Bribes, Beatings and Gridlock at Ports Choke Nigeria Economy
- Congestion, delays at ports cost Nigeria $19 billion a year
- President Buhari says that the situation is a ‘major concern’
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The lines of aging blue, red and yellow trucks begin almost 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the gates of Nigeria’s main port of Apapa.
Valentine, a 34-year-old driver, has been queuing outside the Lagos site for two weeks. He’s had to deal with policemen demanding bribes and fend off hoodlums known as area boys. “This is the worst I’ve seen it,” he said, changing tires in a grimy orange t-shirt. “Every year, it gets worse.”