Here are my Nigeria trip files and thoughts for the curious. Our first trip of 2022 is done and dusted. After many months of planning in an ever-changing covid world, and trying to work around the rules, we have finally been able to visit Nigeria after an almost five-year absence.
The Nigeria Trip Files: Finally!
As longtime readers might know, we had originally planned to visit in 2019 and for sure, a visit had been cropping up on our travel list for a while. but the ticket prices were so outrageous, we moved it to Springtime 2020 after the kids were back in school and the holiday season over.
We all know what happened with the little virus that could and indeed did shut down the world. Quarantine meant staying at home for months while the rules kept changing.
Requirements to visit Nigeria:
In order to visit the country, we had to:
- Do the PCR test within 48 hours of our trip.
- Have a Day 2 PCR prepaid in euros prior to arrival.
- Day 7 PCR test.
- 7-day quarantine, regardless of vaccination status. These were still in place months after most other countries had done away with such strict rules.
So l watched and waited, tickets on hand. In December, they finally removed the quarantine and Day 7 test for the fully vaccinated. This made it more palatable to us as we could move around instead of being cooped up for a week. Since l hadn’t seen my family in so long, the plan was mainly to hang out and eat my favorite foods.
The covid effect on life in Nigeria:
From what l could see, life is very slowly coming back, just like it is in a lot of countries. To date, Nigeria has had about 253,000 cases with 3,136 deaths, so not bad. One could argue that it’s because they have been so strict, and of course, a long history of managing plagues, diseases, and such.
I will say that the “joie de vivre” that used to exist in the people has all but disappeared. Nigerians as a whole are very happy people despite all the trials and tribulations they face constantly. There is a very famous song that says “put a smile on your face, no matter condition, feyin e!”.
This is what l have always associated with Nigerians. There is banter and loads of smiles and of course, extremely loud music playing in the marketplace, bus stops, and pretty much everywhere. Not anymore, there is a somber atmosphere that made me sad.
People were walking around and functioning, but the joy was missing. I think covid broke a lot of people. Jobs are scarce and people are hungry and defeated.
My past visits have always included some sort of party, be it birthday, promotion, a celebration of the life of a dearly departed, not to mention weddings, and more weddings…and so on. We loved to party. That is no more, or not nearly as much… yet. The event venues were mostly shut down.
Feeling hot, hot, hot:
The average temperature was 102 degrees. It wasn’t so bad though since it is the Harmattan season and it is more of dry heat. The Sahara desert blows the wind pretty much over all of West Africa from November to March.
There is a thick layer of sand and dust on the cars, in the homes, everywhere. Our time was split between Lagos (where we ran the fan 24/7) and Ibadan (a city built on seven hills and so fresh air, we didn’t need fans).
My favorite part of the Nigerian visit (aside from family):
Only a person from Nigeria will appreciate this as it’s something that’s taken for granted in most other countries. We have a train to ferry people from Lagos to Ibadan on a daily basis! Northern Nigeria has had this for a while though.
Prior to this, the only way to get from one to the other was the “expressway”, a most treacherous road to say the least. Potholes to ruin your posture for posterity :-), traffic jams that often turn a mere two-hour ride into twelve or more, especially when the ginormous church, (and l mean ginormous in every sense of the word) would have a service and force people to sleep in their cars.
The desperate people worship these snake-oil selling pastors that have special places in hell reserved for them for the thinly disguised cults they are running. I will stop my rant now about them now :-).
I think the need to believe that there has to be a reward for suffering so much is strong, and these twats take advantage, ergo more poverty and more suffering while they own private jets. They learned well from the American pastors.
Anyway, another horrible part of the expressway is the cops lying in wait for you all along the way. They seek bribes, and more often than not, you pay to pass. The train bypasses all that.
It does take 2.5 hours to complete the journey, something that should really take about thirty minutes, but it moves slowly as the rails are not built for speed. Can l just say l was thrilled to ride it? Very nice and clean, and l hope they continue to improve on it and add more lines.
So what did we do for the month? Nothing. Most days were spent talking with my siblings, eating, me and Fede being bums, and drinking beer and wine as none of them drink, save for my older brother.
Here are some of the Nigerian food we ate in addition to pizza (Domino’s), fried chicken (KFC). Even Burger King has finally arrived here. Great news for another one of my sisters who is so addicted to the original chicken sandwich that she would freeze several whenever she went home and pretended it was medicine so they could be kept frozen for the plane ride 😂. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Check out: My Favorite Nigerian Meals
Fede spent a lot of time with him and his friends at his club. He is an avid golfer who plays daily. I accompanied my sisters on their errands since l have no friends there. I left before l was a teenager so l don’t know anyone outside of the family.
The most curious thing happened though, while l was waiting to hand in my papers for a new passport, my name was called and this guy came up to me. He’s like “I thought that was you!”. What?
He then went to mention all my old classmates, some of whom l recognized, our old school, and so on. He was visiting from London and he said l would have come up to you sooner if you’d had your mask off as he couldn’t forget my dimples and my laugh.
I felt so bad that l didn’t remember him. I will however be joining the alumni group that he told me about so perhaps next time l visit, I will actually have friends of my own.
The Nigeria trip files: what my visit to taught me:
I have always been conscious of the fact that l am extremely fortunate. I cherish my upbringing. The lessons instilled in me by my parents till before l l left are still with me.
My older siblings took care of me after my move to the states till the age of 16 (since my parents stayed behind in Nigeria). After that, they all moved back home or to other countries, and l was left with my late sister who was two years older.
My values have never wavered, and my first instinct whenever l have to make a decision is “will my mom and dad approve, or would she open up a can of whoop-ass?” (something she did a lot of. 🙂 ).
