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By Linden Management
I have been traveling to Nigeria regularly since 1989 and have experienced many unusual scenarios. In May 1994 I went there to investigate a number of death claims originating from different parts of the country. This was by far the most frustrating and incident-packed trip to that country. The deterioration in law and order, transport, communications, etc., appeared to be nearing an all-time low.
The government had banned foreign exchange bureaus and foreign currency could be changed only at authorized banks, a procedure challenging the patience of the most intrepid travelers. The Forex rate at the end of 1993 was 44 Naira to the dollar: the legal bank rate in May 1995 was 22! Nigerians experienced long delays in obtaining foreign currency from banks, so the black market flourished. However, there were many risks involved there, and the result was that the cost of staying in Nigeria had virtually doubled. Lack of foreign exchange caused shortages of imported goods, excessive price rises and even more dangers to Europeans there who were viewed as easy targets by armed robbers. The various Embassies advised all visitors against driving after dark. Added to these everyday problems there was a lack of petrol, resulting in long queues and even longer traffic jams by Nigerian standards. The police had not been paid for several months, so they extorted money from people, particularly Europeans, at road checkpoints.
My enquiries took me across country to Owerri, Calabar, Warri and Benin City. Calabar lies in Eastern Nigeria near the border with the Cameroons. The problems with obtaining petrol caused a serious delay. We needed to fill up in Benin City, so we queued for an hour, but upon our reaching the front of the queue, the pump ran dry. We found another queue and filled up after a two-hour wait.
The journey across Nigeria was as fraught as ever with lorries overtaking on blind bends forcing us to leave the road. Overturned trucks and cars littered the highway. To avoid potholes many drivers traveled the wrong way along dual carriageways. Approaching Calabar, we were stopped at an immigration checkpoint. To my knowledge there is no need for a UK national to carry a passport: in fact a retired Commissioner of Police advised me against it since his own passport had been stolen while he was driving near Benin City.
I produced a photocopy containing the relevant visa, but they were not satisfied. I explained several times to a number of officers my business and the reason for my journey and had to make a written statement. It was evident they were not really interested in listening. There were threats that I would be detained while my passport was fetched from Lagos (two days). It is against my nature to offer “dash” ( a bribe), but there was no alternative. I would have been delayed ad infinitum. The officer would not refer to money but waited for me to suggest it in a roundabout way (a regular hazard of visiting Nigeria). However, I was taken aback when I was forced to pay 1000 Naira because there were sixteen immigration officers! I was promised a safe and free passage back the next day (most unlikely!). As the officers were not armed, on our return I hid on the floor of the car, and we went through the checkpoint at speed. The officers apparently pointed at the car and it was obvious it had been targeted for further “dash.”
In Calabar, my driver queued for two hours for petrol, but as we neared the front of the queue there was a power cut, a regular occurrence. We eventually located petrol on the black market at the beach.
While returning through River State, we came across another road block operated by civilians. This time we were forced to stop because they placed wooden stakes embedded with nails across the highway. About eight men, mostly speaking at the same time, told us we needed a sanitation certificate and a special pass to drive in River State. They flashed a number of official-looking badges, none of which bore names. I was shown a number of documents detailing the various taxes, including township permit, interstate development, survival, oil land, erosion, collision, trespassing and something described as “capitation” (I decided not to question this one), etc. I was then shown a list showing the total tax for each car, in my case 3500 Naira! ($160 US official rate.)
I tried to reason with the officials, explaining that the car and driver were provided to me by a Nigerian company and that I was based in Lagos and rarely traveled to River State. They insisted the tax had to be paid by every vehicle entering the State – utter nonsense. There might have been a tax for vehicles in River State (no one I spoke to knew of it), but the amount was probably 100 Naira. The 3500 Naira they asked for was equivalent to five months’ wages for the average resident of River State. Had such a tax been introduced there, the ensuing violence would have been reported worldwide. Had the tax included vehicles from other states, Nigeria would have been at war!
Logic failed to ease the situation, which shortly became hostile. The leader insisted I had money in my bag and attempted to force the boot of the car open. He insisted that although it was not my car, he would give me an invoice and I could reclaim the money from the owner of the vehicle. I realized that I had no option but to pay something. I had stood for an hour in intense heat, and if I were to fall further behind schedule, I could have ended up spending two hours driving to the nearest city in darkness — in what is regarded as the most dangerous area in Nigeria with an abundance of armed robbers.
The leader refused to take me to his superior since he could not leave his post, a wooden bench under a tree. He would not provide details of the whereabouts of his office. Their hostility increased and they ripped the back seat out of the car and asked for the spare wheel. My driver forcibly stopped one of the men from deflating the tires. As the wheels were surrounded by the wooden stakes we could not get away. Eventually I paid and was given a receipt for 3500 Naira. No names appear on it and I do not believe the leader’s copy had the amount of money written on it. I have doubts if the receipt was even genuine. No one would pursue his revenue duties to such an extent if there was nothing in it for him, particularly in Nigeria. The stickers given to us appeared even more fake.
When calm was restored and I was about to leave, I was asked to sign a receipt and did so. A man then insisted that I also had to pay him 1000 Naira for the “mobile sanitation fee.” I tried to explain to him that we were not carrying a toilet but it was in vain. As the stakes had been removed and the main group of thugs were busy counting their illgotten gains, I instructed the driver to speed off with the sanitation man’s arm in the window still begging for money. By 20 meters down the road he was only asking for 50 Naira!
The main receipt purported to originate from Rivers State Local Government. This does not exist. The sticker I was given was for a motorcycle, but the latter word had been tipexed.
Within minutes we were stopped by an army patrol. The officer’s request for a bottle of mineral water seemed reasonable considering the sweat dripping down the barrel of the machine gun he was pointing through my window! To round off an interesting day, we later arrived at the front of a petrol queue only to have a Nigerian Air Force Officer drive in the wrong way and reverse in front of us. The attendant explained that if they ever upset members of the armed forces, a lorry full of troops often returned later and beat up the staff. I pointed out to the officer the errors of his ways, only to be told that I was being bad mannered and could be deported!
For one claim I needed a letter from the medical director of a hospital to confirm that the subject had not died or been treated at his establishment. The doctor insisted upon the payment of 10,000 Naira to assist the insurance company. I refused and left empty-handed.
The Nigerian Airports Authority had increased departure tax at Lagos Airport to $35. However, they had not paid their electricity bill to the relevant authority, NEPA, for months and were in debt for several million Naira. At regular intervals NEPA cut off the power at the airport irrespective of what aircraft were landing or taking off. Luckily when I left the airport there was power!
On more recent trips I have noted a number of improvements, e.g. armed robberies and car hijackings appear to have declined. Lagos has an international reputation for crime and for fraud in particular. The majority of Nigerians are extremely friendly and welcoming to foreigners. In many rural areas the local chief rules in an austere fashion and crime is rare.
Since 1983, Linden Management Services Ltd has specialized in investigating death claims on behalf of British, European and North American life insurance companies. The majority of the claims originate from West Africa and the Indian Sub-continent. However, we regularly travel to South America, the Middle East (Lebanon in particular) and the Far East. In June 1996, the company was bought by Employers Reinsurance International Ltd but operates independently within this organization. Telephone 44 1628 826764; Fax 44 1628 822167.
© Copyright 1996 Alikim Media