Living In Lagos, Nigeria:  The Ghetto & The Luxury!

Are you really a Nigerian, if you’ve not visited the exciting Lagos State? Yes/No. Yes, yes! You’re here to read the usual story about Lagos, the real story and the untold story. Anxious? Calm your nerve and walk with me.

Experiences are unique to every human. in Lagos, you can’t just generalize with your personal experience as to what every other person must have experienced. You literally have to walk up to each person you meet and ask about their experience in Lagos. A quick sad, but now funny gist experience in Lagos: With her permission, of course. It was my friend’s first time in Lagos in 2019 for her NYSC.

A supposed to be exciting experience right? Unfortunately, right after her camp at Iyana-ipaja, her phone was stolen in the popular “Danfo” and her first allowance was used to buy airtime. Sad but that’s not all. The fact that, not all of them was paid the first allowance on camp as it was in other state, instead it was paid into their account, cash was given to all corps members in some other states. And for this, after her phone was stolen at almost the end of November, the second allowance was due to be paid, she had to quickly rush to the bank to change her details and all. She had her ATM card on her, guess what! Somewhere around Ikotun, first she missed the bus stop that was close to the bank because she was not yet familiar with the whole area, as she was walking down to the bank. She said, a man tried stopping saying he needs help, did I tell you how pure of a person this my friend is, she’s so kind hearted, trust me she can give anyone her eyeball. I’m not even exaggerating, she’s that sweet. So she stopped and listen to the man tell him his story that he’s an importer and he’s goods are somewhere, he needs my friend to follow him somewhere. (It doesn’t make any sense now but she said she really wasn’t thinking of anything at that moment), she followed them somewhere and they turned paper into money with the use of a chemical. They made her withdraw all her second NYSC allowance. They even asked her to go home and bring more money, and honestly she did went home and it was at home that her senses came back that she has been duped! It took my friend months to tell me all of this. It was really a horrible experience for her.

Lagos, Nigeria

The city has two sides: the Mainland and the Island. The major places are Lagos Island (originally and still commonly called EKO), Epe, Ikorodu, Ikeja, Surulere, Yaba, Apapa, Victoria Island (the financial centre of Lagos), and Ikoyi to name a few.

What’s The Usual Lagos Story?

It’s the popular story that Lagos is known for its ‘smart’ people. There’s a popular saying that ” If you’re not smart in Lagos, you can never be smart again”. Also famous for its fast-paced life, snatch and grab life, traffic jam, and of course the entrepreneurial energy of the city.

What’s The Real Lagos Life Story?

From personal experience, lagos has taught me few things: You see, in Lagos, there’s a difference between being smart and being street-smart. But I kept on asking myself, why do people keep trooping into this city everyday?. The reason is that hustle spirit. Do people even sleep in Lagos, I doubt if they do. Night life in Lagos is amazing, it’s also a place filled with opportunities. There are business ideas that wouldn’t sell anywhere else but Lagos.

What’s The Untold Story?

As stated earlier, lagos is divided into the Island and Mainland. Island is known for its luxurious life, the beach, the clubs, the beautiful and basically the part of Lagos that is mostly displayed on TV. Here, I’ll mention few places that you probably have never seen before. Slums like Makoko, Ijora, Agege, Ajegunle, etc. Using Makoko as evidence in this article.

Residents in Makoko move from one to another on canoes, calling out to neighbours and friends. The water is full of household rubbish, including needles and human faeces. There is a suffocating smell of rotten fish hanging in the air. There’s the hustle and bustle of human activity: women smoking fish or peddling food, half-naked children rowing their own boats or playing on the verandas of the wooden shacks. To end with, I am using this medium to call on the government to focus on providing the infrastructure that citizens expect of their administrators – hospitals, schools, electricity – and allow Makoko to develop in its own way and at its own pace.

Take a trip to Lagos, Nigeria! Cheers!