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Lagos, Nigeria: You have to admire the winner psyche in this city

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A section of Ikorodu road, one of the most travelled roads in Lagos state.

Grow an athletic muscle because you might need to give chase in order to board a bus.

It is joyful to drive down the length of the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge. No hassle - just you in your chilling nice quiet luxury ride, DJ Khaled's 'Wild thoughts' playing in the background.

But all that comfort and convenience that you enjoy now? That is the new Lagos and here is how you remember the old one.

 

The journey is the destination. Lagos; there isn’t anything simple about this city I reckon.

If it was a person, it can be described as a patient with a multipersonality disorder as there is no specific way to analyze.

Lagos is the tree that hops, a bird that is stationary and water that that invites more thirst.

Basically, it is a break from the norm, but not what you can't fathom.

An eccentric society where there is no clear rule on standards or acceptability.

Cultural uniqueness defines this city. Literally, one sees better only when the lights are dim.

 

Conventional values are only accepted by a few, as a majority enacts their own writ for living.

Picture a true federalism where autonomy is exercised by the separate factions. That is Lagos. One must acquire a winner psyche for survival.

Save your idea of good social etiquette for your visit abroad and be ready to get bemused.

Do not expect a Danfo driver to halt the vehicle as you approach your destination.

Grow an athletic muscle because you might need to give chase in order to board a bus.

Impoverished and at the bottom of the social strata? It only means you have fewer presentiments.

This is where a bible citation is most suitable: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself”.

It is a press center out here. The go-getters, spendthrift, con figures; they all make the weekly news round-up.

Repress any expectation of what is fair and just, but envisage a resilient crowd, never conceding to oppression.

The daily hardship has provided sufficient mentoring to repel against any psychological pressure.

 

This is where art lives. A treasure trove – discover painters, writers, playwrights, dramatist, music performers. One bus ride around the city can cure one’s writer’s block. Shelf your notion of sanity and grow a sense of humour.

The Orchestra conductor might just be Baba Bashorun, the veteran fisherman at Isale Eko.

An appropriate brand statement will be “Lagos, abide by your own laws”.

Lagos is not the city walls or the maritime conscious settlement offering great economic potential.

It is the mind of Dare, a young banker living in Ipaja who has to leave home at 04:30 AM daily so he can arrive at work by 08:00 AM t on the Lagos Island.

 

It is Ayoka, a hair stylist in Mushin who has to fend for herself and baby as a single mother after getting knocked up by Shafaru, a bus conductor about two years ago.

Chibuzo at Alaba Market, who sells electronic wares in order to meet financial obligations to his family in Mbaise, Imo State.

Lagos is a telepathy of like-minds navigating a course for survival.



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