Matador Goods editor Lola Akinmade breaks down her recent trip home.
All Photos by Lola Akinmade
People already standing in cabin before plane leaves runway: 3
Times asked for money before leaving baggage claim: 1
Bus Conductor
Average electrical blackouts per day: 2
Number of days of longest electrical blackout: 2
Generators replaced: 3
People hanging off the back (not side) of moving buses: 6
Highest number of riders on a single motorbike: 5
Average number of people packed into a 12-seater bus: 30
Number of police checkpoints between Lagos and Ondo: 33
Average distance in miles between each police checkpoint: 2
Times pulled over by police: 5
Times asked for money by policemen: 3
Giant African snails consumed: 16
Giant African Snails
Snails consumed in one sitting: 10
Chinese restaurants visited: 1
Fast food joints visited: 5
Hours wasted in traffic per day: 4
Number of times passenger side mirror hit by Okadas (motorcycle taxis): 3
Number of times passenger side mirror hit by policeman’s baton: 2
Times intentionally sideswiped by tanker-trailer: 1
Near fatal accident misses over 14 days: 28
Arguments gotten into with policemen ready to seize camcorder: 1
Plates of rice and chicken consumed over 14 days: 15
Average number of mosquito bites: 20
Goats are a delicacy
Interview conducted by fake newspaper journalist: 1
Money in Naira lost to fake newspaper journalist: 500
Goats killed for various celebrations: 5
Number of times “Oyinbo!” (White man) was yelled at fiancé: 4
Low hanging ceiling fan accident: 1
Low hanging ceiling fan accident by tall Swede: 1
Cold water baths taken: 18
Sunset along the lagoon
Mice spotted: 4
Mice killed: 1
Number of snacks bought while sitting in traffic: 4
Number of puppies spotted being sold in traffic: 2
Power outage at airport: 1
Number of beautiful sunsets witnessed: 4
High school mates reunited with: 10
Weeks spent: 2
Months till next trip back: 12
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About the Author
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11 Comments... join the discussion!
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Wow, 10 snails in one sitting!? They look…intense.
Congratulations, Lola.
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Haha. Definitely fell into a food coma after that!
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Nice one Lola! Each one of these begs a whole story…
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hahahaa…. make that 2 for no light at the airport…. or maybe you were still around by the time we finally made it there.
btw, the bushmeat pic needed to make an appearance!
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Hey Dami – The bushmeat picture makes rare appearances
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Wow, I am surprised to find myself saying that those snails look DELICIOUS. And hey, I KNOW you’re holding out on the photos. More, please!
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Hey Pam – Posted a couple more here – http://lolaakinmade.com/2009/07/04/photo-gallery-nigeria-2009/
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That definitely brings back memories of my own travels to Nigeria to see family. Kudos to you!
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As a “yovo” (Togo’s equivalent for obinyo), four seems like an impressively low number for two weeks. Was this just in a day or is stating the obvious less common in Lagos?
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Linda – There are definitely a lot more expatriates in Lagos and so “oyinbos” are common sights. That doesn’t stop the staring though but yelling out “oyinbo” is usually done by kids
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