Even if I had had a camera, pictures would not have accurately described the drive from Ibadan back to the Lagos airport. We departed at 6:30a for a 12:30p flight because no one can anticipate how long it will take to get there. Could be 3 hours, could be 5 hours. There is one road, two lanes in each direction, heavy with truck traffic. There were five of us and the driver in a trusty, old mini-van. Pretty much Nigeria is where motorized vehicles go to die - if the number of dented, rusted, broken down cars and trucks is any indication.
Not 10 minutes after departure we came up against a "jam". Traffic going our direction had stopped. So, like many others, our van crossed the dirt median and start driving the wrong way down the northbound side of the highway. Then we saw that the same thing had happened on the south bound side. Gridlock going south had run into vehicles trying to go north. The accident, a turned over truck was blocking the northbound side so the cars had crossed over only to stop the on-coming traffic. So like many other cars, our van took a one-lane back dirt road through the shacks alongside the highway. Of course the north bound cars, trying to get around the accident had also decided to try this route. Again head-on standstill with cars trying to turn around mid-road. Fortunately we persevered and some bystanders or passengers of other cars started directing traffic. We then crossed back over the northbound lane, through the dirt median, through the north bound cars in the south bound road and back into the traffic going south which had started moving again. The Nigerian drivers are fearless and aggressive.
The rest of our trip was a harrowing duck and weave. Cars drive very fast and there are no lanes on the roads. They are just narrower or wider allowing for more cars to pass each other. You can pass on the right or the left, just as long as there is enough room and you give a honk to say your are going. If there is no room, you drive on the dirt shoulder. Depending on the traffic built up a two "lane" road could easily become four cars abreast. One would think the number of accidents or at least missing side mirrors would be high, and vehicles came within inches of each other but somehow an invisible buffer or supreme spatial relation skills kept everyone separate.
We made it to the airport early and safely where a handler maneuvered us and perhaps greased the wheels through check in and security.
Not 10 minutes after departure we came up against a "jam". Traffic going our direction had stopped. So, like many others, our van crossed the dirt median and start driving the wrong way down the northbound side of the highway. Then we saw that the same thing had happened on the south bound side. Gridlock going south had run into vehicles trying to go north. The accident, a turned over truck was blocking the northbound side so the cars had crossed over only to stop the on-coming traffic. So like many other cars, our van took a one-lane back dirt road through the shacks alongside the highway. Of course the north bound cars, trying to get around the accident had also decided to try this route. Again head-on standstill with cars trying to turn around mid-road. Fortunately we persevered and some bystanders or passengers of other cars started directing traffic. We then crossed back over the northbound lane, through the dirt median, through the north bound cars in the south bound road and back into the traffic going south which had started moving again. The Nigerian drivers are fearless and aggressive.
The rest of our trip was a harrowing duck and weave. Cars drive very fast and there are no lanes on the roads. They are just narrower or wider allowing for more cars to pass each other. You can pass on the right or the left, just as long as there is enough room and you give a honk to say your are going. If there is no room, you drive on the dirt shoulder. Depending on the traffic built up a two "lane" road could easily become four cars abreast. One would think the number of accidents or at least missing side mirrors would be high, and vehicles came within inches of each other but somehow an invisible buffer or supreme spatial relation skills kept everyone separate.
We made it to the airport early and safely where a handler maneuvered us and perhaps greased the wheels through check in and security.
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