Perhaps the most challenging job in the world, the most difficult business to manage, is trucking, especially in Nigeria, what could be more difficult than trucking in Lagos?

Every day in Lagos, there are seemingly innumerable numbers of cars of all sizes smashing the roads. If you want to do a good job in trucking business in Nigeria, it is a dream to sit back and relax, because every day there will be different things and problems to be dealt with.

"Crazy" truck

On the road of truck transportation in Nigeria, there are always troublesome things that you can’t expect and will happen, such as traffic jams in and out of the port, traffic jams on the road, various accidents, impounding vehicles under various circumstances, all kinds of anchors, theft, vehicles Various problems such as "missing", unreachable drivers, empty cars on the return journey, etc., occur every day in one form or another, and the traffic jams in different port areas of the Lagos port are also year after year and day after day. Days repeat the same story.

There are also all kinds of nonsense from drivers, including strikes, salary increases, etc. These different situations have been experienced and become part of the daily work that is like fighting a war. In fact, there is nothing? In addition to all kinds of moths that may and will happen to the big living person during transportation, the traffic jam in Lagos is also extremely disturbing. This kind of traffic jam is hard to describe. I am afraid that in the world, there is no The complexity and magic of the congestion in that place can exceed the traffic congestion in Lagos, especially the congestion around the port area, which is unique on this earth.

All kinds of traffic jams in Lagos

The traffic jam in Lagos is probably the most impressive and strangely spectacular road scene I have ever experienced. Congestion at Apapa Pier, as always, is not the worst, only worse.

At the scene of the road where the front and back are crowded, all kinds of vehicles are scattered, and they can be cleared in less than half an hour. In what seems to be a long traffic jam, the cars stayed in one place for about 7 hours and did not get out for 10 meters, this kind of traffic jam always gives people all kinds of "surprises" and surprises.

Sometimes the traffic jam somewhere seems to have no end. After 5 minutes of the road, I walked through and found that the road ahead was empty and the road was very empty. It is impossible to understand the traffic jam in Lagos.

All kinds of interspersed vehicles, all kinds of large trucks, oil tankers, etc., as well as reverse driving, facing the giant oil tanker, wait for one by one, and then the oncoming car quickly passes by , even cops with guns seem useless, these do nothing for road dredging and don't solve the problem.

And sometimes, the trucks and oil tanker trailers that seem to be piled up on the bridge every day suddenly disappear, and I can only be amazed. This is a miracle. The water that will block up at about 300 meters into the bridge is in a mess. All of a sudden, the truck seems to have evaporated from the world, and the road is clean. It feels like a miracle.

Lagos, "blocked city", this is by no means a false name. This kind of traffic jam, no matter which government it has experienced, such as truck workers or trade associations' strikes to protest road congestion, the final result is that the congestion is still years old. Year after year, day after day repeats.

The presidents have changed one after another, the new officials have taken office three fires, the new team has intervened and controlled, and there is no good way to manage road traffic. There are even protests from drivers to drive away the traffic management officials. Keep the road clear. In this regard, I have all kinds of road traffic jam experiences, and I absolutely believe in the ability of drivers to guide them on the road.

However, without a systematic road management method and a good road network construction, when will such a traffic jam end?

The limited road network and the huge hinterland economy of the Lagos port depend on the entry and exit of various goods in and out of the Lagos port, and all kinds of artificial and non-artificial traffic jams have not gotten too much in the past 10 years or so. Great improvement, maybe in the next ten years, there will be a miracle.

Whenever a new government/president is sworn in, there will be some new weather, the only way to the pier, the road is full of potholes, the rain turns into a small pond, and Poussin is trapped in water that cannot come out. The pit road can be filled up in one day. Unfortunately, after the trucks and oil tankers parked on the road disappeared, within 3 days, they appeared on both sides of the road as scheduled, returning to their former appearance. The bridge is full of their parking lots, and half of the road is occupied by them. Vehicles traveling in both directions can only use the road where only one vehicle can pass on each side, so that the congestion can be restored to its original state.

On the way to the wharf, those trucks and oil tankers are like guards on the road. They must be there. Every day, there are always trucks coming out of nowhere.

Although there is a traffic jam, when the driver breaks down or encounters problems on the road, "pulling the horse" appears, for truckers, it may be another inevitable nightmare, even if the traffic jam, the car breaks down, and the dead horse is pulled The speed of appearance must be super first-class, faster than the vehicles of the repair team, and the technology of quickly attacking the trailer, probably no car can run past the "pulling the dead horse". 

