The Beautiful City of Lagos
Could there be any other city in the world like Lagos? Lagos is a city in Nigeria, and it’s the most populous on the African continent with more than 25 million people. It is referred to as a “mega city” and its the busiest city in Nigeria. Its a city with a lot of culture, festivals and traditions. This is a city involved in varieties of global businesses and in “Aliko Dangote” It has produced the richest black man in the world.
I love Lagos because it’s my beginning. My father was born in Lagos, and he got married to my mother in Lagos. I was born into a family of two, me and my sister Kristen, and our parents love us so much and we live happily. My father is a banker, and my mother is a business woman. A city called the “Apple Eye” of Nigeria, I was full of emotion when my parents decided to send me for my College education in the United States. I understand we all wanted to try something new, but I wouldn’t have imagined leaving Lagos at the age of 18 when I thought my whole life would be in this city. Lagos has everything you could ever dream of like attractive center, Nightlife, recreation centers and Amusement parks and an unbeatable culture, and this kept me wondering if I would ever find a second home similar to Lagos
Some center of attractions in Lagos are the Elegushi beach, Freedom Park Mall, Nike Art Culture, The Fela Shrine, National Museum etc.
The Elegushi beach is owned by the royal family of a province called “Lekki” and thousands of people visit this historical beach every day. My family visit this beach every Christmas eve.
The freedom park mall is the central shopping area located in the center of Lagos. Its easily accessible to the commoners and the wealthy. There are also a lot of places to wine and dine. In my family, we would visit this mall whenever we have a birthday celebration. The last birthday we celebrated at the Freedom Park Mall was Kristen’s 17th birthday.
Comparing Lagos city to other cities in Nigeria, Lagos has it all. People live on their personal budget. The rich and wealthy live in a quiet area and the common, average people live in a noisy part of Lagos. One of the common noise pollutions we experience in Lagos are the unnecessary use of the horn by the driver and the sound of the generator either from you or by your neighbor because of the unstable electricity in the state.
Describing Lagosian love for parties and their love for native attires brings out “Owanbe” Saturday. This is when people gather together to celebrate a significant event in their life. This could be burial of the old, birthday party, wedding ceremony or naming ceremony, house warming or when a political shift in power occurs. People would dress gorgeously to attend friends, relatives and the unknown parties, celebrating with each other. Food is always free in this situation, and I remember few years ago when coming back from high school, I would stop by with my friends holding a small bag, so we could get food to eat. Lagos does this better than anyone else. They are so stylish, smart and intelligent.
Can we do without clubbing every weekend? Hell no, and my father still gets drunk at 68 years. What a life! It’s not a coincidence because this had become a way of life in Lagos. We are always happy to see the weekend and everybody wants to catch the vibe at all times. I get drunk regularly with my friends, Sometimes friends would gather and drink their lives away, what a way to forget your sorrow and worries at least for the short time. People enjoy life more than they hustle in Lagos, and I could remember me and my friends getting drunk and couldn’t drive home ourselves. We would leave our car at the club and pick it up the next day.
Transportation in Lagos is horrendous and its still in a stagnant position “Danfo” is a brand name for Lagos buses, and we call the drivers “Danfo” driver. they would curse you when collecting their fare and curse you when giving you your change. They would put 10 passengers in an 8 passenger buses.
Traffic would make you sweat in your car. I wondered sitting in a traffic for more than 4 hours and this is what makes us stronger.
This is the problem of we Lagosian. Still, I love the lifestyle of my city and I wouldn’t want to miss any bit of it. This is our Lagos. A state full of drama and where everything happens for real.
