First TIME travel advice - getting into town
You've finally made it, and you can't wait to get out into the open air and begin your big adventure - but the exit is blocked by a mass of people. Excited family members, taxi thugs, more luggage cart wise guys and brutal looking soldiers.
You're also likely to see a bunch of those ubiquitous guys with hand-marked signs - and if you're lucky enough to be a business traveler coming to visit a well-heeled employer, your name will hopefully be on one of them.
Having planned ahead—you did arrange for some one to pick you up right? There will be a driver waiting to take you to your hotel or staff house? Right?
Oyibo Alert!
Be Warned – Check his ID. Do not, under any circumstances, get into a vehicle unless you are completely sure you know the driver.
Another thing to note here is never give out your name or your company’s name until you are sure who you are talking to. We have heard stories of people being whisked off in cars that they thought had been sent by a friend only to be held at gun point later and having to pay just to be taken back to the airport where they started.
But, however you negotiate your way into town, you are now ready for your first look at Nigeria. More than likely, you'll get stuck on the way in an enormous traffic jam. Take this as conclusive proof that Nigeria is well and truly into the automobile age. Just use the time to take in the sites.
One of the first things you'll see by the roadside (besides lots of broken-down cars; evidence that the automobile age is not something they've mastered quite yet) is the predominance of the rusty tin roof phenomena. We have looked everywhere to buy some of this for our Oyibo Gang Hut but to no avail…….. The only stuff we could find was all shiny with no holes in it.
And Finally...
Something to remember...
The worst mistake foreigners living in this city ever make (and granted, some of you are not here by choice) is to get too wrapped-up in their work, or their fear, and miss the opportunity of really seeing a town unlike any other in the world.
