Looking for Transwonderland by Noo Saro-Wiwa: review Descending an escalator in Nigeria a few years ago, I noticed to my alarm that a crowd of people had stopped at the bottom to argue with one another. As dozens of us headed downwards into the stationary throng, I pictured the headline: "Human Avalanche Kills 50." Move forward! I shrieked. We never do! That is the problem with our people," exclaimed a wry Nigerian behind me. Everyone guffawed, moved onwards, and we all lived to see another day. The journey begins in disorderly Lagos, at the home of Aunty Janice. Saro-Wiwa considers the lack of water and a capricious electricity supply less troublesome than being roused at two every morning by Aunty Janice praying: "Die witches! Die, die, die! However hard she tries to escape it, the church always finds her. Preachers board the Lagos minibuses to thunder against the wiles of Satan. Every Nigerian she meets passionately explains the world in terms of religion. There is even an entire town, replete with schools and hospitals devoted to evangelical worship, called Prayer City. As she journeys through Africa's most populous country, Saro-Wiwa becomes increasingly disheartened by the effects of government corruption. Nigeria is the world's 12th largest oil producer , but oil ministers sell fuel to black marketeers at an inflated price, causing severe petrol shortages. Saro-Wiwa is concerned about the effects of oil pollution on the delicate eco-system. Little has changed since the 1990s, when her father led peaceful protests against Shell's environmental destruction. Despite all this, the dominant tone of this book is one of humour and affection. Saro-Wiwa visits ape sanctuaries, dog shows and the Transwonderland of the title, a dilapidated funfair whose rides are overgrown with weeds. In Kano she attends the Durbar pageant, where she marvels at the costumes, turbans and embroidered umbrellas of the Hausa warriors. Further south she meets white Zimbabweans who have settled in Nigeria to run hugely successful farms. Having lived in England since the age of three, Roedean-educated Saro-Wiwa's insider/outsider view of Nigeria makes intriguing reading. She is fiercely honest and compassionate about a country most tourists travel miles to avoid. Her father was hanged for speaking his mind; we should be thankful his fearless daughter will not be deterred from speaking hers. Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria Noo Saro-Wiwa Granta, £14.99, 309pp