The traffic was insane. Whenever it ground to a standstill, I amused myself by chatting to the hawkers who wove up and down the lanes trying to sell their wares.
I decided to enter Nigeria in convoy with my American friends Laurie and Bruce Heimbigner. Our vehicles made an odd couple: my blue Ford Transit panel van, aka BlueBelle, and their huge Ford F-550 camper called Livingstone. It was April 2019 and we'd spent most of our energy in the preceding week trying to get Nigerian visas. In the end, I managed to get a Visa on Arrival (VOA), which is really meant for passengers arriving by air; it would not be valid until it was endorsed by immigration at the airport in Lagos.
We got to the border early, forgetting that it was Palm Sunday. Several staff members were at church and we had to wait. I decided to get my Temporary Import Permit (TIP) organised so long.
The woman behind the counter was not very friendly, so I turned on the charm offensive and soon had her smiling. But I'd forgotten to check the cost of the TIP beforehand, and when I asked her, she quickly asked what I'd paid to get into Benin. I couldn't remember so I just said CFA 1 500. She said it was the samefor Nigeria. I sensed something was amiss, but I paid her anyway.
Once I'd left the office, I realised I never got a receipt, so I turned back. My suspicions were confirmed when she told me there was no receipt for the TIP. She insisted that I wouldn't be asked for proof of payment at any checkpoint. Well, of course not, because no receipt was required – this TIP was supposed to be free! I had been duped…
Since CFA 1 500 equates to only about R40, I decided not to push
