Is it sane to undertake a venture with your whole family on a road trip around Nigeria, considering attendants risks (armed robberry, bad roads, police/other law enforcement agencies, half sane drivers etc.)?

That was what I did from 23rd July to 18th August. And by the grace of the Lord, we came back home after transversing 5 of 6 regions, in one piece.

For years I've planned, dreamt but procrastinated a land travel around interesting cities within Nigeria. The MDX through Jenju was specifically for the purpose, as my Accord cannot provide appropriate safety features for a family of six (seat belts for five), apart from luggage hauling capacity and comfort (including the on-board home entertainment system).

While most Nigerian roads (particularly the Southern areas) are not in good condition, the greatest challenges were on the Kaduna-Mokwa-Jebba-Ilorin and Aba-Ikot Ekpene-Calabar axes. Particularly the former. Spot on and top quality of course were the Abuja-Keffi, Jos-Bauchi, Kano-Kaduna . . . and (from the South!) the Benin-Warri highways.

Nigeria is a lovely place actually and while the Govt is generally not paying much attention to developing so many areas with high potentials as tourist centres, averagely we may not be doing service to exploiting these same areas during our leisure periods. Na so so oyibo we dey see for some choice remote locations    Not strange sha, as we also dey explore their own country pass them too sometimes - I found it quite strange during a work experience in Europe, that many Dutch colleagues had never been to the Omniversum (situated right in Den Haag!); place wey I go a couple of times   

It was generally a good experience to visit family members and friends at far flung ends of the country, while also taking in the beauty (where existent) of our own dear native land.
Expensive? Yes!
Wearying? Yes!
But it was quite educational for the kids.
It was great for my wife and I (back to my University after 19yrs of last visit; back to Kano where my wife and I did National service, etc.). The pent up nostalgia for some of those places at least has ebbed off now. . .

I'll share below (and later) a few pictures of the adventure.

And I will encourage us to share similar road trip experiences. . .

Abuja Transcorp Hilton

MRH - Miango.
An American run chalet-type rest home in Plateau State

Yankari games reserve

EI, this is exactly the kind of trip I am planning with my new bike!!!

fotodaddy:

EI, this is exactly the kind of trip I am planning with my new bike!!!

Fotodaddy,

Na beg I dey. Make u no try am with motor cycle O! Road no good for two wheelers O!!   

Meanwhile more pics below (too bad I have too much more of movies than pictures on my camcorder). . .

Family at Abuja Hilton

Jos wildlife park

Heading for Wikki warm springs

EI:

Family at Abuja Hilton

@poster
U mean u have 2 wives? Pls explain the 2nd woman. Nice tho 4 u to have the courage. Did you got to PH? How do one cope with the militants? My friend just came back today with some stories.

EI,

Lovely family you have up there! You are indeed a lucky man, I'm glad your trip was a great success and I am proud to say that the MDX I sold to you lived up to the task.

Best regards,
J

Na crime make someone have 2 wives? EI you dont owe me any explanation. carry go. Marry 10 sef. I support

Awesome! Keep it up, can't wait to this myself

Eagle1:

@poster
You mean u have 2 wives? Please explain the 2nd woman. Nice tho for you to have the courage. Did you got to PH? How do one cope with the militants? My friend just came back today with some stories.

promise72:

Na crime make someone have 2 wives? EI you don't owe me any explanation. carry go. Marry 10 sef. I support

Eagle/Promise,

lol!
One na my wife. The younger na our first pikin,   

Yes we spent 2 nights only in PHC. Militants no be new tin na! We be Nigerians, so we fit survive, as long as we keep low profile - even with the MDX

PS: Actually PH was one of my last work locations where my family spent half a decade. Quite nice that Gov Amaechi is doing in 1yr what Odili couldn't in 8yrs. . .

jenju:

EI,

Lovely family you have up there! You are indeed a lucky man, I'm glad your trip was a great success and I am proud to say that the MDX I sold to you lived up to the task.

Best regards,
J

J,

Thanks a lot. And thanks for the commendable after sales "service" - the call after 2 weeks to check the performance (and extent of my travels).

Yes the MDX was awesome through all the road conditions we met; road handling, absorption of shocks through the millions of potholes, braking, acceleration, general comfort for driver/passengers,  commendable cargo space etc.

