'Instagram' holidays get Nigerians travelling
17 September, 2018
Tourism in Nigeria is nothing if not earned. It takes eight hours by bus to travel the 250 kilometres (155 miles) from Lagos to Idanre on a road strewn with potholes and other obstacles.
Then there's the negotiations with unscrupulous police officers and a climb of 620 steps in the sticky, tropical heat.
But those who've made the trip say it's worth it just for a selfie in front of the sumptuous Yorubaland hills with Chiamaka Obuekwe, Nigeria's self-styled "Queen of Tours".
"I always wanted to have a picture with her! We've seen so many on her page," said one traveller on the organised weekend, as Chiamaka poses with the 15-strong group of 20 to 35 year-olds, all of them in bright "Social Prefect Tours" T-shirts.
Behind them, the hills stretch out as far as the eye can see, trees rising upwards from the rocks below through a light mist in a scene worthy of "Jurassic Park".
Chiamaka, as everyone calls her, never intended to found a travel agency but the followers of her blog and Instagram account persuaded her to, asking if they could come along.
Since its creation in 2015, Social Prefect Tours has become an institution for well-connected young professionals in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos.
Chiamaka's Instagram page currently has more than 40,000 followers, whose goal is to post a precious hashtag from across Nigeria in the same way pins were once put on a map.
"This is the Instagram age," she told AFP. "If you didn't take a picture, it's like it never happened. So, it's better you didn't even go there."
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