Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Lagos Leap


Nigeria has armed robbery, ethnic riots, and the kidnapping of foreigners. But by far the most dangerous thing I've seen here involves people just trying to get home from work.

In Ojudu Berger, where I live, the taxis and buses let you off on one side of the highway, but the town is on the other side, requiring a dash across traffic and a leap over a concrete barrier. It requires speed and athleticism. Here's what it looks like.


I spent about an hour watching and filming this ritual tonight, and I kept saying to myself "someone is going to get killed here." Thankfully I did not see that, but this woman came pretty close, wouldn't you say? Keep your eye on the woman in the red skirt.


But the award for the night has to go to this guy, handling the whole maneuver more gracefully (with one leg, while holding something in his non-crutch-hand!) than an Olympic steeplechase champion. Respect!


2 comments:

  1. wow. great shooting. i'm glad you didn't see anything awful happen.

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  2. what about the guy behind him with one leg?

    ReplyDelete