Ismg @ismg003 - Twitter Profile

ISMG003 retweeted

7 months ago

I have no problem with comparisons because it should normally encourage nations to grow. However, I have a problem with misinformation. Dakar has steadier electricity, true. People park their vehicle outside due to lack of space. Plots of land are typically VERY expensive and utilised for living spaces, leaving no room for car parks. Street parking isn't necessarily a good thing, given how narrow the roads are. I lived in Dakar, and also just returned from there last week. You cannot, in a million years, compare the road networks of Lagos or Abuja to the horrible inner streets of Dakar. The stretch of road from the airport all the way to Almadies (the elite part of Dakar) is almost the single road leading to and fro the city (frame 3 is right in front of the second apartment I lived in). The streets are mostly untarred and bumpy. Frame 1 below is a typical street in the major parts of town. My last apartment in Dakar was on that street, and it was a cute building. Once you step off that single main road, the street are MOSTLY not tarred, not even graded. Even in Almadies. Look beside Yaas hotel, King Fahd hotel, the US embassy, etc. You will see squalor and royalty in perfect connivance. As a mater of fact, I have yet to see a city where poverty and luxury dwell together in such perfect harmony, as they do in Dakar. There could be, but I have not seen it. The larget mall there is Sea Plaza. It takes a minute to walk end to end. Dakar is littered by old yellow cabs that would not be considered roadworthy here. Dakar cabs would be in eternal battles with VIO if they were in Nigeria. The alternative they have to Uber and Bolt is called Yango, and the vast majority of them are also not so neat. I don't know what you mean by city centre, but the elite parts of Dakar are Almadies, Ngor, Yoff, and Sandaga (the old money part of Dakar). Compared those places to Maitama, Asokoro, Katampe, or Wuse II. Dakar is the most expensive city in Africa. My Egyptian friends complained bitterly about the cost of living when we attended a conference there. If you know how expensive Cairo is, you'd know what it means for an Egyptian to complain about a place being expensive. The first apartment I lived in Dakar cost me 4500 Euros/month (top floor, frame 2), and that was just adjacent Stade Ngor. That building collapsed recently. My boy @ISMG003 had to relocate from Nigeria to live with me because he knew the city better and could speak French. Places like Saly Portudal, outside Dakar, are even more expensive. Frame 4 was my last apartment in Dakar. It was certainly not 100 dollars, and there were times we'd go without water for days. Dakar, due to the narrow roads, have traffic too. Confirm how long it takes from the airport to the heart of town, compared to Abuja. 100 dollars a night can get you a good hotel room in Abuja. There is so much to say. Let me stop here for now. There are countries better than Nigeria, but Senegal is not nearly one of them.

mikeachimugu01's tweet photo. I have no problem with comparisons because it should normally encourage nations to grow. However, I have a problem with misinformation.

Dakar has steadier electricity, true.

People park their vehicle outside due to lack of space. Plots of land are typically VERY expensive and utilised for living spaces, leaving no room for car parks. Street parking isn't necessarily a good thing, given how narrow the roads are.

I lived in Dakar, and also just returned from there last week.

You cannot, in a million years, compare the road networks of Lagos or Abuja to the horrible inner streets of Dakar. The stretch of road from the airport all the way to Almadies (the elite part of Dakar) is almost the single road leading to and fro the city (frame 3 is right in front of the second apartment I lived in).

The streets are mostly untarred and bumpy. Frame 1 below is a typical street in the major parts of town. My last apartment in Dakar was on that street, and it was a cute building.

Once you step off that single main road, the street are MOSTLY not tarred, not even graded. Even in Almadies. Look beside Yaas hotel, King Fahd hotel, the US embassy, etc. You will see squalor and royalty in perfect connivance. As a mater of fact, I have yet to see a city where poverty and luxury dwell together in such perfect harmony, as they do in Dakar. There could be, but I have not seen it. The larget mall there is Sea Plaza. It takes a minute to walk end to end.

Dakar is littered by old yellow cabs that would not be considered roadworthy here. Dakar cabs would be in eternal battles with VIO if they were in Nigeria.

The alternative they have to Uber and Bolt is called Yango, and the vast majority of them are also not so neat.

I don't know what you mean by city centre, but the elite parts of Dakar are Almadies, Ngor, Yoff, and Sandaga (the old money part of Dakar). Compared those places to Maitama, Asokoro, Katampe, or Wuse II.

Dakar is the most expensive city in Africa. My Egyptian friends complained bitterly about the cost of living when we attended a conference there. If you know how expensive Cairo is, you'd know what it means for an Egyptian to complain about a place being expensive.

The first apartment I lived in Dakar cost me 4500 Euros/month (top floor, frame 2), and that was just adjacent Stade Ngor. That building collapsed recently. My boy @ISMG003 had to relocate from Nigeria to live with me because he knew the city better and could speak French.

Places like Saly Portudal, outside Dakar, are even more expensive. Frame 4 was my last apartment in Dakar. It was certainly not 100 dollars, and there were times we'd go without water for days.

Dakar, due to the narrow roads, have traffic too. Confirm how long it takes from the airport to the heart of town, compared to Abuja.

100 dollars a night can get you a good hotel room in Abuja.

There is so much to say. Let me stop here for now. There are countries better than Nigeria, but Senegal is not nearly one of them.

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