Driving licences (again)

Today I got a Texan husband.

At 1pm this afternoon Fraser and I arranged to meet Makeji at the Tax Revenue office in Jos to continue our pursuit of the elusive documents that are Nigerian driving licences.  We filled in another form and waited patiently for our turn to be photographed and fingerprinted -a bit like being arrested (not that I have personal experience) but with the added fun of giving each other electric shocks whenever we passed things (a frequent occurance this time of year).

Fraser was called up but I was then invited along to a much more upmarket office to upload my details.  It was air-conditioned and I was offered a comfortable padded chair instead of the ubiquitous plastic seat.  Ten minutes later I wished I was still in the public waiting room as the official moved on to his third laptop in an attempt to get it to accept what he was typing.  The fourth laptop allowed him to fill in the form but then he told me I'd have to move over to his colleague as his computer had no camera.  A picture was taken but then I had to wait again before moving to yet another desk with another laptop attached to a very clever fingerprint reading device which eventually, after several attempts for each digit, took its readings.  I was now on the system and could be issued with my temporary licence which when printed had already expired.

But how did I acquire a Texan husband when I already had a Scottish one?

One of the questions on the form was state of origin.  The drop down list of options contained all the Nigerian states, Illinois and Texas.  Fraser, disappointed though he was not to see Glasgow listed, decided (in consultation with his official) to pick Texas as his state of origin in the desire to be registered and the hope he'd be able to change it later.  I, having been born in Norfolk, was similarly disappointed not to see my place of origin among the choices but I could not bring myself to plump for a US state.  My official, acknowledging my difficulty, made enquiries of the technical team with the result that we altered the system.  Now, along with Nigerian and US states, Norfolk is listed on the Jos Government list of places of origin.  A satisfying day's work.