Lagos Diary

Throughout my stay in Lagos, the only song that kept playing in my head was Humble Smith’s “Beautiful Lagos”. I stayed in Lagos for well over 2 days and it was quite an experience.

I stopped or rather, was asked to stop at Berger, by my host. I hired a taxi to Ajao estate, worth a whopping sum, well comparing it with Jos, where I live.

Lagos is very hot biko! The starter pack for anyone who wants to live in Lagos, my candid advice and opinion, is/are;
A fan (or fans) and/or air conditioner(s), put them in all the rooms in your apartment, bathroom and kitchen inclusive;
Buy a generator that can carry all your appliances. If you cannot afford to buy fuel every now and then -there is always blackout- save up and purchase solar system/panels;
 Get a refrigerator; with these, you are good to live fairly comfortable in Lagos. An extra thing. If you can, please endeavor to buy a car, not the type that consumes fuel ooo! Just get a good one, no matter how little, because in a bid to jump into a bus, a moving bus, just because there are none available, you might lose a tooth and someone will call it the Lagos life, the Lagos hustle. Lest I forget, you need that car because cost of transportation in Lagos is terrific! Best believe. What the government did, in a bid to turn this little city to a mega city, is to construct the roads and its adjoining routes, such that you’ll have to turn and turn, to get to a point that ordinarily, is a straight forward route. The government tried and is still working towards making a little place as Lagos seem large and big but in reality, what they (government) did and are still doing, is to make the cost of living high.
The next day after my arrival, I went for an interview. The venue for my interview was around LASTMA HQ. I had to trek from a particular point, because buses refused to stop at LASTMA office, to avoid unnecessary and unprecedented bullying and extortion in the name and form of taxation, by LASTMA officials.
After the interview, which by the way brought to my notice, how businesses or corporate firms in Lagos are evil capitalists, I trekked down to Oshodi. Got a glimpse of the OSHODI market and no doubt, from the pedestrian bridge looking down, what you see in photos, or rather, what I’d seen in photos, was exactly what it was; what I saw.
Lagos like any other  city or place, have nice people and not so nice people, as a result of time, place, situation, circumstance, information and other determining factor as the case may be. Although what I did usually was to buy something from a seller, then ask for directions. They would either tell me all I needed to know, or just mutter “I no know”, with a very discomforting look. Another way I got direction was to walk up to lone drivers, or a group of motor park workers, engrossed in their gist, greet them politely with a smile and then ask for direction. This one works every single time!
The following day, I went to Ikeja. The bus stopped at the renowned computer village. The place was busy and rowdy, with so much walking round and chattering. It reminded me about GSM plaza in Jos, popularly called HAMAZ, but Lagos was and is far bigger than HAMAZ. Computer village in Lagos is a glorified version of HAMAZ in Jos. Everyone seems to be minding their business, and at the same time not minding their business.
Humble Smith sang “streetlight all over Lagos o!” I am not sure about that, because there is always blackout in Lagos. He also sang “see Oyibo dey business for Lagos o!” well, the Oyibos I saw were people who had a contract with the government and were just doing their jobs, nothing extra. What I saw, the Oyibos I saw were just there to do their jobs as quickly as possible and even if it was a half baked job, they’d bother less, and then bounce, with their pockets and accounts green with bundles of notes. Less, even fewer Oyibos are willing to invest and add to the growth of the nation. They’d rather come, take and leave. He sang “business good for Lagos o! Boys dey work and girls dey work o!” Well of course, you’ve got to do the hustle, regardless of what it is, the most important thing is packaging, especially on social media. Let me reiterate again, Lagos they say is a land of opportunity. From my observation and little experience, Lagos is a land of opportunists and capitalists.
Am I ever going to come back to Lagos? Yes of course, most definitely! If given an option, to choose to live or settle in Lagos, I would decline. I’d rather come to Lagos to transact business, have a good time (Lagos people can chill, forget it), but not an option for settlement for me.
In Humble Smith’s voice, “… no place like Lagos oooo!”
Eko oni baje ooo!