Lagos Nigeria Visit – Part 3

(Read Part 2 Here)

Here I am in Lagos, enjoying such a nice country & people. Before I continue, let me tell you a bit about Niger & Nigeria. It is really fascinating: 

Story of NIGER: Country Niger, Delta Niger & River Niger – Majestic & Bizarre:

Once upon a time there was a river called Niger (it still is..), the biggest river in West Africa. This river is a funny character. It passed through a land, so they named it the country Niger. The river continued and passed through another country, now they named the country ummm…. Nigeria. Luckily this was the last country river Niger passed through before passing out into Atlantic Ocean. God knows what they would have called, had it passed through another country!!!

Usually rivers run from high lands towards sea. Strangely, starting only 150 miles from Atlantic Ocean, river Niger runs away from the sea towards Sahara Desert, then just touching it, river takes a sharp right turn, runs toward and falls into the same Atlantic Ocean after covering a long journey of 2600 miles . This phenomenon has baffled the geologists since long. According to a popular theory, Sahara had water thousands of years ago and Niger used to fall into it. Once it dried up, river also gave up on it & ran back to Atlantic Ocean. Hence river Niger’s path formed the most unusual Boomerang shape.

The odd doesn’t end here. This river produces a big in-land delta called “Inner Niger Delta”. Deltas are usually formed where rivers meet the sea. River flow gets slow due to low slope and it spreads its path covering a large area where lakes, marshes, canals and water ways form. But strangely Inner Niger Delta is formed well away from the sea. It takes away two third of river’s water. And as a result produces marshes and lakes as big as Belgium (approx 30,000 Sq KM).

Yet, the river continues further and meets the sea where it produces the biggest river delta on the earth called “Niger Delta”. River Niger, Inner Niger Delta and Niger Delta collectively bring a lot of prosperity for the people of neighbouring countries in the form of fishing, farming, agriculture & transportation.

Cars, Cars, Cars:

Being a heavily populated country I was expecting lots of people on streets of Lagos, as was the case in China. But to my surprise, Lagos roads are choked to death with cars. The situation is almost out of control, especially on the islands. It takes hours just to cover few miles. One good thing I noticed was that despite huge traffic, drivers stay in their lanes by & large. And there was no excessive buzzing of horns either. There were many expensive cars also. Same old story repeats here, majority is poor and minority is rich; a huge unjustified uneven spread of wealth – a fruit of capitalism.

Public Transport – Rickshaws, Mini Vans, Buses:

I found all my favourite transports from back home Pakistan present here, and that includes Rickshaws, Lahori mini vans, as well as buses. The only difference was that all the public transport here is coloured yellow for easy recognition.

World’s Bravest Traffic Warden:

I peeped out of Lagos office’s 3^rd floor window and noticed a disabled person crawling briskly using roller coaster skateboard  among cars on a very busy junction. A beggar I thought, begging for money. Few hours later and I noticed two, again moving quickly among cars. Both were unable to walk, sitting on a skateboard, and a stick in one hand. Barely visible from inside the car, this is really dangerous I thought. The same evening I passed through the same junction and had the chance to have a close look at them. I was shocked to discover that they were actually controlling the traffic! It was a busy junction without any traffic lights. They would point with stick to one side of traffic to stop and let other side to go. To make sure no one jumps the traffic they would move right in the middle of the road in front of cars using skateboard. It was just so daring act of bravery. Meet the bravest traffic wardens in the world – and they are just volunteers!

And I Went Out:

I was a bit scared going out alone initially. Advice was to avoid it. I desperately wanted to go out to see the place in day light and days were running out. Then a day before leaving I decided to go out alone. I wanted to buy souvenirs. There was a famous shopping area where I could buy traditional items. It was only few streets away; I decided to walk to it. A man got to do what a man got to do. So I took directions from a colleague and left the office. It was hot & humid that day. A bit nervously I walked through the streets of Victoria Island. Soon I felt comfortable. It was business as usual around me. Streets busy with cars, people walking around, and street hawkers selling goods. It was pretty much like a busy street in Lahore. I went to the place and bought few items. It was an enjoyable experience.

Syria Masjid & Club:

My friends offered to take me to a halal restaurnt in the evening. It was next to a Mosque called Syria Mosque. We were greeted warmly by the lively owner of the place. Some 40 years ago, this gentleman moved here from Syria. He bought a big piece of land cheaply and established a club. Now in his 60s, he has changed it into an informal restuarant which serves Middle Eastern food & sheesha, etc., a quite popular place for ex-pats, especially muslims. A big mosque is built next to it called Syria Mosque. There is a small playing area fo kids and a football ground which is rented for sports. Indian, Pakistanis play cricket here. This man is a laugh-out-loud kind of jolly person.

Food:

Nigerian food revolves around rice, fish, beaf, palm oil and yam (vegetable similar to sweet potato) and plantin (banana-but-big-&-bland, used as vegetable). It has plenty of coconut, palm, papaya and pineapple. I enjoyed eating here, especially the tasty fresh Papaya, Pineapple & other fresh fruits. I visited different restaurants during my stay here.

Soon it was time to leave. Good bye Lagos, Good Bye Nigeria; see you again!