Michael Palin in Nigeria

Episode 3 (1x3)

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In the final leg of his journey, Palin is on edge as he travels south to the historic Benin City and his vehicle has to take a diversion through an area known for bandit attacks. When he gets to Benin City, he learns how British forces attacked and burnt down the city in 1897. He also joins a service at one of Nigeria's Pentecostal megachurches, witnesses the terrible effects of oil pollution on the local river systems, and gets stuck on a muddy road... 'Most of the infrastructure in the country wasn't working terribly well and nobody seemed to do a great deal about it, says Palin. 'We actually lost one of our vans at one point, because it got stuck and we didn't really have proper towing equipment. 'My lasting impression of Nigeria is that it's a place with enormous human energy that's not being channelled in the right direction. Nearly everyone we spoke to talked about the problem with corruption. The government gets huge finances from their booming oil industry, but that money isn't