Cars you won’t see on Nigerian roads.

  

Even with the current recession, Nigerians are known to buy some of the most exclusive automobile brands in the world, From the Bentleys to the Rolls- Royce’s, Lamborghini to the Veyron…they are all on our roads especially in cities like Lagos and Abuja…Nigerians indulge, due to this current recession though, cars imported into the country has dropped sharply but even when all was rosy, there are just some brand of luxury vehicles you won’t find on Nigerian roads, some because of how exclusive they are, others because the technology that powers them is not readily available or simply some really have outrageous prices attached to them.

Here are some of the automobiles you won’t find on our roads

. Koenigsegg  : The Swedish super sport car company has three models in its line-up, very unlikely you would find  any of them on Lekki-Epe expressway. It has the CCXR Trevita, the 1 & Regera…exquisite pieces of automobile engineering

.Tesla Models : Model S and their rrecent SUV Model X…chance is Naija still has a long way to go before the ride on our roads, for Tesla makes full plug in electric vehicle, no internal combustion engine in these ones, we don’t even have enough power to charge our phones yet talk less of a vehicle…long thing indeed.

W Motors Lykan Hypersport : You may recall the Lykan Hypersport from its starring role in the blockbuster Furious 7, where the Lebanese supercar crashed through not one, not two, but three skyscrapers in Dubai.

Hennesy Venom GT : There is a raging argument about which is the fastest production car in the world…many believe it’s the Bugatti Veyron Supersport but no, The Hennesy Venom holds the Guinness book of world records as the fastest production vehicle in the world.

Pagani : Pagani has basically two models under the company, the Pagani  Huayra BC and the Zonda, the Zonda has variants, there is the original Zonda, the Zonda R, Zonda R Evolution and even Zonda Revolucion…Not gonna find any on these streets, zondas are so limited some eventual owners had to wait three years to buy one of these bad boys

Mercedes- Benz G63 AMG 6x6 : Imagine The G Wagon on steroids with 6 wheels instead of four, with tires you can inflate and deflate according to the surface you are driving on. It was launched in early 2013 and by early 2015, the company declared the model completely sold out, so the only way to get one now is to buy it from an owner….probably an Arabian Prince somewhere in the middle east.

Lamborghini : Yes there are some models of Lambos here, but even some Lamoghini are hard to come by anywhere in the world, three of their must exclusive models includes the Centenario LP, Sesto Elemento (sixth Element) and the Veneno

Ferrari – Yemi Alade would have to do with the more common Ferrari, not that any type of Ferrari is common to begin with but even among the Ferrari Models, The Ferrari Le Ferrari (so good, they had to name it twice) it’s Le Ferrari FXX K, F^) America and the tongue twisting Pininfarina Sergio are not to be seen by just any pair of eyes

Aston Martin One 77  -The British automaker wanted to make a vehicle so exclusive they made just 77 models of this vehicle, hence the name…And the 77 Lucky individuals paid for them even before they rolled out of the factory. Arguably the most classically handsome car on the list, this car is built around a carbon fibre monocoque chassis , with a handcrafted aluminium body giving it its sophisticated , aggressive look.

Zenvo ST1 – assembled in Zealand, Denmark, the Zenvo ST1 is less of a car and more of a caged animal, it creates and obscene amount of power so much the engine caught fire on the Top gear track, the company however claims Top gear’s crew hours of extreme driving of the vehicle led to the fire. Nevertheless…Maybe this one should just stay away from our roads.

Mclaren P1 – The Mclaren brand has roots in racing, so they decided to come up with a car that feels like a formula 1 car but street legal so they came up with a P1 aka the widow maker…it’s fast, it look menacing…A rocket on wheels really

Rolls Royce Phantom Serenity : The Phantoms are here though but the serenity is like a VVIP section in a VIP club that one has to wait a life time to even get into…looks  every other phantom except this is specially made and it’s the based on the Phantom Series two..(Neither Sultan nor Oni has one, theirs are series one) and the taken into some special after production customization with military grade security features

Bugatti Chiron – Bugatti Veyron is now old news, although there are also versions of the Veyron that would be hard to come by…like the Veyron Vitese or the limited Mansory Vivere edition cooked by German witch doctors. it’s latest sibling is not at car dealerships yet, those that have them in their garages are those that have paid for them even before the company started mass production…Maybe we’ll see this one sometime in the future because the name Bugatti somehow seems to excite the money bags in Naija

Honourable Mention – Mercedez Benz Maybach Exelero

By far the most expensive car our list, the Exelero makes its appearance under honourable mentions due to its one –off status, The Maybach was also built in 2004, but that makes its sticker price more impressive, Adjusted for Inflation, it would cost around $10.1 Million dollars in the US today…(Don’t bother converting that to Naira) close to the GDP of a small Island Nation. To see one on our roads would be sinful in fact!