I, therefore, have very little patience with whiners or the “woe is me” people that think their life is so tough. Visit a third-world country and see what life is like, and you will appreciate what you have.
Water is a precious commodity and is bought, and stored in huge kegs for use, even in the city. Use as little as possible to get things done. No long, luxurious showers while l was there, and l remembered to turn the tap off while brushing my teeth, little things like that.
Desperation and poverty turn people into beggars. The cops for instance are paid so little, and it’s not unusual for them not to get paid for months as embezzlement from the higher-ups is constant and unrelenting. I tipped generously because l could afford to.
I love, love, love being the youngest girl! As old as l am, I am still the baby, so l was pampered by my siblings. Even my younger brother pampered me., and l loved every minute of it. Federico was probably glad to have a break.
All in all, it made me even more appreciative of life, my life, and my fairly good health. Now that l have had my fill of family, we can concentrate on more travel… but within Europe, and most likely just Spain as there is still so much for us to see. We are still not ready to tackle the still-changing rules (even though they seem to be easing faster now).
The covid passport means no quarantine or expensive PCR tests (how do people afford that btw? it cost us €420 for those, plus a hefty visa fee for him in addition to the tickets 🙁 ). Perhaps l am just cheap :-).
I hope things continue to get better as far as covid goes. I don’t want to wait that long to see my family again. In fact, if l get a chance to go again this year, I certainly will. My family may not be too thrilled about that!. Apparently, I’m a handful 😂🤣. But stuck they are.
How is your 2022 shaping up? Staying put, or venturing to new exciting destinations?
I’ve been looking forward to reading this! It was great to read about your experience back home. You can easily read your feelings in this article. Loved it!
It’s crazy to see that things that we take for granted – like a train, or a bed instead of railway tracks, or a school that functions as is – are still far from common in so many places. Hopefully the people will get their happiness back – I guess that’s the most important thing which, at the end of the day, helps us stay afloat and defeat all odds, uncertainty or plain bad luck.
Thanks for writing this!
Thanks for reading C! It really was a great trip for me after so long.
Yes, we often don’t take the time to appreciate all we have. When you see the suffering and struggles of others, it hits you… one of the great things about travel is getting to see life outside of your cherry-colored glasses. I also hope the joy returns to these people. They already have enough misery. You’re right, it helps one stay afloat in this day and age. 🙂
Oh my I loved reading this. I cant wait to go home. I am really looking forward to the train, i’ve heard so much about it!
It’s a really nice ride. The stations are so clean, you could eat off the floor. So many attendants and it was just awesome. Glad you enjoyed reading this, and home awaits :-).
I love your post and it makes me want to visit and explore! I spent eleven years in Nigeria and wish I had seen more of it.
Seeing the train from Lagos to Ibadan is impressive, contrary to the negative news we hear back in London. Thanks for bringing the truth to light.
Beans and plantain is one of my favourite meals. I used to have it with a special stew. I think it’s pronounced Agoin (excuse my spelling!)
I’m glad you had a great time 🙂
Thanks so much for reading Bola. Amazing no matter how little time you spend in Naija, it sticks to you all through life with a vengeance :-).
That train is definitely one thing we should be proud of. The fact that it relieves pressure on the expressway is great, and l hope the cops give up altogether about trying to scam people out of money since the target class is on the train.
Agoyin l´ve seen but l much prefer it this way with the palm oil. The fact that it cooks in just a half-hour in the pressure cooker was fantastic. Here, we cook it for like 3 hours in the cooker after soaking it for a day and it’s still not very soft :-(.
How wonderful that all sounded. Can’t beat family and food. I am so happy for you. I also hope the world is beginning to open up again. There is so much rich culture out there as proven by you blogs.
I agree with you. You can not beat family and food. I eagerly await to as close to normal as we can get. There is so much more to see and learn, and yep… more rich culture to dive into :-).
Hi Kem, I read this a few days ago but didn’t have time to compose a comment. First of all, congratulations on finally getting back to your home. My family (who I don’t see often) loves me with food and attention too and I’m not the baby. I always feel a bit like the Prodigal Son returning to the feast!
I appreciate that you shared some of the hardships, culture, and customs of your home, as well as the beauty of the land and your people. It looks as though you had a full and satisfying visit.
Your sister is beautiful, as is that little child that didn’t quite want Aunti Kem bothering her.
I am glad that you are now turning your sights back to travel. Us too, although I wish someone would figure out how to provide a ‘universal’ vaccine card incorporated into our passport.
Hi Suzanne! I will pass your compliment on to my sister, and yep…our newest family member is cute. Yes, even the guys were fighting the cartoon playing on the TV :-).
I think it’s great when we get treated so nicely after a long time away. I’m sure you enjoy it as much as l do…haha! returning to the feast is appropriate. I did indeed have a full and satisfying visit. It felt so needed if you know what l mean, like chicken soup for the soul. We have a lot of problems there, but it is home and always enjoyable.
I am so glad even that even places like Australia (not that l would ever go back there even though l absolutely loved my visit years ago, just too far) are opening up a bit more. We keep talking about more Spain travel, and l think we will do that for a while longer, and then more of Europe. In my mirror, the U.S is quite a distance away but he really wants to see Boston in the Fall. I have talked about Boston clam chowder for too long for him.😂
A universal vaccine passport would be nice. Spain has shortened ours to 9 months now instead of a year. I just got my booster a week ago, and my arm is still sore. WTF?? the first ones didn’t hurt as much… I might just be getting feeble!
Great post. I confess I came here expecting to read about Spain but this was special. Thanks for sharing.
Haha! Thanks for reading it anyway, and l’m glad it was not too bad. Now back to our regular programming :-).