Driving in Nigeria is like another installment of the Hunger Games series.

Literally.

I’ve been using a visual aid for over a decade now (thinking about it, it doesn’t feel that long ago) and sometimes I feel terrible while driving at night due to the lack of any form of light. It’s all squints, neck-strains, tightly-gripping the steering wheel and using the brake at unnecessary points.

It was recently this week, on my way home that I realized I was always in a cycle of frustration while driving at night.

Start: I turn the car’s head lamps on so I can navigate the poorly lit roads leading home, then I’m somewhat blinded by the lights from oncoming traffic as well as those from behind me and then I curse everyone of them forgetting why they probably have it on.

By the time I’m reminded that my own lights are on, I console myself by saying that the street lights are actually sufficient to ride home UNTIL I get to my supposed exit home and discover that the reflector on the road is basically the size of those wooden rulers we were given in Hallmark Secondary School Ondo.

It doesn’t make a difference that these streets are lined with corporate offices, businesses and religious houses in somewhat highbrow areas *side eyes the Central Business District* , the city also doesn’t make provisions for traffic wardens or traffic lights to work after dark. It’s more like the FCDA just wants us to fend for ourselves-eat or be eaten…not kidding

…This is not to discredit the work of the FCDA, it’s just that it’s a tad bit mediocre, with half the street being lit and the rest of it somewhat a District 10, while we navigate the turns and bends, intensely praying silently (if that’s possible) that there are no surprises at the end *open for a surprise meme*

From my search on accidents in Abuja, most of the results that popped up (not including those caused by those unregulated truck drivers) mentioned that the accidents occurred either at night or early in the morning. Coincidence? I think not. An article citing an official from the Federal Capital Development Authority mentioned that the cause of these power outages were inefficient and substandard equipment, vandalized equipment, poor maintenance by the maintenance contractors and the Abuja Electricity Disco. The official blamed everyone but never mentioned the part FCDA plays in this mess. Note that the article was published in 2017, here we are in 2018 and it is still the same problem.

Whoever’s reading this and might be in charge…call me if you need any advice on how you can solve this problem and get re-elected the right way.