Little known fact - Nigeria has the highest rate of twin births in the world compared to any other country..........Which would possibly explain their population statistic.
The most difficult division for recruiting was Nigeria, there was so much coverage on the news about the hostile environment, it definitely took time convincing candidates and their families about working in Nigeria.. I advised the wives and family to try not to listen to the news too often especially CNN as they seemed to go on and on, and some of the information either wasn't totally accurate or current, But the hostage taking of rigs was happening and you can't sugar coat that, we could just assure them that Noble did the best job possible of taking care of these situations and the crews. I had an even bigger understanding of that fear when my son was on a rig that was taken over. The other issue of course is the corruption within immigration, what to watch for when the crews were going to or from work. We cautioned all of the employees going to Nigeria for the first time not to have more that $50.00 in their wallets, don't wear expensive jewelry such as watches, chains or rings, have nothing of any value in your bags and leave your expensive cameras at home. They did not need to be reminded for their second trip!
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This story was submitted by Klaus Detmers who had been a crane operator for Noble in Nigeria. Klaus had finished his last hitch and was on his way home. As he made his way through the immigration line one of the officers pulled him aside wanting a "token of goodwill", when nothing was offered Klaus was pulled out of lineup and put into a small room for many hours, nothing to eat or drink. thus missing the flight home. He had to go through the same process the next day, this time the immigration officer was a female, she also asked for something, Klaus showed her his empty wallet, she then went through his bag, and came upon a wood carving. The officer held the carving up saying "this belongs only in the "Nigeria Museum of Art" ,he knew if he wanted to get home he'd have to offer something so Klaus explained again that he had no money but he asked her if she had children and when she said yes. he offered her some chocolate to give to her children, she laughed out loudly, took the chocolate and said that no-one had ever tried to "tip" her with chocolate before. As Klaus walked past the gift shop he saw rows of the "museum only" carvings for sale.
Below are pictures of some of the fellows that worked in Nigeria and locals onshore.
This next story is mine to tell, I hired a Canadian Crane operator, Lance W. Lance was in Edmonton at the time of hire but had dual citizenship so lived in Louisiana most of the time. I had given him all the warning about what could happen upon arrival or departure, but never anticipated the problems he would face on the flights in. I had told him to call if he had any problems. Well he encountered a problem at every turn, all flights that he was to be on were either delayed or cancelled, which of course snowballs after the first delay, I was so worried he'd just say to hell with it and catch the next flight home but he didn't, and I was on the phone with either Lance or our travel people at every stop! Each time he called we'd chat about anything not work related, keeping him distracted and hopefully still interested in the job,. Fortunately he had a good sense of humour which helps in most stressful situations. At one point in one of our many calls he said I guess you're married and I suppose he's big! When Lance came out on his days off he went to Lafayette, La. it was Mardi Gras time. A few days after he arrived home we received a Fedex parcel at the office, it contained the famous Mardi Gras "Kings Cake" which rather beaten up but tasted great, and a Cajun Cuisine Cookbook with a note attached inside that read: "Faye thanks for Ya"All's hard work, won't let you down. If I get hijacked, kidnapped I know where you live. Big Boy don't scare me." Your trusting employee, Lance.
Corey had some pretty wild stories from Nigeria. one thing that sticks in my mind is when we were packing to leave Amsterdam , Kelvin and myself back to Vancouver and Corey back to work in Nigeria, Corey had a very thick money belt full of Nigerian currency, paper bills that were so worn and dirty they could barely be read. This thick wad of cash was barely equivalent to 20 Canadian dollars.