Nigeria’s Festive Travel: No Fuel Queues, But Fare Blockades
By TIMOTHY HAGGERTY-NWOKOLO
THE story of Nigerian road travel has always been the story of Nigeria itself—unstructured, entrepreneurial, resilient, but poorly regulated. In 2025, the transport sector has added a new chapter: festive fare blockades.
This year, the traditional December migration of Nigerians traveling home has collided with soaring ticket costs. Curiously, fuel prices, one of the biggest determinants of transport economics in past years, have remained relatively stable with no major queues reported at filling stations.
Yet transport prices tell a different story.
A review of bus fare quotes shows:
• Lagos → South-East cities: ₦25,000 to ₦35,000
• Premium seats: ₦40,000+
• Lagos → Abuja: ₦45,000+
• Lagos → Kaduna/Kano: ₦50,000 to ₦70,000+ depending on operator
Why?
Transport operators cite:
– Maintenance costs driven by import-dependent spare parts
– Insurance premiums that doubled year-on-year
– Driver incentive pay during holidays
– Toll and union fees at parks
But field investigations reveal another hidden factor: corridor extortion economics. Unlike fuel, extortion does queue—and it collects interest during festive seasons.
Drivers now budget what operators call “settlement fees” paid to:
• Police roadblocks
• Transport unions
• Local checkpoints
• Traffic enforcement officers
• Youth security desks along rural corridors
These costs are not optional—they are structural, unofficial, and unreceipted. They function like informal taxation for movement. And unlike federal tax, there is no fiscal accountability, no auditing, no remittance to public welfare, and no oversight.
Security experts warn that routes crossing North-Central and North-West regions still face risks of banditry, kidnapping, and violent robbery, adding an additional risk premium to fares, especially for longer northern corridors.
Economists argue this type of price surge is not driven by value-addition, but by value-extraction. Nigerians are not paying for better service—they are paying because demand increases and seat supply doesn’t. It is a seller’s market operating in a buyer’s economy.
Even worse is the safety risk. When prices rise, desperation rises too. Overloading, driver fatigue, night travel on unsafe rural roads, and compressed scheduling all increase accident probability.
Nigeria’s roads are carrying more passengers than ever—but the people riding them are feeling the bill like never before. In 2025, the road itself has become the receipt. And the nation is paying for movement without moving forward.
