Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DASH
Used freely as both a noun and a verb, dash is a word you'll hear a lot in Nigeria. It can mean either a bribe or a
tip. The most frequent form of dash you're likely to encounter is at police roadblocks. In large-scale corruption,
money is referred to as 'chopped' (literally 'eaten'). Although you're actually unlikely to be asked for dash as a
bribe, dashing someone who performs a service for you, such as a guide, is often appropriate.
INTERNET ACCESS
Decent connections are widespread in major towns, for around N200 per hour. Never use
internet banking in a Nigerian cybercafe.
MONEY
The unit of currency is the naira (N). Bring higher-denomination dollars or pounds for the
best exchange rate. ATMs are increasingly widespread and many are connected to interna-
tional systems like Mastercard or Visa. GTB is the most reliable. Credit cards are accepted
only a few places, and use them with caution. Notify your bank before you use your cards
in Nigeria as fraud scams have made it a red-flag country for transactions.
There are money changers in each town and they are almost always Hausa.
Western Union branches are useless unless you have a Nigerian bank account.
OPENING HOURS
General business hours are from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Sanitation days are
held on the last Saturday of the month - traffic isn't allowed before 10am for street clean-
ing.
Banks
8am to 4pm weekdays, closed Saturday and Sunday.
Government offices
7.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday.
POST
Mail sent to or from Nigeria is notoriously slow. Worldwide postcards cost about N80. For
parcels, use an international courier like DHL or FedEx, which have offices in most
towns.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
New Year's Day
1 January
Easter
March or April
May Day
1 May
National Day
1 October
