Lots of cars have convex mirrors on the back like this. I'm guessing it's so the guy who is riding your bumper knows how close he can get, but that's all I can imagine.
Most people get around in local taxis. Actual taxis (vs. motorcycle taxis) are a much higher % of the traffic here when compared to Benin. There are places along the highway leading into the city that are unofficial taxi stops; everyone knows that you go there to pick up a taxi. They turn into mini-marketplaces, with people selling all sorts of stuff there. People sell things among cars stuck in the traffic jams at these locations.
The way people deal with traffic here is to go around. That means jumping onto the sidewalk and driving or going to the other side of the road and driving against traffic. Yes, it is a common sight to see cars driving on the wrong side of the road (see previous post)
Last weekend I was with two Zimbabweans and we checked out a local market. As we were leaving a guy was walking around with live roosters. He walked past one of the Zims, who shied away. I didn't move and just watched, and the guy went off on the Zim -- something about "see, the white man isn't scared of power, but the black man is!" I didn't catch it all, but it was some of that combined with what I guess was disdain for someone who was shying away from the realities of African life. However, someone said that the guy "wasn't from here" -- he meant not from Nigeria, but the guy interpreted it differently and asked if he was from California. (Why CA, I don't know.) The Zim guy just said "yes" and suddenly our rooster seller cut him all kinds of slack and wanted his picture taken. I guess Americans are held to low standards on some things...
Side note: he, and everyone else I saw, were only selling cocks, not hens. I typically think of hens as the meat birds, so I'm not sure if that is different here or if everyone was selling for breeding (which I doubt).
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