NIGERIA, WHEN LIFE DREAMS OF SOMEWHERE ELSE | France 5 | Les Routes de l'Impossible

It is the richest country in Africa, but oil money is not enough to build road infrastructure commensurate with its economic power. Nigeria is going against the grain: here, every journey is an ordeal, every delivery a challenge.

Driving on Nigerian roads requires nerves of steel. Theft, kidnapping, potholed roads… The daily life of truck drivers is a non-stop adventure. To deliver his precious cargo of beer, Emmanuel will brave all dangers on one of the most perilous roads in the country.

In Lagos, a sprawling megacity suffocated by traffic jams, taxi drivers are tearing their hair out over soaring gas prices. Meanwhile, a stone’s throw from the glass towers, Makoko, a huge floating slum, is trying to survive on the gray waters of the lagoon. Its rickety wooden houses rest on unstable stilts, connected by canoes that serve as roads. Here, there are no networks, no sanitation, but a vibrant community life in one of the most precarious places on the planet.

Half of Nigerians live on less than two dollars a day. And yet, this country remains standing, driven by raw energy, ancient beliefs, and traditions that are still alive today. In the forest, the last kings of Africa, such as the king of the Yoruba, still wield spiritual authority over millions of followers in trance who have come to celebrate the goddess Osun.

In the forest, on the roads, or in the bush, Nigeria is a volcano in perpetual eruption.