Not as comfortable though taking sharp bends as my lower gravity Honda Accord salon, but the overall drive in it was quite a very pleasant experience.

Man get to go back to watching the match (I hope we can overrun the Argentines). . .

Losing 1-0 sucks, but it was a good match.

EI:

Watching hyenas at Jos wildlife park

Ol boy, you mean say you go all the way to jos just to dey look hyenas??!!

I for show them to you for our local garbage dump for lagos. And you for no spend all that fuel money!!!

sultaan:

Losing 1-0 sucks, but it was a good match.

Sultaan,

E no easy. A tough loss to take as we didn't put up our best performance. But of course much odds were against us with absence of Obasi, and we were playing against great starts in their own right (while our best ply their trade at mid table clubs in England and Spain, those guys have half tehir team in Barca, Liverpool, Ath Mad, Real Mad, Bay Munich etc. . .and Riquelme!)

The boys did great and I personally believe they should be retained and moulded with the best papa Eagles team has to offer, against WC 2010. . . of course retaining Siasia as overall coach (my real-time comments are captured in the appropriate Thread under Sports).

fotodaddy:

Ol boy, you mean say you go all the way to jos just to dey look hyenas??!!

I for show them to you for our local garbage dump for lagos. And you for no spend all that fuel money!!!

Fotodaddy,

So after lazily waking up at 0730hrs (when ya mates don dey before 0500hrs to hail our boys), na me u come expend ya energy to yab, eh?!

Anyhow you are ok with the comment. Really a pity our digital camera developed a problem day 1 of trip, so the camcorder was used for still pictures without real conviction (till after the trip I wasn't even sure how to effect download for edition). And of the few, interspaced between almost 40Gb movie clips, many are not discreet and too personal so can't be published here.

Pics:
Meanwhile adding the pic below (Pumba) to the last (Ed! and co). . .

. . .and throwing grown-up Simba (attached) into the equation, will give you a glimpse of my pictures   

So Fotodaddy, I await the movie under description (lets see how well you join your kids to have fun). . .

Lonely elephant at Jos wildlife park

The park at this time is almost comparable to Ibadan's zoo (UI's biological gardens) in terms o content and variety of wildlife creatures.

Unfortunately Ibadan's zoo is quite depleted now in content/variety due to much neglect - in 1978 first time I was there, it was quite rich; worse during my second experience in 2000, and gradually depreciating. . .

Oga EI,
You have done well o.

I did a small trip in April myself. but not near as far-reaching as yours.
Drove from PH to Abuja then a visit to Ajaokuta, then onwards to Osogbo through the terrible Okene-Ondo state rd. Osogbo to Warri through Owo/Benin and back to PH.

But a question here, I had noticed on my own trip that police road-blocks were almost non-existent along the Enugu-Anyangba-Lokoja route all the way to Abuja, and generally in the north. Where did you see most police, and what was the general treatment received in their hands.

Infact you try no be small o

adechuks:

I did a small trip in April myself. but not near as far-reaching as yours.
Drove from PH to Abuja then a visit to Ajaokuta, then onwards to Osogbo through the terrible Okene-Ondo state rd. Osogbo to Warri through Owo/Benin and back to PH.

But a question here, I had noticed on my own trip that police road-blocks were almost non-existent along the Enugu-Anyangba-Lokoja route all the way to Abuja, and generally in the north. Where did you see most police, and what was the general treatment received in their hands.

Bros,

My interface with Okene was on the Benin-Auchi-Okene-Lokoja route to Abuja on my way up to the North. Back South was from Kaduna-Mokwa-Jebba route. I didn't touch Ondo town at all; only interface with that area was Lagos-Ibadan-Akure(through Ife road)-Owo-Benin, as I dodged the Sagamu-Ore imbroglio   

The South-East was the only region we didn't cover for almost obvious reasons   
So I won't be quite a good judge for any assessment around that axis - last time I drove deep into the Region from Asaba end of Niger bridge, was in Nov 1992 through Enugu to Nturu (for a friend's wedding).

Police toll points? Well I'd say we encountered more stops/searches in the single Benin-Sapele-Warri-Ughelli-PHC-Aba-Ikot Ekpene-Itu-Calabar journey, than the journey up till that point (i.e. all the ride up/through North, North to Lagos and Lagos to Benin)! 90% & 100% of the stops & searches resp, were on the earlier part in red letters   
That day it was like, "didn't we remember to intercede against police wahala today?".

