Every child born in Lagos today understands the meaning of hustle before saying the word. The hustle and bustle never ceases. It’s a run, walk, stroll, race city.
Often described as the economic capital of Nigeria, Lagos is where everything and anything can happen.
On the streets of Lagos, it is a constant catfight because from the neighbours who never cease playing loud music every night to the landlord who thinks building a house without water supply is the best way to punish his potential tenants for crimes yet to be committed.
I have lived in Lagos my whole life, I was born in Agege that is why every time I hear Olamide’s shout out to Agege, it strikes a chord in my heart.
You never really understand Lagos until you have lived at the heart of the city and the heart of the city isn’t the Ikoyis and Victoria Islands.
The heart of the city is Ketu, Agege, Oshodi, Bariga, Ajegunle and every other area where you will count 10 Face Me I Whank you on a street before Bungalows and Duplex.
Some say if you can make it in Lagos, you can make it anywhere and that’s the truth. Americans describe New York as the city that never sleeps, New Yorkers are constantly moving around from one place to another.
Same goes for Lagos, Oshodi at midnight is still as lively as daytime although some of the people you might meet are ghosts.
Welcome to Lagos, the epicentre of the Nigerian Dream.
Here are Three Reasons Why Lagos is the Greatest City in the World
Diversity
Every Nigerian tribe is represented in Lagos. Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Tiv, Ijaw, Fulani, mention any tribe, ask anyone on your street, they know someone who is from that tribe that lives a few streets away.
If you are lucky enough to attend a public school, you can count the number of Igbos, Hausas and what have you in your class.
The Hausas probably had a caucus, so they didn’t mingle with everyone, the Efik girl never told anyone her Efik name because she didn’t want you to laugh at her.
While queuing in the bank, you probably overheard someone speaking a dialect you don’t understand and because we Lagosians are so used to such, we look the other way althoug the very curious ones will ask the person where they are from but to the average Lagosian, who cares.
The beauty of the diversity is the fact that we all live in peace. In 1914, when the British decided to amalgamate the northern and the southern protectorate to create the entity called Nigeria.
I bet they didn’t foresee those 100 years later, that entity will be enmeshed in zoning wars and tribal differences.
If only every other state in Nigeria can emulate Lagos, if only Igbos can forget about Biafra and live peacefully with other parts of the country.
If only some group of masterminds in the North can let everyone live in peace and finally lay Boko Haram to rest.
If only Niger Delta Militants can forget about their pockets for a while and truly address the problems facing their people.
If only every Nigerian citizen can live like my neighbour Mama Ngozi who is best friends with Hausas, Igbos and Yorubas alike.
Her shop is multi-ethnic because she speaks all the major Nigerian languages, you will always find her chatting with everyone happily.
Can Do Spirit
Lagos is the only city where a model with zero Blogging skills can metamorphosise into a Billionaire Blogger by posting gists from American websites and Nigerian newspapers.
The funniest part is that the average Nigerian isn’t interested in the factual details of the story, only the fact that She-Mother hen said it, so the fact that the victim whose real name is Jenasis is claimed to be Genasis doesn’t matter.
The Lagos Can Do Spirit is so uniquely woven that only in Lagos will you find such energy for such great things.
There was a time a group of women started washing people’s legs at Oke Odo Market. At that time the market was also so flooded, you cannot navigate without accumulating quality mud.
Any sane person had no choice but to wash his or her legs before leaving. These women always waited at the gate with their bowl and water, some even sold Vaseline as the extra topping.
In business, a product is basically anything that solves a need and these women solved a whole lot of leg needs.
Another typical example is the street hawker who navigates 20 bus stops anytime there is traffic, while running from one place to the other, little by little he is selling his goods.
At that moment, he is not thinking about whether there is electricity or why the economy is in doldrums, the only thing on his mind is how the exhaust the days goods.
The can do spirit is fascinating, through thick and thin, as long as money is being made, the average Lagosian is doing what he does best.
You Can Get Anything in Lagos
You won’t appreciate the power of Lagos until you have had to take long journeys to get Close Up in another state.
The woman who sells Pure Water lives next to your house, you don’t pay extra in fact you can even decide to patronise the trucks and buy plenty bags.
In some states in Nigeria, you have no choice but to pay double for one bag because the other option is going to the nearest market which is very far away or when you have to wait for specific market days.
The first time I saw Brassier straps in the market, I was dumbfounded because I had never imagined that anyone would need to buy brassier straps.
Let’s play a game, think of anything you need, go to the nearest market to your house and guess what you will find it.
From Bottle Covers to N100 Naira Baby Shoes, Lagos is your go to place for anything you can think of.
The combination of these three qualities are hard to find anywhere in the world. Think about the celebrities, who started out with nothing to become billionaires, think of the kid on your street who went on to become a popular DJ.
Lagos is where dreams come true, Lagos is the home of the greatest because only greatness is bred in Lagos.
In the inner recesses of our minds, we know the truth, Lagos isn’t the greatest city in the world, Lagos was once ranked at the 4th Worst City in the World.
There was time, Lagos was the dream of every Nigerian and every African, there was a time Lagos housed the biggest stars in our sky.
There was a time Lagos hosted the biggest celebration of African culture, there was a time Lagosians were respected all over the world because they represented a new Africa ready to take on the world.
Today, we are all submerged in our own narcissistic values that we have forgotten what truly matters, how do we make our country greater, how do we make our cities greater, how do we end child abuse, how do we eliminate poverty, how do we ensure a fair distribution of wealth and most importantly how do we expunge corruption.
The truth is Lagos, Nigeria has never been the greatest anything in the world but we can be, one way or another we can be great if we all work together and forget for a second which political party we belong to and truly discuss the real issues.