A Wren Says

On my recent trip to Nigeria, we flew into Lagos, but that would not be our final destination. After we landed at the Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos, we had to make it through a confusing customs experience. Without getting too deep into it, regardless of how well you speak the language of a particular country, it is much more difficult to gain fluency in a culture from miles away. I seriously recommend that if you are traveling to Nigeria, that you either have an in-country contact or a travel body who can help you navigate situations, especially those that involve government entities.  Customs was confusing. I was glad to have someone to assist.  

Our next stop was to Asaba. We decided to fly. That meant we had to leave the international airport and take a car to Murtala Muhammad Airport 2 to catch the local flight. We were very early to the area and had a meal at the Bukka Hut across the street. I had moi moi and stewed fish. I recommend it.

We were in the airport before 1 PM for our flight with United Nigeria that was scheduled for 4:30. Waiting at an airport is never fun, but this airport was hot. A complete contrast to my experience of always having a sweater with me at airports in the states. There were air conditioning units, but they were no match for the heat and size of the open area. I was slowly dying and legitimately on the edge of heat stroke. We finally caved and bought some waters.  At 4:30 was when we learned that our flight was to be delayed for 1 hour. We didn’t get an explanation as to why.

At 5:30 we were moved downstairs to the gate. Everyone was patted down by the gate agent, even though we had all passed through airport security. Vans drove us from the building to the loading zone for the plane.

The plane was tiny, in comparison to what I was used to. There were 24 rows with 3 seats per row. The air conditioners were blowing on the plane, but by that point I was already uncomfortably sweaty.

We were instructed to turn our phones off completely, not put them into airplane mode. So I have no pictures of any of this. Just know I was extremely excited about the onboard snack. Why did I get more snacks on this 40 minute flight than I do on a 2 hour flight stateside? This is what I got in my box:

• A muffin. It was dense and mildly sweet, suitable for breakfast.
• An energy biscut- Glucose -D by Mabisco. (That’s not a typo) They were not very sweet, more like crisp bread with just a hint of sweetness
• Mentos- One individually wrapped piece
• Juice box- Happy hour by Chivita in orange safari flavor. it tasted like flat orange soda

What do I want you to take away from this experience?

The first thing is that you should get a cultural escort, someone to help you navigate difficult situations. But if you plan to take local flights, plan for the event they are delayed/cancelled. I don’t say that because of my one experience. I say that with the experience of hearing multiple flights being canceled without warning from other airlines while I was in the terminal, and the warnings I received from local people about who themselves had to consistently prepare other arrangements. The main piece of advice was to book your local flight as early in the day as possible to give you some wiggle room in the case of delays. That assured you that the flight might leave later rather than being outright canceled.

The third thing is to expect Nigeria to be hot. Plan accordingly.