Nigeria – all travelers have a lot of respect for it.
One of the reasons is the endless number of checkpoints. We had 45 stops on the second day. Partly police, partly military, partly immigration and partly highwaymen. Almost always with batons, guns, golf clubs. Often not clearly identifiable. The traffic slows down to a standstill in one lane each time, which leads to some pretty aggressive jostling.

But overall we get by well and are rarely asked for money.

We probably owe this primarily to Itchy Boots, who published a “Bribe” video on her Instagram channel that led to the conviction of two police officers. She has millions of followers worldwide and is very well known in Africa. We also always activate our action cam very obviously at the stops.

In the west, Nigeria is densely populated and the cities are lively, sometimes annoying, the streets are full, the traffic is aggressive. There seems to be a certain tension in the air.

Things get better after crossing the Niger in the east of the country. A little more rural, the people are much friendlier, but also extremely poor. None of the wealth reaches the hinterland. And even Benin City only has electricity intermittently every day.

A highlight of this rather rapid crossing of the country is the stay at the Afi Mountain Drill Ranch – for two days we experience monkeys in enclosures like in the wild (mandrills). It must be said that chimpanzees (and gorillas) are still hunted and that orphans or animals released from private households have little chance of being released into the wild and surviving.

What then follows is an adventurous section. The second reason why transit is a bit of a challenge. There is only one border crossing into Cameroon for foreigners and it is in the middle of nowhere. What you drive there can no longer be called a road and can hardly be called a piste. Not passable when it rains, but we're lucky. Two days, eight or nine hours of driving for just 224 km. If you want to know more about this, you can look at the entries from March 1st and 2nd on the website.