Lagos state is a land of
opportunities. It is the commercial capital of Nigeria with unofficially a
population of 23 million people 'hustling' to have a bite of the good fortunes
of the land. Lagos has a couple of adverse sides a newcomer will have to adapt
to and live with.
Below are some common
features I hate about Lagos state:
(1) Traffic:
Lagos is highly populated
with thousands of people plying limited road networks to work early in the
morning and also returning late in the evening. There have been several cases
of people spending over 5hrs in traffic merely moving from Mainland to the
Island in Lagos. This poses a huge challenge in the movement of goods and
services.
(2) Cost of accommodation:
Rent in Lagos is very
expensive. Most landlords will only rent their houses out if you are ready to
pay a 2-year rent. You go through agents who will demand a large sum of money.
The 'agreement fee' at times is much enough to rent a two bedroom flat in a
cheap area like Ibadan.
(3) The girls:
After the stress of working
in Lagos for the day, one would need expert hands to massage all the back
pains. The girls in Lagos only understand the language of your pocket and not
empty promises of love. Some ladies could demand for Buhari's head for the night.
(4) The beggars:
The beggars in Lagos come in
different dimensions. Someone can appear smarter and more expensive than you in
Lagos and still beg you for money. They constantly stop you with pitiful
stories and faces. Ignoring them sometimes has a way of affecting one's
conscience especially if you are the soft type.
(5) Incessant cases of
traffic robbery:
I never knew traffic robbery
was real until I came to Lagos. CMS, Mile 2, Ikorodu, Orile, Iyana Oba and
several other areas have high records of traffic robbers who dispose commuters
of their hard-earned belongings. Towards the yuletide, Linda's blog was
reporting almost two cases of traffic robbery per day.
(6) Transport cost:
In Lagos people tend to draw
a scale of preference on movement. Movement to work is mandatory while others
can wait except too important due to the high cost of moving around. For this
reasons, most friendships are relegated to online interactions and nothing
more.
(7) Congestion:
Lagos is too congested with
people. The town planning system of some areas like Satellite town in Amuwo
Odofin, Mushin, Okokomaiko, Ajegunle, Oyingbo etc is very poor which affects
the ventilation in houses. This could frustrate a newcomer especially when the
weather is sunny.
(8) Churches:
A close study of some
churches in Lagos has brought me to the conclusion that some preachings are
directed at the congregation's pockets. The churches are always in need of one
thing or the other. The speakers psyche you up to even drop what you don't have
by faith.
(9) High level of
oppression by the rich:
You need to see the cars
driven by some people especially on the Island part of Lagos. It takes
discipline for your long-term lover to say no to such men. The desperation of
joining the wealthy class could push one to destruction. These people may not even
work as hard as you do or even have the same educational qualifications with
you.
(10) The level of
hypocrisy in Lagos is epic:
That club girl that was
dancing like a possessed person at the club on a Friday night with that skimpy
cloth that puts her endowments on display maybe the sister leading the praise
and worship session in a church on Sunday.
Everyone takes up different
characters just to bring the money home and pay bills.
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