Accra, Ghana

The magnetism of Nigeria is fierce. The more we try to avoid this country, infamous for its corruption, sectarian strife, violent crime, highway robberies and car-jackings, the more we are pulled towards it. For months, we planned to take a long roundabout route to avoid Nigeria, traveling instead up through Benin, through famine plagued Niger and then driving across southern Chad on a seldom used route across the desert where convoys are recommended due to banditry. A few weeks ago, a number of people familiar with the route said that the road was in a deplorable state and that our car would never make it. This left us with the one option that we were desperately trying to avoid: northern Nigeria, one of the only places in the world where among other things Sharia law is practiced. (Nigeria was recently in the news when a woman was condemned to death by stoning for committing adultery. Even drinking a beer can land you in jail.) Our trip will also coincide with the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, which lasts for a month. What a treat.

Before heading off on this trip, a Nigerian friend in the Gambia said "You will love Nigeria. Of course, they will steal your car and rob you, but they will leave you with enough money to get to the next town." Lonely Planet Guide Book states "There seem to be few places immune to random violence, demonstrations, mishaps and military action. During our research in Nigeria, every city we visited (except Kano and Kaduna) experienced some sort of large scale violence or catastrophic tragedy that led to violence... At the time of our visit, there were two police strikes that brought traffic to a dead halt across the country, an explosion at a Lagos ammunition dump that killed over 1000 people, running gun battles between the Yoruba and the Hausa in Lagos, a police riot in Abuja, violent demonstrations in Jos and Port Harcourt over a CNN report and a military blockade around Katsina... Nigeria may now be a democracy, but it often feels like a war zone." Even getting a visa to enter the country is a difficult and arduous task. They are only issued in the country of the applicant's residence, require a letter of invitation from a Nigerian, and the embassy often demands interviews with the potential applicants.

Despite these warnings and my longstanding fear of Nigeria in general, we sent our passports to an old Peace Corps friend of mine, affectionately referred to as Zum Zum Wurster, who sorted all of our paperwork in Washington, DC. This took a few weeks, delaying our departure from Ghana but now, with everything sorted, we are almost ready to hit the road again. With the route now set in stone, I am becoming more and more excited to see Nigeria. While Nate and Tuuli don't exactly share my zeal, we've all warmed up to the idea and figure that as long as we travel intelligently, we will be all right. With most of the easier countries out of the way, it seems like we are due for a challenge. But first, we have to concentrate on Togo, Benin and Niger (where the international community is claiming 2,500,000 people are at risk of dying because of famine), which we will have to pass through before we reach Nigeria. In a matter of days, all necessary repairs are completed on the Stingray and we will be on the road again.
* posted by Sean at 7:40 PM