Free Doing Dangerously Well by Carole Enahoro Page B

River?”
    “We’re interested,” she corrected, “in assisting with the supply of uncontaminated fresh water, waste management systems and, of course, hydroelectric—” She stopped herself. “Minister Kolo, have you received a call from the company already?”
    “No. Indeed, no.”
    She could not tell from his tone whether he had or not.
    “Now, are you planning to provide this for free?” More sucking.
    “Well, of course we’d only expect nominal repayment as you rebuild your—”
    “A country in such a sad state of disrepair rarely receives calls from such eminent prospectors as TransAqua. Allow me to let you in on a secret, Ms. Glass. I have a plan—a bold plan for this great country.” More sucking. “I wish to build the biggest dam in the world at Kainji and to rename the Niger River.”
    Mary hardly dared to breathe. She had struck the mother lode. With such a grand scheme, he would have to relinquish any rights to the river, and TransAqua would control their electricity as well. The corporation would effectively own the country.
    “If you and your company wish to be involved, we will need to come to an agreement.”
    “Yes?”
    “For this plan to come to fruition, it would be in your best interests to advise the American ambassador firstly that I have your full support, and secondly that you wish the American government to provide equally strong support in my forthcoming ventures.” The sucking grew louder. “If, for example, that leads to the presidency.”
    “That’s certainly a bold plan, Minister Kolo.” Mary hesitated. “I’ll do all I can to-”
    Kolo stopped sucking. “Please.” His entreaty had an undertone of mockery. “Please don’t make me call the French. I do so detest their long-winded conferencing, although I must say they certainly love grand plans.”
    Mary pondered. She had no directive to negotiate this kind of deal, but she could always retract later. “TransAqua is interested in purchasing the Niger River. And if we invest in the dam, we would, of course, need sole control over electricity pricing and distribution,” she said.
    Silence.
    Then Kolo’s voice, unperturbed, slid back through the receiver. “As I thought. You’re a daring woman, Ms. Glass.” The sucking began again. Kolo swallowed whatever he was eating before embarking on the next phase of negotiation. “In general, we have agreement. Obviously, we’ll have to work on the nuts and bolts, minor details, the renaming of the river, that kind of thing. We might need your help on that.”
    “Do you have any ideas as to its new name?” Mary asked.
    “Oh-no, no, no. Certainly not. We Africans are always renaming something. It’s in our blood. I haven’t had time to think about it. So,” he added, “I will leave a week for you to think this over. You’ll need to get the support of your executive, no doubt.” Mary flushed at his insight. “Naturally I expectthe strictest confidence. Perhaps you could be so good as to phone me—say, a week Tuesday? As you doubtless know, I have a lot to do. Then we can meet in the new year.”
    “Yes, sir. Tuesday the 15th.” Mary suddenly realized an important item that had been left out of the conversation, “By the way, I am the Associ—”
    “Yes, Ms. Glass. I know. The Associate Director of Acquisitions for the Sub-Sahara. I have your contact details.”
    Mary put down the phone with a clear feeling of having been outmanoeuvred. This did not sit well. Nevertheless, she quickly foresaw that this character—whoever he was—would be the most likely candidate to assume the presidency.
    A full twelve hours later, Mary sat in the boardroom, watching the team as they prepared for the arrival of Cheeseman, the president of acquisitions. Her chestnut orbs surveyed the acquisitions directors, who all perched in terrified silence. Finally, her eyes rested on her own team, the associate directors, hired to compete with the directors, raise the pressure, tread on