Mainland driving
I spent the day driving round Lagos yesterday. I feel a year older today. The morning was spent driving a sum total of around 3 miles around Ikoyi, VI etc at crawl speed. We Abujans find heavy traffic so...distasteful. Then at around 5pm we realised we had given ourselves only an hour and a half to get to the airport to go and pick Diana up. As there was no driver around, we set off with me driving. The thought of driving on the mainland fills me with trepidation. We hit a wall of pre-3rd Mainland Bridge traffic so decided to cut round Marina and go up Western Avenue. The Marina flyover was empty; I silently congratulated our decision, until we saw in the distance at the end of the section the tell tale signs of danfos and toilet-seat sellers milling around Go-Very-Slow. As the road curved round and down into the midst of the market, the child poverty was as bad as it gets. So sad. We had to call cousin-friend Dele in Gbagada to get to the airport ahead of us.
Eventually we got to Ikeja and picked Diana up. Only now it was dark. Dele drove ahead with Bibi, I with Diana. And then we lost them and I was on my own in the dark mainland (a signpostless wilderness). The next moment, we were on the Badagry Road. Oh dear.
We were eventually rescued by Dele and shepherded back to Ikoyi. Everything will be well sha.
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8 comments:
For one, mobile phones have definitely changed a lot in Africa - calling a cousin to get ahead of you to the airport and then having him rescue you from Badagry Road - you must like a wander.
(Sorry, I left Nigeria when phone boxes were the common thing).
However, what is this new mannerism?
"Sha"
I thought that was what you punctuated gisting with.
Anyway, glad to know you've got your guest, wish you a successful tour.
Best regards,
Akin
in addition to mobile phones, we need more sophistication
we need sat nav in local nigerian languages (as well as the major international languages)
the final "you are now arriving at your destination" in yoruba
the technology needs to be made readily available and affordable
you would not have found yourself on badagry road and even if you did, you would not have panicked
Hehehehe! Badagry road??? Those of us born in Lagos still have a lot to learn and you, an Abuja man, go driving??
Once again, welcome to Lagos.
Your tour will go well!
@Obokun LOL...It would too funny to have Sat nav in WA ZO BIA
@mimi
Getting lost isn't funny, Jeremy can attest to this.
It is expected that there could be more than 800 million sat-nav users by 2015 and there is not a single woman I know who hasn't wanted sat nav at one point in their lives.
But, what I find almost too funny, is my sat nav system...its in english (sat nav is now recalculating your route...stay on the left lane and keep following the m1, then take the 3rd exit at the round about and keep following the A1104)...
Jeremy understands yoruba, and wouldn't get lost if he were to attempt driving from lagos to lokoja or even as far up as Sokoto in Nigeria, 13°04′N 5°14′E.
I am talking about a system without limitations, one where if you tried to navigate around Nigeria, you will not lose coverage constantly.
Sat nav is an operational application and all you require for the operation may include but not limited to the following:
>comms devices including a wazobia voice activated sat nav receiver installed in each vehicle
>wazobia operators within a 24/7 dedicated call centre capable of transmitting signals to your vehicle
>from ur vehicle, you can contact the wazobia call centre by activating your comms system, and by confirming your destination
>the operator at the other end will relay the instructions to your receiver and and voila! E kaabo. E kú àárò...itesiwaju...
For those capitalists who have great love for money or who want to make serious money; let them go sell the idea to the fed govt and the technology should be adapted in naija in WaZoBia as well as in english
Thank God you didn't get lost.
i think the trouble u went thru was worth it. i was at the jazzhole and thought the event a really good way to spend a saturday evening. i will start reading 26a pronto
oyinbo driving in Lagos, na wa o!
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