Three reasons why the rest of the country won’t stop moving to Lagos?
Maya’s valuable Lesson
The general consensus has been that moving to Lagos will change things for the better. It was like all your dreams came through the minute your feet stepped onto the ground of this city. Today I was at the beach looking at the waves and watching the number of people sprawled all over this stretch of white sand. I liked the fact that this part of the city existed, that I could get such a relaxed vibe from thousand of Lagosians in the same spot. But I knew that like me, many of them were feeling rushed as the minutes went by.
It really didn’t ever go away completely. Forgotten for a moment at most but it always came back. This rushed feeling was the same feeling that had made me yank myself from the safety of my parent’s house to move here and find my purpose. There were so many of us, and that was the problem. “Hi, You seem to be solving the mystery of the universe with that focused face of yours staring into nothing. Mind if I helped you figure it out?.”
A fine black man was standing over me holding two drinks in his hand. He had a very nice smile. and had the body that should belong on a model. I was blushing just watching him stand there with his head tilted and mouth in a huge smile. “Sure.” He stretched out his hand handing me a drink —They looked so strong with all those popping veins. I began to wonder how long I had been lost in my thoughts, enough for him to notice and get us drinks.
“Well. It’s nothing. Lagos just has me in my feelings on most days.” I said making space for him to sit.
“Why is that?” He said, watching with amusement in his bright white eyes. Those words struck a nerve. And off I went. Stories after stories of what had transpired in these past days of my house hunting. His giggles and laughter kept me going and soon I was exaggerating events to make him smile some more.
“Why though? Why are more people coming here and at what point will they stop?” I asked, taking a sip of my drink and a break from a long rant.
“It is pretty obvious don’t you think? Actually, I have three reasons I came up with. I call them the three G’s. Gigantic opportunities. Good LIfe. Great Infrastructure “ He said pulling up three fingers. There was no wedding band on them which was great news — at least I thought so.
His explanation was simple. As a doctor who had worked in different places at different points in his life, he had seen how much better a person’s life could get just because of these G’s.
Gigantic opportunities meant better pay and access to a level of financial breakthrough you couldn’t have anywhere else. A relative in Lagos who was paid well was the reason he had seen many of his patients live another day.
Good life meant a happier life in general. Memories are everything for many people what meaning does life have for a person if it isn’t spent having tons of good things that only a city could provide. Running water. Recreational centres. Stable Electricity. You name it.
Great infrastructure was the determining factor for many of his patients, some of who had died because they couldn’t get access to a type of treatment that was only available in developed cities that had the infrastructure for these things.
The Biggest problem however was wherever people went in search of a better life meant that the increasing population needed more resources: housing, water, healthcare etc. If these resources weren’t being developed fast enough then you have LAGOS.
Expensive because too many people are trying to buy the few resources available.
Stressful because there was hardly any infrastructure to ensure ease of the life of the average Nigerian.
Unsafe because too many people who hope to get paying jobs here hardly get any and result in other means to fund that life.
By the time our conversation was done, there was a huge wind blowing over the sea and the tides were driving people away from the water. He was so smart, this one. And when he asked if I had heard of HIYALO and what they were doing to help people like me. He had joined their waitlist and followed the publication and I was convinced that I found my husband before I had found an apartment. How was he so smart, knowledgeable and fine all at once?
I was still feeling warm from the conversation waiting for him to take my number when the most unimaginable happened. Lagos men? Walking bags of surprises. That story I’ll tell in the next post. Till then follow the publication and sign up on our waitlist.
