Driving in Nigeria is an extreme sport. Thus, the allure to own fast and big cars is a major craze. Combine both of those and put them on Nigeria’s narrow, pothole-ridden roads and you have a big mess. Sometimes racing around town and nearly knocking down pedestrians is like a thrilling scene in the blockbuster movie series, Fast & Furious.
Even more conspicuous in this rat race, drivers often forget they are to allow pedestrians to cross at zebra crossings. Some others carelessly splash mud on bystanders in their selfish haste. This is a peek of our driving culture alone; if we are to add driving that way in luxurious cars, it is easier to compound the frustration and disgust some pedestrians feel in such an environment.
But why are Nigerians such big fans of fast, big cars? Is it a quest to throw affluence in the face of those who cannot afford or access same? Could it be merely an impatience to get to a destination on time? Could it even be a question of stating publicly someone’s status and economic class in the society? Even likely is the fact that it could be a combination of all these factors.
The trending story of the boy who stole his brother in-law’s money to buy and surprise his 16-year-old girlfriend with a Mercedes Benz car gift came as shocking to many Nigerians, but it is no more news that owning a Benz is the latest show of class amongst these hustlers. In fact, owning a Mercedes Benz is now constantly being extolled in our music where musicians sing about and show the lower class how lovely it is to lavish away in the posh seats of classy, fast and heavy cars. In fact, it is so serious that one dares not approach some ladies with propositions without driving one of those beautiful cars.
Mayorkun, a fast-rising Nigerian pop singer recently sang about what he would do when he gets to buy a Porsche car, even while ridiculously driving the same car in the music video. One other popular urban song titled ‘Wetin We Gain’ is now the anthem of online fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo Boys (who are also renowned for their love of exotic and pimped cars) while riding around town in convoys blaring loud music through the speakers. Yes, it is so much the new craze that young boys and even girls who see them riding in the streets, aspire to join them and do nothing else in life.
In our society, riding a big, fast car is akin to the exclusive riding of horses of the aristocratic class. Many do believe that owning and riding a fast car gives you prior access and opportunities in a largely competitive world like ours. This is true in our world too.
An African idiom even goes: “No one accords respect to an individual claiming today to have ridden a horse yesterday.” This would mean that if someone claims to have ridden a horse yesterday, he should keep riding that horse today lest he will be disrespected and relegated in the societal ladder.
It is clear that cars, like other luxury items, are no more just a tool primarily designed for moving about from one place to another in relative comfort. It is also a tool of an ambitious and extravagant dream, something close to what Tracy Chapman described in her Grammy award-winning song, ‘Fast Car’, as the fulfilment that comes with moving from a zero point in life to another tangible stage in life’s journey.