Today makes it six months of my stay in the Kingdom of Lesotho.
I first arrived here in October 2024 and after I finished the first phase of the consultancy, I returned briefly to Nigeria.
In the six months that I have resided in the Kingdom of Lesotho, I have experienced uninterrupted 24/7 electricity and pipeborne water supplied by the government to my house!!!
I have never seen or heard the sound of a generator in the neighbourhood where I reside!!!
I have never since a borehole machine except it is installed in a big farm as a source of irrigation!!!
Before I acquired my own automobile, I used to use public transportation to the office (Mondays to Fridays) and to attend congregation meetings on weekends at the kingdom hall place of worship.
It is simple and straightforward, come out of your house to the main road, flag down a taxi and it takes you straight to the taxi stop close to the office, every drop is 13 Maloti. No heavy traffic Jame because the traffic police are always working day and night to keep traffic flowing!!!
Unlike in Nigeria where you have to go and greet the boss every morning to reaffirm your loyalty, here in Lesotho, I have gone weeks without going to the office of my boss to say a “good morning”. All job assignments are sent to me through her Secretary and when I am done, I submit back to the secretary for onward transmission to the boss.
All the back-stabbing and pull him down (PhD) syndrome that we practice in Nigerian workplaces is not here!!!
Colleagues who are farmers bring their crops such as corn, maize and tomatoes and share with other colleagues and they feel free to eat without fear of such foodstuffs being injected with “voodoo” or “witchcraft”!!!
The staff do not need to belong as members of the ruling political party before they can get promotion. Exams are held at regular intervals and that is the basis for promotion of staff.
The only time that I have had any encounter with the police here was when on a routine check they stopped to check inside my car because the back rear window is tinted. After a routine search I was allowed to go. No bribe asked!!!
The process that led to my recruitment as an European Union funded legal consultant here was transparent and merit based. Online interviews, and a writing integrity test to ensure that I understood the European Union rules of engagement for Consultants such as no giving or taking of bribes to induce or corrupt the officials of the European Union in either the office at Lesotho or at the head office at Europe!!!
Even though I was already a consultant for the European Union here in Lesotho, I witnessed first-hand the strict adherence to Procurement Rules when I was bypassed by the EU to engage another lawyer as a consultant for another assignment.
The said consultant is a Kenyan lawyer with more better expertise than myself in the specific area that was advertised in the procurement advertisement.
It turns out that the said Kenya lawyer was a friend to my Kenyan classmate during our PhD study at the University of London.
Unlike in Nigeria, where it has consecutively taken the National Assembly four years to pay for consultancy services that I rendered in the year 2019, here payments by the government are sorted out promptly in a matter of months!!!
Finally, although there are mosquitoes here in Lesotho, their bites do not inflict malaria like they do in Nigeria!!!
A story of courage, wonder, and the transformative power of self-belief; perfect for readers aged 10+ who love adventure. To place order: +234 806 130 3237 | +234 803 582 0870 OR Tap the link to grab a copy:https://www.zeekapublish.com/product/the-magical-life-of-anna