Driving in Lagos, no matter what type of driver, there are unique skills. There are many trucks, flatbed trucks, fuel tankers, yellow minibuses, private cars, motorcycles, and the road is a mess, especially all kinds of oil along the road. Tank trucks, as well as flatbed trucks for all kinds of goods transport, are blocked into a "circle" of vehicles on the long road. There are always hawkers who are able to sell things to the people in the car, all kinds of shouts, Noisy, noisy, gathered on the road, the traffic jam is even more congested. After a long time on such a road, both the driver and the driver have learned different endurance, even if it happens on the road because of the traffic jam All kinds of quarrels, at a blocked point, watching them quarrel for a long time, don't worry that they will make a move, and finally a soldier can't see it, walk over, take off the belt, and the quarrelling people will disperse, this is also A peculiar view on a traffic jam.

The mind of a Nigerian truck driver, don't guess

Although the traffic jams in Lagos are severe and the road traffic is chaotic, there are not many vicious traffic accidents. Only those truck drivers who seem to have no brains are driving their cars and facing the oncoming car. In the middle of the road, they each took their own way, and the traffic was blocked. The road from the front to the front could be cleared by the drivers themselves. It seems that the drivers also have their own set of road behavior and communication language.

Drivers waiting to find a job are lined up in a long line. When they need to work, the driver holding the steering wheel will never give people peace of mind. In addition to the traffic jam, the various conditions and problems of the driver also make people worry. Congested and heartbroken, drivers’ unreasonable gatherings and quarrels or absenteeism, all kinds of excuses, those predictable or unpredictable sabotage or strikes, customer complaints about the shortage of goods, all kinds of strange methods of stealing oil, The problem of stealing tires or other parts, etc., makes people overwhelmed every day to deal with and put out fires. 

Although there are not many serious traffic accidents, the driving skills of Nigerian truck drivers cannot be understood with conventional thinking. , the driver really has the ability. And for some cars, the car just rolled over in the middle of the road, 90 degrees, and the cab landed on the ground. I don't know how to drive it? Sometimes it may be because of a puddle on the road. The road is very normal, there are no potholes, and on a flat road, if the car is turned like that, I don't really know how the driver did it? If these are considered pediatrics, some outrageous drivers, heavy trucks with driver rest areas in the driving area, the driver crashed the car and smashed the front of the cab, and the vehicle was scrapped. Miraculously, the driver was unscathed and the driver escaped. Never showed up again. These are just a few of the pedigrees of all kinds of moths made by truckers.

The various "surprises" that drivers can bring are only unexpected, and there is nothing they can't do.

The roadblocks truckers need to deal with

Successfully break out of the "traffic jam", avoid the "pulling the dead horse", and the man-made "roadblocks" that cannot be avoided.

In the process of transportation, we experience from time to time strikes by industry associations, strikes by drivers, strikes at docks, and various predictable man-made roadblocks. Trucks are on the road at night, and I don’t know if they encounter robbers or ordinary land rogues. The car, smashed the car, and injured the driver's assistant. Fortunately, he met the conscientious policeman and sent him to the hospital. The next day, he was escorted back by the car.

Of course, it will not be so lucky every time. In the night, you can meet the police of conscience. In the same place, you will encounter roadblocks again, the driver will break through hard, and there will be no passing. The tires and lights are badly damaged. The driver abandoned the car and ran away, and the other driver took over the car when he knew about it. After the repair personnel went, they drove the car back together.

During long distances, it is even more troublesome for the vehicle to break down. It is best to have spare parts for repair. If no spare parts are found, the local repair is not good. It is admirable to go back and forth for hundreds of kilometers alone, pick up accessories, and return to the vehicle that broke down without any complaints. Their behavior in the silent place sometimes makes people feel a little cooler in the irritability of various problems.

Good and bad, the whole world is the same, even in the darkest night, you will meet the light messenger with the lantern, keep a good attitude, in order to do a better job in truck transportation in Lagos, this is full of infinite challenging business.

Don't look at these drivers with the worst malice, even the locals told me that 9 and a half of the 10 drivers are from Alibaba, but they also need to think in a good place. People are proud of their trucks.

As for the way drivers manage their own drivers, drivers who work outside continuously have to deal with various conditions on the road while driving, and the road is difficult and hard. As for the management and control of drivers, carrots are given when it’s time for carrots, and punishments are given when they’re due. Nor can it be tolerated, and of course it needs a more humane approach.