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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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Lola (Akinmade) Åkerström
Lola (Akinmade) Åkerström is a MatadorU faculty member and Network contributor. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Vogue, BBC, Fodors.com, and many more. Follow her photoblog at Sweden.se.
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Haha… I love it! As an African myself, I can totally relate!! But that’s what makes it so fun to go home.
Wow, 10 snails in one sitting!? They look…intense.
Congratulations, Lola.
Haha. Definitely fell into a food coma after that!
Nice one Lola! Each one of these begs a whole story…
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!
Hey Dami – The bushmeat picture makes rare appearances
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!
Hey Pam – Posted a couple more here – http://lolaakinmade.com/2009/07/04/photo-gallery-nigeria-2009/
That definitely brings back memories of my own travels to Nigeria to see family. Kudos to you!
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?
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