Nigeria

JustRoss23

Hey have an interview for a job in Nigeria in 2 weeks which i would say i will get as there's a number of them. its in construction working on the building of a new motorway. its in the state of oyo 2 hours from Lagos.
Any advice on working in the area? anyone ever worked there?
I would have 4 return flights to ireland over the 1 year contract and also a driver to and from the compound. anyone that ever worked out there would be most greatful:D

Mrs OBumble

Moved from Work & Jobs, 'cos I think it's a better fit over here.

Dr. Greenthumb

I was offered a job over there about 2 years ago but turned it down after doing some research. I know a good few people who are / have worked over there and the opinions vary considerably. Situations can change very quickly over there due to elections, religious issues etc.

The area I was to go to was in the north east, in the middle of nowhere and the guys there are basically living in old colonial houses that they have done up with the mod cons. They are getting on ok if you don't mind being completely isolated from any help should something go down. They have armed drivers as far as i know whould they go into the local town.

The other people i know that did not stay long all generally had to go to Lagos for business trips / worked there full time. None of them stayed very long. Reasons varied from not being able to handle the culture shock to far more extreme cases that involved bribary, guns and stuff like that.

Research where you are going, the company you are with and how they plan to accommodate you etc. Also how do you get out of there in an emergency. The Irish engineer that was killed over there last year worked in the southern region so make sure you look into it properly.

323

Hi, working on a project offshore Nigeria at the moment, Dr. Greenthumb's spot on, opinions vary wildly, know some lads love it there.
Seen this and put your question to two british lads, different roles (security consultant & warranty surveyor, do onshore and offshore) but on a similar type deal for trips home to what you describe .
They says that area is not good at the moment, armed robberies on the road and so on, although not nearly as bad as further south.

When on a project here we don't actually go ashore in Nigeria for the last few years, instead move personnel in/out by fast surfer (crew boat) from Cotonou/Benin or Douala/Cameroon.

Have heard the horror stories. But a few years back, I used to spend a good bit of time there and to be fair I never had any really major hassle's.

JustRoss23

Thanks for your information lads,
I am really unsure what to do i am looking into the idea of going to Canada either. But the pay for this job would be very good especially for a lad in his mid 20 s. But then again whats money if something was to happen. i was given more information about the job as i stated would be a 12 month gig. but was also told there would be more work in Zambia after that. the interview is next week i am going to go to it anyway and was told that if successful be ready to fly Mid Feb so its happening very quick. The accommodation is in a compound with several security men. the work itself will be carried out a few miles outside of the capital Ibadan.
I have looked up dfa. ie and they have advised all against all non-essential trips to Nigeria as the risk of attack is to strong. it does not mention oyo state in that caption.
I will keep on researching thanks all for the messages.

Working there the last year good place to be has its ups and downs but overall a good experience

expatrebel

Can you tell me if you took the job?

I`m actually working in Guinea at the moment on a 60 day rotation for a construction mining company. Was abit afraid about comming to Africa at first but all in all it has been a good expierence. Sometimes alright our compound gets but on lock down when tensions become hostile during pollitical movements.

keithclancy

JustRoss23 wrote: »

Hey have an interview for a job in Nigeria in 2 weeks which i would say i will get as there's a number of them. its in construction working on the building of a new motorway. its in the state of oyo 2 hours from Lagos.
Any advice on working in the area? anyone ever worked there?
I would have 4 return flights to ireland over the 1 year contract and also a driver to and from the compound. anyone that ever worked out there would be most greatful:D

I know a few lads working for a Large Oil company, they go to Nigeria every so often.

Kidnappings are quite frequent and you have pretty much no life outside the compound.