This is the tale of American entrepreneurs who pitted their courage and talent
against a sea of fraudulent professionals who had learned their trade during
several decades of decadent dictatorships, the likes and scale of which the
world has never seen nor, providentially, may ever see again.
Endel Peedo, born in Estonia, barely escaped the World War II Russian invasion
of his country, taking with him an engineering degree and the shirt on his back.
Seeking refuge in Sweden, he found, loved, married, and left with his bride for
America to raise a family and pursue the American dream of life, liberty and
happiness.
Many years later, in 1993, his engineering Company, KEMAX, Ltd., having
completed a major control system for an oil pipeline system in oil-rich Nigeria,
was prepared to be paid under its contract.
The ensuing years of effort toward payment are a saga of bribery, excess and
bogus charges, sundry fees, forced bank deposits which then disappeared,
extortion, forgeries and other impositions -- all of which resulted in cumulative
payments of nearly $1,000,000 by KEMAX and its supporters, including the author,
in a continuing effort to generate the payment due KEMAX.
Mr. Peedo, after exhausting both his and his company's resources, was joined
by others, including the author, who supported the continuing effort, and this
book is a "log" of events during a climactic period ending in 2004.
Only by such a detailed chronology does the author believe the full flavor of
doing business with Nigeria can be truly tasted. That the incredible nature
of the events will make up for such a degree of detail is the author's hope
for the reader.
At times in this tale the author intentionally includes a personal log, as
contrasted with the usual business log entries, as the author wishes to expand
the story to include ways in which personal lives have been touched.
At best, this book suggests a dramatic contrast between two cultures, an
awareness we in the west need more than ever as we converge with other cultures
in the years ahead.
Nigeria is, to be brief, a "culture for personal gain", and represents a stark
contrast with Western culture, which is for all people.
Thus we proceed to the log of events of the latter period, i.e., from 1998
to 2004, and to the conclusion as to whether or not the outcome to KEMAX,
and to Mr. Peedo and his supporters, was a happy one.
