Lagos on the fast lane: Nigeria’s thriving racing culture

Known for its notorious traffic jams, Lagos is now seeing a push from young innovators to transform its streets into high-speed lanes for cars.

Transcript

00:00Lagos is famous for traffic jams, but today the streets are roaring with speed.

00:06From drips to drag races, meets the young Nigerians turning great luck into adrenaline.

00:12Mohamed and Titilope Anifowoshe, siblings united by a love for cars, are not just racing.

00:19They are inspiring other young Nigerians to dream big, display their craft and prove that Lagos can rival global speed culture.

00:27The reason why I'm here today is to showcase my craft, my art to everybody.

00:31So that's why I'm here today. Everybody needs to see what my car can do and what I can do as well.

00:36We give you Mohamed Lexus in the building!

00:41Almost all the time people ask me, oh are you the one that just drove this car?

00:46Is that you? I get that question all the time.

00:48But for me it's just the love of vehicles.

00:50When we talk car shows you think of Dubai, UAE, Qatar and whatever.

00:54So it's just beautiful to see that young Nigerians are dreaming big and doing things that are not cultural to us.

01:02For organizers, the goal is bringing rare cars closer to young people.

01:07Feeding curiosity with real life experience.

01:10It's basically an avenue to see cars up close that they naturally wouldn't see.

01:16Because a whole lot of these cars, like the enthusiasts, the petrol heads, you have these cars just somewhere in some garage.

01:21And then the Lagos shoot, they see this, they follow this on some blocks.

01:24And this is an opportunity for them to experience it firsthand.

01:27And that's why you see here at all the fest, you always have a crowd every time.

01:31Shut up! That was the Lagos!

01:33But for some, like David Yakubo, building performance engines right here in Nigeria, that passion shifts into higher gear.

01:42We are living proof and living testament that these cars can be done here.

01:46And as you can see them in the flesh, like I said, people will think, okay, fine, this was brought in.

01:51No, it was actually done here, in Lagos to be precise.

01:54So you get rid of that, you put an external fuel tank and then you run it straight.

01:58Spectators welcome the difference from the city's regular vehicular scene.

02:03I feel good seeing all of these people experience all of these things because we don't get this type of experiences every day in Lagos.

02:10It's really great because I like the sound, I like the rides, the burning of rubbers, I like everything that comes with it.

02:18Amidst the roar of engines, colourful drips and quarter-mile races, this event has turned Lagos' gridlock reputation on its head.

02:28It's showing that the city isn't just about traffic, it's about ambition, creativity and a growing motorsport culture.