Maria Knodt

Noo Saro-Wiwa

Looking for Transwonderland – Travels in Nigeria

If this novel doesn’t make you laugh out loud, then I don’t know what could. With sharp observations and hilarious descriptions, this book takes us on a rollercoaster ride of how the diaspora British-Nigerian author is experiencing her time back visiting Nigeria – a country she used to hate but now starts to love besides all its annoyances. She takes us from her experiences in chaotic Lagos with fervent Christians and run-down amusement parks to the calm eastern parts of the country with its traditions and natural beauty. She discusses corruption and economy, Nollywood and cultural sites, the country’s past and her tragic family history. If you ever want to visit Nigeria and understand the country and its people, this is the perfect book!

“A bullet shower of traffic whizzed by me on the expressway. I timidly flagged down a minibus taxi, known as a danfo. Danfos are condemned hand-me-downs from Europe, so decrepit that one can watch the tarmac moving beneath one’s feet. The conductor, dressed in torn shorts and floppy slippers, clung casually to the side as he solicited more passengers from the roadside, hurriedly waving people into the vehicle without thought for their age or physical condition.

‘Wale, wale!’ he barked at me. ‘Enter, enter!’ I could see that transport men work faster and more furiously because they receive their salary up front – a rare example in Nigeria of time equalling money. I scrambled on board and searched for somewhere to sit. The danfo’s original seats had been replaced with metallic benches designed to cram five people into rows originally meant for three. It was a tight squeeze in any nation, but the Nigerian love affair with starchy foods made it even tougher for me to squash myself in among so much ‘rice booty’.

‘Please, shift yourself,’ one chubby man complained as he tried to find space next to another.

‘But you are too fat, now,’ his neighbour replied in typically frank fashion. As both of them fought to get comfortable, they frowned at each other’s thighs and angrily advised one another on how to manage their body weight.”