ABSTRACT
This chapter is an ethnographic case study of Chinese migrants’ daily mobilities in Lagos. Drawing on Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis theory, I will explore how a particular form of rhythm – interruption – can be understood in relation to specificities of mobilities and the city on which rhythm is imprinted. In examining rhythms of mobility, much attention has been paid to repetition and regularity of rhythms (Edensor, 2010), while very few empirical research addressed irregular intervals in the rhythm or sudden pauses of mobility, which, I argue, epitomizes unequal production and uneven distribution of power within a particular situation. This circumstance can be incubated at the spontaneous interactions between Chinese migrants and Nigerian police along roads. Driving on Nigerian roads involves complex contested politics, such as dashing (bribing in Nigerian pidgin English) when drivers are stopped and inspected by the police. Chinese migrants are frequently faced with such a situation in which their Nigerian drivers often acted as mediators. So, what does this moment, the interference of politics with rhythm of mobilities mean to Chinese migrants’ lives in Lagos? How does this pause affect their strategic time use and spatial practices and conceptualization of African urbanism? By answering these questions, this chapter will shed light on how road-related interactions and mobilities in Lagos reflect divergent social (dis)orders and political agendas for Nigerian citizens and Chinese migrants, thereby interrogating governance, informalities and immigration in urban Africa.
