigeria, (will keep it till the next posting) so the journey seemed short...or maybe Anthony took a short cut so he wouldn't have to answer any of my question. Biggest state? Have you been to Maiduguri? Where were you born? Are you from one of the main tribe? or sub-tribe? How many children you have? How long have you been with the company? etc etc..Luckily for Anthony, we arrived at the high comm....finally...
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H.E Datuk Lim Juay Jin,
The High Commissioner of Malaysia
to the Federal Republic of Nigeria |
