Lock Down

Yesterday was the first of three election days which will be held in Nigeria. The elections take place every four years (democratic elections??) Yesterday was a "no movement day" which means that people were only allowed out on the streets if they were going to vote from 8 a.m.- 4 p.m.). In order to vote, a person has to line up and "sign in" ( from 8-12p.m.) and show I.D. to prove they are who they say they are. Then, after 12 p.m. they can vote. So, since we aren't Nigerian citizens, we weren't going to be off the compound...which could make for a very long day.:)

But, we came up with a few things to keep us busy.:)
Thank goodness I found some Rice Krispies at the new grocery store here and I happened to have some pink and white marshmallows which I never used from Elizabeth's party. Put that all together with a few M&M's and you have some Rice Krsipie Easter egg treats!:)
Just in case you didn't believe me...we were definitely on lock down....the front gate to the compound was padlocked...
It was really weird how quiet it was .There was a minumum number of security guards on the compound yesterday..
And, these benches...well, let's just say they are normally full of drivers waiting around...but they weren't there either...
Here is a picture from the balcony off the kitchen. The only people out were the ones going to their polling place.
We got together with some other little ones on our compound and had the kids stay busy with a few Easter Crafts.:)
As long as I could keep them busy with their hands....then, maybe their hands wouldn't start hitting each other.:)
Let's just say..the kids loved the eggs!:) So, until next Saturday when I'll need to think of something else to keep them busy when we won't be able to leave the compound!!

Oh wait!!! you didn't think it really went that smoothly with the election yesterday , do you??!!!

Oh no!!!! the state assembly elections did start yesterday, but there weren't enough ballot sheets for all the polling stations. Some Nigerians were able to cast their votes...but not everyone had a ballot. So, the elections yesterday were cancelled in the afternoon...after everyone had already been on lock down. So, now there is talk about the state assembly elections taking place tomorrow instead...but of course, like most things in Nigeria...we won't know anything until the last minute....stay tuned...we might be on "lock down" again tomorrow!