Within PHC cost us 1.5hrs between Choba and Obigbo . . . just getting through PHC! By then the toll of the police stops really got to us, with a heavy rain from mid afternoon that provided only 1.5hrs of daylight to contend with, getting to Calabar.

In the whole of the North, the attitude was definitely different and the Highway Patrol teams were more courteous and polite. Just 3 stops, two of which was "show us your tinted glass permit (only)".

In Lagos we had a few brushes in our 5d sojourn. No brush at all in Ibadan and Ilorin.

Because of the fear of customs, a worse experience with MDX being imported, one had to avoid Ore/Oluku area, where they are most visible. That was the stress area for the army guys that brought the MDX from Lagos, and also a stress area for many friends/colleagues (infact Fotodaddy had a brush a few weeks area that we discussed). Luckily I never encountered the NCS. . .

Gamine:

Infact you try no be small o

Thank you my sista. How we go do am. . .? 

Awesome, commendable experience worthy of emulation. Would have been easier with well developed infrastructure and services. Great education for the kids. Well done and wecome back, glad you you and your family returned in safety. More pictures if you gat them.

EI,

This is a very informative thread. Keep it coming, buddy.

J

You as a Nigeria was concerned about the check/harassment points on Nigerian roads and wouldn't even drive through some areas; imagine what a tourist will go through with all these in place as a black man driving in the US, I've only been stopped once (6+years ago) by the police for driving at 12:00am without headlight.You had more stops than I had in 7 years.

Asking for a police permit on a factory tint is ridiculous! they need to get up to date with automotive standards, can't keep letting their ignorance hold the people back.

sultaan:

You had more stops than I had in 7 years.

Sultaan,

That makes our Naija distinct (albeit negatively)!

In more civilised societies, checkpoints are for quite serious businesses while a cop must have good reasons if he has to pull someone over (his car AV system recording live transactions). But where the purpose is for collection of tolls, what else do you expect??

sultaan:

Asking for a police permit on a factory tint is ridiculous! they need to get up to date with automotive standards, can't keep letting their ignorance hold the people back.

"can't keep letting their ignorance hold the people back"

Ol' boy, e be like say e don tay well well, way u leave Naija.

On the highways (even within cities in very public places), you do not really need to argue with armed guys with warped mentalities/attitudes. Just get as much documentation as provided by Govt/police agencies and minimise the psychological trauma dealing with those guys. My wife (as a <more> learned fellow) and I sometimes banter words and give them fights, but you just ask yourself why demean yourself going into all that!

Anyhow my tinted glass permit (yes there is officially one!) was procured (thanks Inspired!) before my car left Lagos. Even with that, a police man in Lagos went as far as questioning the authenticity, since in his words, the guy that signed for AIG (or something), the month before, was no more occupying that position!
I held myself back from snatching my papers from him and speeding away. . .

EI,

I was almost tempted last week to Post a Thread asking on the Whereabouts of You and nkc, its bn a while, Sure you had fun during your trip besides the gloomy & shoddy states of our Roads and Law enforcements agents.

Your Presidential Tint Permits, Virtually signed for by the IG of Police himself still went through Perusals of our Ever Corrupt Police Officers ? That Police man would have bn in hot soup if he inquired further on the authenticity

I appreciate being of service to you, Welcome Back.

As for nkc, his whereabouts still remains

inspired_m:

EI,

I was almost tempted last week to Post a Thread asking on the Whereabouts of You and nkc, its bn a while, Sure you had fun during your trip. . . I appreciate being of service to you, Welcome Back.

As for nkc, his whereabouts still remains

Inspired,

Sure we had fun, thanks.

nkc's whereabouts would have been a concern if I hadn't known six weeks ago that he changed jobs and was holed somewhere (outside Abuja; and network access) on staff induction exercises. That disrupted our earlier plan to "catch-up" in Abuja - the guy also smoothly avoided the cost of hosting my family   

His absence is taking much off the humor content of this Forum.
If I fail to reach him via phone/email this week, I'll do what I've been contemplating for weeks - place a wanted ad on him   

@EI

Your kids are lucky.I was born and bred in Lagos and never visited other states till now .I wish i had such opportunity when i was a kid.Hope you guys had fun anyway, Do you reside in Lagos