Lagos at Night

Lagos is indeed a city-state on the rise, Lagos is looking beyond being a standard for Nigeria or even Africa but to become a truly world class city in every sense of that phrase, one thing that sets cities apart is what their night life is, Night Life looks better with public lights which is why world class cities glimmer even from Space, Light Lagos Project initiated by Former Governor Fashola and continued by The Ambode Administration is really putting Lagos in a positive light (Pun very much intended)

Here are some Lagos night pictures to enjoy.

Muslim Woman Needs Help With Flat Tire | What Would You Do? | WWYD

You All Know Eko Atlantic, Banana Island, What About Orange Island ?

Banana is that famous nouveau riche artificial Island off the coast of Ikoyi Where only those with serious bucks can dream to live in, IMO though, a bit overrated) and of course our very own World Class Eko Atlantic City off the coast of Victoria Island stretching forth into the Atlantic (Baddest Real Estate Development in this part of the World but very few know that just a few hundred metres away from Lekki Phase one and can be seen from Banana Island, A New Land reclamation Project is underway right in the Lagos Lagoon (just like Banana Island) and this one is called Orange Island.... What's with these fruity names anyways.

Orange Island is said to be an improvement on it's elder brothers design and concept, presently being developed by a consortium of Private developers and dredging done by FW Dredging Limited, with these World Class projects presently on going in the centre of Excellence, Lagos is surely on its way to becoming a truly global city.


Eko oni Baje o...O baje tiii

Destruction of Illegal refineries: How about we consider the Alternatives.

The Nigerian Navy claims to have destroyed thousands of so called illegal refineries over the years mainly by setting them on fire, thereby further polluting the environment which is ironical considering that one of their main objectives is to help stop the pollution of the environment. I remember Senator Ben Bruce once advocated that these refineries could be legalised and they will pay taxes and employ people and he was lampooned heavily by many who didn’t stop to think if there could be some sense in what was suggested.

In the 1970’s, Some Asian Nations did something truly remarkable that have turned them into economic super powers, China, India and the Asian Tigers did something remarkable between the 1970’s and 1990’s they looked inward and found solution to their peculiar challenges, ignoring advice from western agents and the world bank and did what they believed will work for their own environment…and it has payed off, They developed their own technology, started crudely at first but with time, improved so much so that the rest of the world now learns from them, we could also achieve this by coming up with models that will work for our peculiar situation, I would suggest that instead of destroying these illegal refineries and burning them, further polluting the environment and all, Why don’t we engage the operators of this refineries, where and how do they source their crude, even with their very crude method of refining, they still show a level of intelligence, why don’t we harness whatever they have and make them improve on it and have safe and standard but modular refineries all over the region, that will be supervised by the relevant government agencies.  Presently they source their crude through illegal means, although the numerous oil spills in the region also supply them with steady crude, they can be compelled to get their crude legally and pay for it even if it is at a cheaper rate. They must become registered legal entities with the Corporate Affairs commission so they can access loans from banks, so they can expand in future.. If Government can consider this type of arrangement the positives will be employment for a whole lot of young people, increase in revenue base for the states, a cleaner environment because they will no longer operate at their crude level and would have to adhere to industry standards, Imagine we have just 10 of these type of modular small scale refineries in the Niger Delta region, employing graduates of engineering and others, paying taxes to the government and cleaning up the environment. The ripple effects will even reduce criminality in the region, with time these types of refineries can be improved upon and will even help to develop our own home grown technology. 

Building a standard Refinery is expensive, even major IOL are reluctant to invest in it, especially in a country like Nigeria where the industry is over regulated, These types of Modular refineries may be just the kind of home grown solution  we need to wean ourselves dependence on finished imported petroleum products. They will complement the standard refineries in the country and as time goes on, may also grow to become standards in their own right.