Thanks Security!

So since Lagos isn't really the safest place in the world we are always having to take precautions. One of those being living inside a secured compound. We have a huge wall all around us and 24 hour security guards around the place. Now the problem is unforately the only job these officers really excel at is opening and closing the gates for people leaving the compound. MOST of the time they do a pretty good job at only that. If ti came to keeping robbers out.....dont think i would trust them with that. Then again being a security guard is a really crappy job. Sitting around all day waiting.....sometimes i dont blame them but you would like to believe they would be more than happy to help if someone needed it right??

So today was a super hot day here. I decided to take a quick dip in the pool. So i got my swimming stuff, keys to the apartment and some paper work i was suppose to give to our driver to take to Jeff at the bank. We live on the fourth floor so with a bunch of stuff in my hands i decided to be lazy and take the elevator. I get in, push the button, the doors shuts......nothing happens. Kind of weird, but sometimes its a little slow so I push the button again and wait to move. Nope nothing. Obviously something is wrong so i push the button to open the door. I realized now none of the buttons are working. Crap...what to do now. After a good 5 minutes of pushing every single button in there 100 times i realize i really am stuck in the elevater. Feeling ridiculously stupid i push the emergancy alarm button. When this alarm goes off everyone in the compound should hear it - it's loud. So i sit waiting for someone to rescue me......nope not a soul. I have now been in there for at least 15 mins. So i pick up the emergency phone and start calling the 3 numbers listed. Security 2 and security 3 and emergency call. I dial the two security gates first, no one answers. What the heck do I do?? Start screaming at the top of my lungs?? I already feel soo stupid. I call again. Luckily someone answers at security 2 and tells me "call security 3." So i call 3 again, someone answer and tells me " sorry, call security 2." I try explaining i already have and no one will help me but realize i am only talking to myself because they have already hung up. Now i am starting to get a little annoyed. After sitting for a couple more minutes I decided to just call the emergency number. Thankfully someone answers and its someone i recognize. Mr. Uzeman also known as the CSO (chief security officer - they love their titles over here). He reconized me and tells me he will take care of it. Thank goodness except for the fact that after sitting there for another 15 and not hearing a soul i start to think i am a lost cause. So I call Jeff on my cell phone and tell him i am stuck and no one will help me. He knows that our security is a joke so he says he will send our driver back to get someone to help me although it will take 30 mins for him to get back to the house. Great. By this time it seriously had been like 45 minutes. I had tried several times to pry the doors open but couldn't get them open. I dont know if it was my frustration or what but i tried again and the door cracked open a little so i ripped it open as much as i could. I forced my leg into the crack and starting trying to wedge my body through while trying to keep the crack open and grab all my pool stuff, my keys and paper work that are at the other side of the elevator......im only grateful that no one was was watching how awkward i looked as i'm trying to force myself and all these things out the door while struggling to keep the door from shutting on me. Anyways finally i got out and decided to go tell Mr. Uzeman. I expected to find him at the bottom working on the elevator but no one is there. So I went out to the security gate and find everyone laying around. I wanted to yell at them "thanks for the help" but didn't. I went over to security 1 where I found Mr. Uzeman sitting on the counter tying his shoe. When he saw me, he jumped up and said, "Oh yes madam, I am coming!" I swear that phrase is going to be the DEATH of me here. I seriously looked at him and said "did you not get my phone call like 30 minutes ago." All he said is "yes yes...sorry-o!" He insisted i show him what the problem was. I tried to explain there is no problem anymore i am out of the elevator. He still wanted to see it though so we walked to the "lift" as he called it and he tried pushing the buttons which obviously weren't working. He asked me how i got out and i told him i pried the doors open. He kind of laughed and tried to pry them himself. He couldn't even get them to budge. Then he looked at me and said, "Only God helped you to get out" and walked away laughing..........Thanks Uzeman!!!
When I walked back out to the pool i saw our driver had just pulled up. He asked me how i got out, after i told him he said, "Do not trust lift, only stairs." Lets just say note definitely taken.............and lesson learned the hard way...........




(Our apartment building)