When I came across this passage earlier today, I was amazed. It is from Mutations, a collection of essays and studies conducted by the architect Rem Koolhaas and his students at Harvard. The passage is near the end of the chapter on Lagos, Nigeria’s sprawling capital, and explains why gangs (area boys) sabotage parts of the city’s extensive expressway system.

“Groups normally neglected by road traffic sometimes take advantage of the detour. Area boys, for example, purposefully destroy road surfaces to redrirect road traffic into ‘ambush areas’ or under-patronized commercial districts. In 1996, the 600 km Onitsha/Owerri road East of Lagos ‘caved in on several spots, making motorists detour in selected places, driving through farmlands and remote villages, crisscrossing abandoned terrain to reconnect to the highway. Many lives were lost in the process, vehicles endangered and many lost their way in far flung communities. Drivers drifted across the landscape like in the olden days.’”

All I can say is WOW!