The Niger waterfront at Asaba is the city's most atmospheric corner — a stretch of riverbank where fishermen bring in their catch, small boats cross to Onitsha, vendors sell fried fish and palm wine, and the scale of the river becomes apparent. The Niger here is enormous: several hundred metres wide, flowing brown and fast, carrying silt from the Sahel and the Guinea highlands all the way to the Delta.
The waterfront development project — a large-scale urban regeneration scheme announced by the Delta State government — has been transforming parts of the bank in recent years, but much of the working waterfront remains as it has always been. The best time to visit is early morning, when the fishing boats are coming in and the markets are at their busiest.