Michael Palin in Nigeria - Season 1

In episode 1, Michael lands at Lagos International Airport at 4.55am and is immediately thrown into the crowded chaos that is life in the biggest city in Africa. Seventy per cent of the population of Nigeria is under 25; 60% of people live in poverty.

Michael visits Makoko, often characterised as the biggest slum in Africa, but with houses built on water, it is also a vibrant, teeming community and Michael finds himself ultimately uplifted by what he sees and the people he meets. That evening, Lagos life at the other economic extreme emerges in the luxury bars of Lekki where music business insider Idara Idemeko explains the ambition of a generation now living the high life. But there are tensions and fears for the future.

The next day, Michael travels out to the coastal town of Badagry, which was once a slave port. Britain once called this part of Africa ‘the slave coast' and led the Transatlantic trade, which saw over three million Nigerians taken across the Atlantic. Michael meets historian Aduke Gomez who is herself descended from slaves. They retrace the final terrifying journey that enslaved people would have taken before boarding slave ships at the beach known as ‘the point of no return'.

Returning to Lagos, Michael pays a visit to the ‘New Afrika Shrine' and meets Yeni Kuti, the daughter of Fela Kuti, the father of Afrobeat. They discuss the important role Fela had as an activist against the military dictatorships that ruled Nigeria for decades, as well as his hedonistic lifestyle. But Yeni also warns about her fears for Nigeria, as it struggles to deal with its people's futures.

Leaving Lagos, Michael then flies 500 miles north to the city of Kano. Unlike the Christian South, Northern Nigeria is Islamic, and also home to terrorist group Boko Haram. Kidnapping is a risk and Michael and his UK/Nigerian crew require strong security measures to travel.

He is invited to meet revered Islamic leader, the Emir of Kano, at his royal palace. When Michael arrives, he discovers a huge impromptu event has been put on in his honour. With flame swallowing, sword swallowing, wild alligators and hundreds of horses and traditional costumes, Michael's first ‘Durbar' is an exhilarating assault on the senses. He finds himself wondering what incredible sights await him as he starts his 800-mile road trip down the spine of this extraordinary country.
 

Michael starts the second part of his adventure by climbing Dala Hill in the centre of the ancient city of Kano in Northern Nigeria. From the top, the view is spellbinding, and this is the starting point of an 800-mile road trip across Nigeria.

Michael and Mohammad Adamu - who's lived in Kano all his adult life - arrive at the open air stadium to explore and witness the ancient Hausa sport of Dambe Boxing. Nigeria is made up of hundreds of different ethnic groups and the North is dominated by the Hausa people. The Boxing is both brutal and elegant, a form of income and a right of passage club for young men often from poor parts of the city.

The next morning, Michael meets a very special young woman: Amina Ali Nkeki, one of the 276 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014. In an extraordinarily emotional interview she tells Michael her harrowing story - of how she was forced marry one of her captors. But she also tells of her relief at being finally reunited with her mother after a traumatic escape.

Michael then hits the road on the first stage of his journey, and whilst the roads of Northern Nigeria have a reputation for danger, his first stop is a complete surprise: a luxury hotel and polo club. He meets Harrow educated Polo Player Folarin Kuku, who explains the apparent mis-match of colonial sport and contemporary Nigerian economics.

The next day Michael swaps the road for a train, arriving in the brand-new capital city of Abuja. With wide, tree-lined avenues and modern tall glass offices, Abuja feels a bit like Los Angeles to Michael, and has been hailed as a vision of Nigeria's future. Just outside the city, he visits the huge, 300-metre high Zuma rock, a vast historical symbol for the nation.

A potholed road then takes Michael to the city of Lokoja, where the Niger and Benue rivers converge. As he arrives, he sees an incredibly energetic traffic policewoman, Onoja Joy, whose dance-like moves keep the incredibly busy traffic flowing.

Lokoja was once the centre of Britain's Colonial rule of Nigeria and was the base of Lord Frederick Lugard, the Governor-General of Nigeria who first brought North and South Nigeria together as one country. At the top of Mount Patti, Michael and Chris Nwobu discuss the lasting impact of British rule on Nigeria, and the legacy of the empire on the country in the 21st century.

Michael starts the final part of his journey hurtling down one of Nigeria's notoriously uneven and dangerous roads as he heads south to the historic city of Benin. There is a sense of tension when Michael's vehicle has to leave the congested route to take a diversion through an area known for bandit attacks.

Finally arriving in Benin, Michael notices a statue of British soldiers being massacred by a Benin Warrior in the 1897 ‘Raid on Benin', when Britain forces attacked and burnt down the city, before taking thousands of bronze artifacts, which are still on display in the British Museum and continue to cause controversy, with a campaign for their return. The next day, Michael goes to Igun Street to see the beautiful bronze statues being made by craftsmen who also cite efforts to return the original ancient bronzes to Nigeria.

After a lunch of traditional Nigerian Jollof rice, Michael heads into the vast Niger Delta but the team soon get stuck in muddy roads and it is something of a relief when they finally arrive safely in the town of Abraka.

The next morning, Michael meets Nigerian filmmaker Chuko Esiri as they board a boat on the stunning River Ethiope, one of the most beautiful places in Nigeria, to discuss Nigeria's wildlife and the inspiration that Chuko gets from this amazing location. Michael also meets a local palm oil producer to discuss this controversial, but lucrative, product.

Michael then travels to Port Harcourt; the oil producing heartland of Nigeria and visits a local village where an illegal oil refinery explosion killed 37 people just weeks earlier. He sees the terrible effects of oil pollution on the local river systems and learns more about the illegal oil refining industry that is causing havoc through the local countryside.

And after arriving back in Lagos, Michael witnesses one of the highlights of his journey, gaining unique access to one of Nigeria's Pentecostal ‘megachurches' on the outskirts of the city. Arriving at ‘The Redemption City of God', Michael discovers an entire community, with over 5000 houses built around the huge church. Every month this swells when up to a million worshippers descend for services which are highly charged, joyful and spectacular - and today's doesn't disappoint.

The church itself spans acres of ground and, as thousands of people arrive for the ‘Holy Ghost' service, the place lifts off and Michael finds himself at the centre of an event like no other he has ever experienced. The energy is infectious, and Michael is caught up in the euphoria and excitement. It's a fitting time for Michael to reflect on his time in this incredible country.