A Wren Says

So you’re in Nigeria. How are you going to get around? Maybe you’re like me and prefer to fly between major cities. And maybe you’re also like me who found out her flight was canceled the day before she needed to back to Lagos for my flight back to the US and had to go by road. At the very least, I was able to learn more about the culture from how I perceived my experience on the road.

We hired a car to get us from Asaba to Lagos. The trip was roughly 7 hours. Along the way, the scenery changed back and forth, from densely packed forests, to small towns, to forests, to small settlements. There were also cattleman walking their herds of cows along the roadside.

While you’re within cities, you will see small cabs, also known as kekes, and motorcycle taxis. This is an option you can take to get around. I did not take that option so I can’t tell you what that experience is like. But here is a video that might help.

One headache of traveling by road cross country and within cities, is the traffic stops. There were makeshift inspection points made with whatever could be found. Old tires, logs, and rocks arranged in the road slowed tragic to a narrow point, where the cars were checked by officials. I was told that often it was immigration and border protection agents ensuring trafficking was not happening along the routes. But I can’t say for sure what they were looking for at all, or if that was the motive. There were quite a few of these stops, and the local people took advantage of them.

With traffic slowed, they wove through the cars selling their wares. Once we got into the boundaries of Lagos, we were stuck in grid lock. This was an opportunity that many street vendors took full advantage of. This is a non-exhaustive list of what was on sale:

Windshied wipers, Shirts, Popcorn, Artwork, Hats, Razors, Cotton swabs, Shorts, Super glue (Oke Bond), Egg crates (and there was someone else selling eggs), Reading glasses, Sausage rolls (Gala), Car chargers for phones (which seemed especially helpful for the gridlock), Cola nuts, Water, Plantain chips, Coca Cola and other soft drinks, Avocados, Loading straps, Chewing gum and candy, Mesh bags, Flip flops, Pillows, Onions scarves, Watches, Aboniki, Corn on the cob, Shoes

One thing I think that should take away is how different it is to drive/ride in Nigeria. Traffic laws are interpreted/enforced in a completely different way. I don’t care who you are or where you were raised. Even if you are able to navigate the roads and other drivers and pedestrians, you would have to be skilled in social politics. How would you handle being pulled over in a foreign country? Especially one that has been in the news for a corrupt police force? While going about, we saw a van pull over with multiple men wearing bulletproof vests with the word “Raiders” in large block letters.  I missed the details that led this branch of the police force to the events, but I noticed them pushing man into a shop, hopefully for a peaceful interrogation. If you yourself were pulled over, do you have enough cultural literacy to successfully and peaceably work your way out of such a situation? How would you negotiate with an official if you were targeted for further inspection at a traffic stop?

Yes, driving is a great opportunity to observe a different way of life by way of the road. But just know I do not recommend you driving yourself if you are visitor or have been out of Nigeria for a long time. Hire a reputable car service when necessary to get you to your destinations. And then sit back and pay attention to the beauty around you.