Nigeria: Travel Warnings and Dreams of World-Class Tourism

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | January 24th, 2006 | Trackback

Travel to Nigeria has been risky for years, but recently crime has increased in places in and around Lagos where it was less common, including Victoria and Ikoyi Islands. Around the country, violent crime is committed not just by ordinary criminals but sometimes by people wearing police and military uniforms. Road travel, both in private vehicles and public transportation, is dangerous because of bandits, bad roads and poorly-maintained vehicles. Domestic air travel is also risky because of aging aircraft and poor maintenance: two planes crashed in October and December 2005. Armed ethnic groups in the Niger Delta have clashed in the recent past and have attacked oil facilities and kidnapped oil workers, including a current hostage crisis. Against this backdrop, President Olusegun Obasanjo said the government is determined to make Nigeria an international tourist destination. He acknowledged such challenges as visa difficulties, unhygienic environment, insecurity and poor national image, but retains the dream that Nigeria might join the mainstream of global tourism.

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