Flew back in yesterday from Nigeria.
Here's a brief synopsis:
LOCAL ROADS:
If you can call them that! Because of widespread corruption, it seesm no cash is spent on road-building. Even the area where we were staying, quite upmarket, has huge ditches and potholes, which must make driving quite fun. (fortunately we had a local driver, in a toyota d/cab pick-up). Traffic lights and road lights exist, but arten't turned on. So there are policemen at most junctions doing point duty.
MOTORWAYS:
Every man for himself!
No lane markings, no lane discipline... the road SHOULD allow for 3 lanes plus hard shoulders. This turns into seven lanes.
Also, many vehicles have no lights front or rear, which makes for fun! Also poholed and ditched... even more fun at 80km/h
VEHICLES:
Minibus taxis abound, plus ,millions of mopeds, normally with three occupants.
Skoda, VW, Merc, Renault all well represented, as are Toyota, Nissan and Peugeot.
Most vehicles seem to be Pug 504's (the circa 75 one!), favoured by govt departments, it wopuld appear.
about 10% of all vehicles DON'T have some form of accident damage!
Despite the poor state of the roads, there are still a fair few Flash motors - I saw more Jag XK8's than I have ij Cape Town! Also a profusion of Rollers, Bentleys (one with a superb 10 ft scrape down the side!) and 600 Mercs.
Very few US vehicles on show.
More later ...off before I time out.
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Hi Ian - My long lost Nigerian Godson (whose family come from Lagos) visitied us last year having come to London to study.
For him Orpington was a driver's paradise and even the congestion in central London was nothing more than a minor inconvenience !! Having spoken to his parents several times since (both of whom studied here in the early 80's) I already had an insight into the endemic madness in Nigeria and you've confirmed it. No wonder so many Nigerians choose to leave their country if they can !
South Africa must be looking pretty good right now !
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Indeed it is ...
The tale continues...
While being driven about, I noticed that EVERY corner has a tyre repair bloke on it! These guys are armed with a bunch of patches, inner-tubes and a petrol-powered compressor.
Because of the potholes, they do a roaring trade, especially amongst the moped drivers, whose machines are hardly condicive to nigerian conditions!
As a result of the potholing, the streets are literally littered (how's that for alliteration!) with tyres - some with major sidewall damage, some with no tread left at all, and some with uneven tread wear because of suspension damage.
Bizarre sights:
All the trucks are battered old 60s/70s Toyota and Merc bullnose.
For some reason, none have doors - just a little wooden gate arrangement instead.
Strange to see these beasts toiling along, belching fumes, loaded up with hundreds of 21st century TV's, Hifi's. Videos etc...
Saw one (empty) plodding up the on-ramp in heavy traffic. From behind us comes the inevitable police car - siren going, weaving through the lanes with 4 gun-toting police on board. Truck keeps plodding along. Policeman in passenger seat leans right out of the window, and starts to hammer the side of the truck with his AK. as he passes, he waved the barrel threateningly at the driver of the truck...
bizarre sights 2.
minibus taxi, bowling along in traffic, with two blokes hanging onto the rear bumper. both crippled (no legs) and riding on small skateboard-type arrangements. They must have been doing 40km/h...
More to follow... (if you want it!)
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IIRC Ian they don't have a problem with recycling old tyres 'cos they've got a very quaint local custom of putting them around an accused's neck and setting fire to them.
I recall a mate from Kano and another from Port Harcourt telling me all about it - not very pleasant at all !!
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Bizarre sight 3
In The Gambia (OK, not quite Nigeria, but same continent), there is only one set of traffic lights.
Initially they were set up the same as in the UK but in The Gambia, red means danger, so that when the red light came on everyone legged it and it caused lots of accidents!
They have taken out the bulbs behind the red lenses and so 'stop' in Gambia is signified by no light at all!!
DaveH
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Ian,
Much the same as 30 years ago then, and in line with my comments in your earlier pre-visit thread. Can you even begin to imagine what it must have been like on the day in c1971 when they switched to driving on the right?
Oz (as was)
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