ABSTRACT
Public transport vehicles in Nigeria are frequently decorated with vividly painted designs and written messages. This art form seemed to emerge along with sign painting and popular literature, often referred to as “Onitsha market literature” (cheaply printed novels and chap books offering advice on all aspects of life). While these forms demonstrate an attraction to printed words, they still rely largely on oral tradition and local folklore. These vehicle inscriptions are derived from every conceivable source, from traditional proverbs and adages to advertising slogans and religious phrases. Most of the following were recorded from “mamy wagons” in Lagos in the 1940s and 1950s. Mamy wagons are trucks that have been converted into roofed, but open-sided, buses. The decorative tradition is also employed on minivans and taxis. The sayings are painted on the front board above the cab, along the sides, or on the rear gate.
