ATVs and big waves don't mix

We don’t often think about rampant ORV use being a problem in Africa, and perhaps it isn't.  That said, I was surprised by the antipathy exhibited by random onlookers when an off-road vehicle rider gets his machine stuck on a beach near Lagos, Nigeria.  This very short essay, What the Ocean Hears, chronicles a photographer’s day at the beach, perhaps a tourist, perhaps not.  The essay relates several interesting encounters, including one about a poorly driven off-road vehicle.  Mention of the incident begins like this:

An all-terrain vehicle roared past us, racing down beach, keeping to the far line of the tide where the sand was most compacted. It had wide tyres and an open frame. “Show off,” Mr Loverboy said. “A real idiot,” I added, “Awon ni won ba’lu je.” (They are the ones spoiling the country).

Unfortunately, the photographer didn’t snap any pictures of the ORV in question, especially not as it was swallowed by the ocean.  But the photographer is clearly also a writer, and it’s certainly worth reading his short, but evocative story.