Travelling by Road in Nigeria: What to Expect

When travelling inter or intrastate in Nigeria, you should be prepared for the good, the bad and the ugly experiences. Depending on the distance between your location and your destination, you will need to book and physically pay for the bus ticket at the motor park.

It is best to go early to the park to book for the ticket. If it is a long-distance journey, you should be there early because there would be many travellers also booking the same bus. There is always a queue to join.

Pay the exact amount of money required for the transport fare because change is not always readily available. If your money requires change you will have to wait for it. The amount owed to you would be written on the back of your ticket. Some transport companies may pair passengers and give them a lump sum to split in order to get their change. To avoid this inconvenience, find out the transport fare ahead of time and pay the exact amount.

When you are in a public vehicle you will share the space with other passengers, many of whom have different characters. That is the experiences you will get when travelling by road in Nigeria.

Some of such experience may include a passenger making loud phone calls thereby forcing everyone in the bus to listen to his or her conversations or pastors preaching, praying and asking for money donations. There is also the itinerant seller marketing herbal products, the nuisance co-passenger intruding into your privacy and trying so hard to force you to have a conversation and the passenger dozing off and inconveniencing you by dropping his/her head and/or other body parts on you.

You may also experience a prolonged journey caused by traffic, many checkpoints manned by both police and soldiers who may detain your vehicle unnecessarily for the flimsiest of excuses.

There is no way you will be travelling by road in Nigeria without encountering road hawkers marketing all sorts of wares both edible and inedible. Gala sausage roll, plantain chips, soft drinks, and water are the prominent items you could buy from the hawkers.

When travelling by road in Nigeria you will come across good and bad roads in your route. If your vehicle breaks down on the way for any reason, you will wait for a long while for repairs or make alternative arrangements to continue your journey. This is why you should inquire about the state of the vehicle before you board.

If you love meeting new people and having conversations, you may be delighted to meet a co-passenger or two who would engage you in a riveting conversation and whom you would exchange contact details.

When you finally alight at your destination you will heave a sigh of relief.

Welcome to Nigeria! Enjoy the unique experience travelling by road in Nigeria.