Okadas and Taxis in Lagos

Lagos as a city is quite an experience. It is bustling, congested and very busy. In the past few weeks it seems to have rained every day, am told that it is the rainy season until sometime in October, am looking forward to the end of all this rain. When it rains the drainage is totally inadequate in the city and sometimes driving to work means navigating through huge puddles of water.

Fortunately I do not have to drive as all the expatriate employees have drivers who drive us about. I would not want to drive in Lagos as it must have some of the worst drivers in the world. Traffic is insane with battered taxis everywhere and then something which South Africa does not have, Motorbike Taxis. These taxis known as Okadas are total maniacs weaving between the traffic left and right with their passengers clinging to the back.
They drive between the cars, they drive on the pavement and they will come at you the wrong way up a one way road.

Many of them are carrying two passengers at a time and hardly any of them wear helmets. I asked our driver about this and he said that it is the law that they should wear helmets, but this law has now been completely disregarded.

Here is a picture of one of the taxis seen around the city