Sorry for the thread drift.
Flightsimman,
I have heard the same statement you've just made hundreds of times and finally decided it's time to reply.
1) I accept that Nigeria ( and in this sense, I mean the whole country although some parts are safer than others) is not the safest in the world.
2) I accept that most flight crew and other foreigners arriving into the country transit between the airport and their hotels using armed escort.
3) Nigeria's "security" problem is not worse than most countries, so long as you keep out of troublesome areas.
After acknowledging the above statements, let me state the following
1) Nigeria is not any more dangerous than most other countries out there.
2) Most flight crew move about using armed escorts because of a "perceived" security threat and because that's the only way their airlines/employers will convince them to come.
Please note:
There are at least a thousand times the number of flight crew who are expatriates/foreigners etc who live and move about quite freely without the need for armed escorts. In terms of business, this place is an expatriates "manna" which is why they come (oil, manufacturing, banking, aviation) you name it. If the place was as unsafe and dangerous as a lot of people have said, then we would be hearing of daily killings and muggings of all the foreigners (and locals) who go about their business within the country. I work for an employer in Nigeria where there is a high number of expatriate staff who live in homes/flats/hotels and have no need for armed escorts during the daily course of business.
Our security department gives us advise on areas to avoid etc just as a normal sensible person would in EVERY country in the world. We do have the option of calling for armed escorts if we are venturing to/through those areas especially at night time. I also use this service, not necessarily because anything will happen to me (as the chances something will happen to me out of the hundreds of other people) but because my company demands it when I go to certain places.
There is a vibrant nightlife in Lagos and if it's so bad, I wonder how myself and my mates could have gone/seen all the places we did in Lagos without armed escorts.
I said "perceived" security threat above because maybe next time during one of your "armed" trips around Lagos or any other city in Nigeria, if you looked at the occupants of some vehicles, or on the streets in parts of Victoria Island you must notice quite a few "expats". Have you ever wondered how come they can walk the streets safely when you needed an escort? When I arrived here a couple of years ago, my colleagues and I also had the same ideas as you through stories handed down over the years in the same manner you are now doing.
I'm sick and tired of hearing the same old regurgitated bull**** being repeated and had to reply. "IT'S BETTER TO EXPERIENCE SOMETHING YOURSELF THAN LISTEN TO A THOUSAND STORIES"
Cheers