My Experience Traveling to Senegal by Road in 6 days
I was invited to Senegal by my uncle for a little business arrangement and because I had a virgin passport, I was told I have to deflower it with lots of stamps for countries like the UK and US to grant me Visa (You know all those stuff), so my only option was to travel by road in other to get stamps of at least 3 countries.
I was to travel with 2 other guys since it was my first time, so I had to wait for them to come pick me up. I called one of the guys to confirm our meeting point and he described it and told me to come out around 5 pm as we were to take the Seme route. They were coming all the way from Abuja to Lagos so I had to calculate the traffic they will definitely meet in Lagos before I left my house at Festac by 6pm to wait for them at Lagos State University Main Gate along Iyana-Iba, Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
Fast-forward, I waited for 6 more hours and we left LASU by past 12 am with Okada (Motor Cycle) because no taxi was going our way to Agbara that night. It was a very uncomfortable journey for me and at the same time scary. The environment is not a friendly one at that time of the night coupled with the mode of transportation along the expressway filled with Heavy duty trucks and tankers.
It got to a point that the traffic was too much even for bikes that we had to trek for almost an hour. All these while, we are yet to get to Agbara.
Finally, we got to a place where saw some bike men. It was some minutes past 2 am at this point and I was hungry but I couldn't eat because I was nervous, how person go eat for this kind condition?
We got to Agbara and boarded a bus to Seme border and that was when the main journey started. I lost count on the number of times we were pulled over by the Police, Road Safety and Hoodlums just to collect money from the driver.
We arrived Seme border around past 3 am, and from the entrance, you could see touts waiting for who to devour. If you are not careful, they will corner you to a different entrance and rob you.
Thank God for the experienced guys I was with. We got to passport check point and I can tell you, it was the beginning of settling for stamps on passport. I paid N1000 for Benin entrance stamp.
There was a local Bureau De change where we made Naira Exchange. In the street, I could see some Nigerians and other nationals prostituting on the streets of Benin republic. From the language of one the girls, I could tell she is a typical Lagosian.
My other observations about Benin republic include stable power supply and good road networks and compared to where I was coming from. I could smell a new kind of life over there.
We took a rest for about 45 minutes in a cafeteria and had some breakfast, it was already break of dawn and people are coming out for their business.
Our journey continued and everyone was tired and dizzy but we had to move ahead because our destination was still very far.
We got to Togo Motor Park and the rush was much. One of the guys with me can speak French very well, so I was just smiling to everything they discussed. We set for Togo and we all slept off. Togo is about 5 hours journey from Benin Republic, no traffic and no potholes on the road.
We arrived Togo towards evening and we had to lodge and rest for 2 days. Togo, just like Benin Republic also enjoys Stable Power supply and good road networks, unlike Nigeria, it hardly rains in Togo. Togo has a tropical climate even though rainfall is not very high.
Togolese people are nice and things are moderately expensive for an average earner in Togo. An average rating hotel room cost 10,000 for a night. Some rooms cost 5000CFA though. It all depends on your taste.
We left for Senegal after spending 2 days in Togo. The journey was smooth. It took us about 10 hours to get to Bukina-Faso. In the city of Ouagadougou, you could see the light-up environment.
We switched bus in Ouagadougou with another going to Bamako, Mali. Mali is more of desert, the temperature is very hot. I was told it rains once in a year in Mali. We spend another 12 hours from Ouagadougou to Bamako.
We got to Bamako at night and it was a rush hour for travelers going to Gambia and Senegal. We were approached by a Nigerian, from Edo state as he introduced himself. He was the conductor of one of buses going to Senegal. He was very aggressive and I wasn't comfortable with his marketing strategy since he is from Nigeria and I know what we are capable of. Well, we finally succumbed and we boarded, only to discover that we paid more than we should have. Oh well....
On getting to Senegalese Border, the stamp thing was a different case. We were asked to pay 10,000CFA for a stamp or we forfeit our passport. "Money don almost finish". Some others nationals were paying less but they won't collect less from Nigerians.
We had to pay or get left behind after several threats by the bus driver to zoom off if anyone delays.
Senegal has some deserted areas as well, on the road I could see some dead cattle lying under the sun and some distance away, I saw some men in a truck picking dried carcasses of these cattle. Could it be how "pomo" is made here?
The truth remains Nigeria is more development in terms of facilities and structures but what we have is not enjoyed by a common man. In Senegal, a poor man enjoys what a rich man enjoys.
We got to Dakar, the nation's capital and the weather changed immediately. It was so cold in Dakar that I had to search for my blazers and wore it immediately. Dakar is close to the Atlantic ocean, just like Victoria Island in Lagos, but Dakar is exceptionally cold, though it doesn't rain much in Dakar, it is often sunny but you can't sweat at some point.
I have spent a month in Senegal and it is still cold here, though I was told that I will complain about the Hot weather soon...bring it on!
Stay tuned to read more about Senegal and Senegalese culture ....
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