THE KANO TO LAGOS EXPRESS


There was a train leaving Kano the next morning for the capital, Lagos, 700 miles away.  We decided we would be on it.  We arrived at Kano station about half an hour before departure, intending to buy three third class single tickets.  When we got on to the platform, it was nearly impossible to even see the third class carriages.  They were completely crammed with people and luggage and still people were trying to push their way on.  The more athletic were climbing in through the windows.  Passengers were standing on running boards and even the carriage roofs had passengers and luggage perched precariously on top.  It took us about ten seconds to decide that we would not attempt third class travel.

Second class travel was considerably more expensive but the conditions were much better.  Nearly everyone had a seat on a bench, maybe not comfortable but your own space, nevertheless.  Departure time came ..... and went but the train didn’t.  When it did eventually start, it was at a stately pace which did not dislodge the passengers on the roof.

The entire journey was scheduled to take just over 24 hours.  In fact it took 42, at an average speed of just under 17 miles per hour.  This particular service was regularly held up by bandits and, for this reason, there was an armed police guard on the train.  And when I write “an armed police guard”, I mean exactly that – a single policeman, armed with a single rifle.  We couldn’t understand what one policeman could do to protect the passengers if there was a hold up.  Maybe the policeman had the same thought and that explained what he did next – got blind drunk so that he had to be disarmed by a group of soldiers going home on leave.

But... What Happened Next
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