Nigeria, the land of plenty

going to Ibadan Going to Ibadan from Lagos can be a  long journey if on a bad day . The road traverses Ogun state before entering Oyo state, where Ibadan is located. As for most big cities, the approach is progressive, crossing suburbs and industrial area. In the case of Ibadan, though, it feels more like densification of houses, corrugated iron roofs and people at the roadside markets. colourful on a grey day Despite its alleged 4 million inhabitants, there is no real downtown and very few skyscrapers (though Cocoa House built in the sixties, 105m tall, was once the highest building in that part of Africa). It is merely a sprawl of buildings with a few floors if at all. busy landscape By one estimate in 2000, the city was covering 400km2 - four times central Paris. The city has developed as a trading hub: the railway Lagos- Kano goes through it and it has an airport. The surrounding area is full of arable land. One only gets a sense of the city...

a nearly fearless driver Ibadan is a large city, third largest in Nigeria probably, with 3 or 4 million inhabitants. Its growth is fueled by the vicinity of Lagos. It lies about 100km north east of Lagos. The road linking Lagos and Ibadan looks like a run-down motorway in the US, 2 by 2 lanes with a concrete divide that cannot be crossed. powerful and well guarded The road is famous for its mega-churches along the way that can cause huge traffic disruption when a celebration is on due to the cheer size of the faithful who congregate their. These churches look like warehouses able to contain thousands of people. The largest one being built will be a hall, 2km long (only). Muslims are in minority in the south of the country. islamic city by the roadside Then, there is a number of companies that are established a long the way resulting in a concentration of trucks parked along the road, not to mention all the ones that are just abandoned there, rusting away slowly...