After spending about a month in Lagos, I now have a different thought about leaving my state to Lagos all in the name of “greener pasture”. Of course, Lagos is the land of opportunities, and if you’re not living in Lagos, you’re not considered among the high class. Forget that gist jare. That was then. We are in the 21st century where anything and everything is good. Imagine Enugu, 042 for example is now one of the places everybody clamours to live and you’re still doing what in Lagos?
Okay, let’s make some comparison about life in and out of Lagos.
Food
The town is painted red. Every corner shop in Lagos sells tomatoes in red sachet, pepper also? Didn’t the doctors advise that organic is the best? Of course they did but where to go get this and the time to in this busy city makes it almost impossible to stay green. In my village, you can get these things and more. They are even at the corners of your house.
You would be shocked how good a meal you can cook outside lagos with just 500 naira, ha! but this is Lagos, every thing comes dear and expensive.
Roads
It rained heavily two days ago and God bear me witness I kept on searching for where to put my feet as the roads were flooded. Yuck! I stood on a certain spot for more than twenty minutes looting my brain on where to step and where not to. Not to talk of your clothes. Imagine you’re late to work and your boss is buzzing your phone and in this sympathetic situation you want to walk fast? Darling you can’t because the murky waters will be splattered all over you clothes leaving you with either going to work that way (of course not what if you meet Prince charming?) or going back home to change (do you want to be sacked)?
Is that all? No! I’m not finished yet. You may say the Lagos road isn’t the only road that is bad but considering the fact that it is the economic capital of Nigeria, one would expect something better.
Commute in Lagos
Once, I had a parcel to go receive on the mainland, I left my house in Ajah as early as 6am in order to beat the traffic only to still be in traffic at the first toll gate 3hours prior to when I left the house. After escaping that traffic, I encountered another one along the second toll gate and CMS. I got to the mainland 5pm that day. I’m not exaggerating. I had to spend the money I didn’t have to lodge in a hotel because I couldn’t head back to the island.
What I’m saying in essence is that I can go forth and back five times to a far place if am outside Lagos without any fear of being stuck in traffic for long. Can this be done in Lagos? No, to even visit your relative who lives in the same state with you is war. Just think about it.
Housing
Before you can get a very good apartment in Lagos, you need to have like about 750,000 naira in your wallet; agent and agreement fee inclusive. While outside Lagos, where I come from inclusive, you can get a good apartment for as low as 150,000naira that’s if your taste is overtly high.
Have you been to Ajegunle, Oshodi, Agboju, Ajah, Ejigbo? Dear, the houses there can’t be found in my village. I must say that my village is more urbane than the above mentioned places.
Clothing and shoes
Ever gone to Ariaria or Ahia-ohuru in Abia state? There you can get good looking clothes for as low as 10 naira. Doubt me? Just go and find out for yourself.
What about shoes? I recall assessing a shoe here in Lagos but ran away when told the price, I got the same shoe for as low as 2000 in the markets I mentioned above.
Water
Come to places like Surulere, Ajah then you’ll know that you must include bottled water or sachet (pure water) in your monthly budget as the consumption of tap water will leave you with typhoid. Have you eaten not to mention getting drugs?
That aside, imagine a 25 litre of water is sold for 50. How much water would you get that will be close to being enough for you and your family? I’ve never witnessed occasionally free giving out of water by borehole owners ever since I came to this city but just step out of Lagos and experience a bit of life for yourself.
Police
“Whenever I go out in Lagos, I make sure I put most of my money in my shoe and put a little in my pocket” a friend says. Lagos police like to stalk the beginning of third mainland bridge when leaving the island to the mainland. They also have various checkpoints on roads in Oshodi and Ikeja, they pull whoever they want to. They always want a settlement for nothing after pulling you off the road. It’s direly insane and unacceptable. If they don’t extort you, they will tell you to go with them to the station and going to the station is way more expensive. Definition: robbery.
Yellow buses
Nothing enrages me more than them. They stop in the middle of the road, block two or three lanes of traffic; they stop at every ten feet to pick up passengers. They don’t seem to obey any kind of law no matter what is done to stop them. They will dent your car, smash into you from behind and then hold you to ransom. In Nigeria, everyone on the road is a driver even when these bus drivers are drunk.
Not to mention the cacophonous horn. Hian! This is the lifeblood of driving. These bus drivers can make you go deaf just by their horn. Unless you want to turn deaf someday, they you can continue living in Lagos.
(I assume you’ve began packing your bags. I feel for you brethren)
Lagos mosquitoes
No matter how hard the room is sprayed, no matter how much mosquito repellent cream you use on your body, no matter how many times you patch your pyjamas, one would still wake up with mosquitoes bites. Terrible! The scariest is not the mosquito bites but the malaria and the lots of money you’ll end up spending treating that one disease. Or haven’t you heard malaria kills faster than any other thing?
One tends to feel claustrophobic when he/she wakes up every time the room is sprayed. It has come to my knowledge that this mosquitoes use cutlass and straws when feasting and that’s enough reason already to be out of Lagos.
In crux, anywhere else aside Lagos is wonderful to live in. You just wait till you experience it then you can testify. I’m not saying that Lagos is not a good place to live in; I’m just saying it’s overrated and as such, the cost of living is barely affordable and the hope of survival very thin.
Have I written the tenth one? If I haven’t, I should still have been able to convince you to go back to ‘ya village’ (in my igbo accent).
Photo-Credit: evatese.com
1 Comment
Yes, living in lagos or talk about lagos may be over rated but my dear, I can counter half of what you wrote, lagos is incomparable, at least for now, every city or place has their good and bad no matter what. What should happen is that lagos government should step up to meets its standard as a mega city and believe me, things are evn better than before. Good write!