Average Nigerian street shop.
This time I actually experienced Lagos traffic. Previously all I did was go airport-hotel-airport, and it took max 2 hrs in traffic. This time I was actually driving in the suburbs of Lagos and to another town (Ibadan). It took me 30 min to get off the islands that make up downtown Lagos, and it took me 6 hrs one night to get back home when it would have been 1.5 hrs with no traffic. Oh, and we were going against prevailing traffic.
It’s not that bad, though, because staring out the window is fascinating. (Some video here.) It seems that all of life happens on the roadside, whereas in the U.S. it’s set apart by the parking lot separating the street from the shopping center, and in SA it’s set apart by the security fence that rings the shopping complex. At night, open kerosene-fueled flames cast dim light on the dark bodies clogging the streets.
I just can’t describe how bad some roads are. Frequently the undulating packed dirt looks more like a dirtbike track than a street. The highway from Lagos to Ibadan is pretty decent, meaning not too many potholes, but there was a point that was touchy where we were trying to pass 18 wheelers that were weaving all over the road because they were dodging potholes at 80 km/h. That’s how they flip, and I’ve seen a decent number of flipped trucks during my time here.
I had a great driver named Tosin. I had him frequently before, so it was good to see him again. He’s very talkative, has an opinion on everything, and can talk his way into/out of anything. Between his smooth-talking Yoruba and the fact that I’m a white guy in business dress, we got all sorts of meetings we wouldn’t have been able to get had I been a different color or had a different driver.
Like before, I had mixed feelings when leaving. Basic living requires real work there, but the flip side is that the stories are endless.Very typical religious billboard. They are everywhere -- probably ~20% of billboards.
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