Harsh realities of living in our megacity.
I know I stated in my previous post that I would be sharing the not-so-nice parts of life in Nigeria but I didn’t know it would be this soon lol.
Lagos is one of the biggest mega cities in Nigeria, we have very few of them here. It is also a state (we use ‘state’ and ‘city’ interchangeably). It is a popular tourist place, there’s no way a foreigner would visit Nigeria without getting a feel of Lagos. It is the commercial central of Nigeria, commonly referred to as “the commercial hub”. There are clubs, the exhilarating nightlife, the famous beach, extravagant estates with exquisite bars and restaurants on the island. The city is divided into two parts — the island and mainland with a long bridge linking the two called the Victoria island bridge.
As exciting and opulent Lagos may appear to be, there are millions of citizens living in poverty. They reside at some areas of the mainland and outskirts of the city. It is not uncommon to discuss mega cities and their system of transportation.
The major transport system in Lagos are personal vehicles, commercial motorcycles (bike) and tricycles which is popularly called the “okada” and “keke or keke napep”. For context, check the image below:
photo taken by Serrabellum on Instagram
Both the poor and middle class use this means of transportation to navigate the city. The constant heavy traffic has a lot of people relying on them especially the okadas (motorcycles) to easily maneuver the traffic.
So recently, these motorcycles and kekes were banned by the state government. Now even though, the drivers can be very reckless, they were easy and cheap transport for most people. The policy was officially passed on the 1st of February leaving millions of people stranded with no alternatives. Some had to walk long kilometers to their jobs; this may seem normal to anyone living in places like New York or London but unlike those highly developed societies, Lagos does not have well built walking pavements or pathways. The roads are horribly bad which makes walking extremely uncomfortable. This has affected many lives, rendering a lot of people unemployed because for some, commercial motorcycles and kekes were a source of daily income. There were private transport companies whose businesses like Gokada were also affected. The people of Lagos are furious and frustrated because this seems like a not so thought out, impulsive and apathetic move by the government.
In a bid to catch on with other developed cities, the government has driven its citizens to a state of chaos. We are looking at possible increase in the rate of crimes and insecurity due to lack of unemployment and poverty.
What are the possible ways to handle such situations - is the big question right now. You can comment below and we’ll discuss the harsh realities of Lagos state.
The people resorted to riding horses to work (hilarious!!! - ehh not so much!) it is the wild wild west down on this side
Thank you for reading my post.
It's really hard to say what could benefit a community that you don't have much of a feel for. I think that's one of the problems with a lot of well-intentioned people in the west. Some of us want to help others but we have no idea what will help and often times, it's hard for intelligent locals to really come up with plans cause there is just so much going on and it's so hard to manage.
I personally believe in the people's ability to organize themselves without much top-down approach. As a general rule, building trust and cooperation between neighbors is always a positive thing. It can be hard to start when there is so much mistrust, as is usually the case when people are stuck competing with each other. It's ok to prioritize your own well-being but I hope more and more people can look to help others out as they become more prosperous.
I know my goal, wherever I am, is to get the resources together to move into a quieter place with artistic people and build our own community where we take care of each other and welcome anyone who won't make problems for others. It's so much easier when we have allies who share our vision.
I would love to learn more about Lagos, the good and the bad. I've watched a youtube channel about it...I forget the name but it has like 6 or 7 hosts and talks about all kinds of topics from dating to shopping to family and work. Do you know it?
Yes, you’re right. One of the problems of living in a chaotic and disorderly environment is people tend to develop a survival of the fittest attitude where everybody believes they’re trying to do what’s best for themselves alone and no one is trying to help anyone else. No cooperation or trust like you mentioned, everyone is so individualistic so it’s really tough to come to together and agree on anything. I believe eventually, we’re all going to have to stick together and collectively stand against the injustices of our government. Thank you for commenting.
Oh I can think of just one channel (NdaniTGIF show on NdaniTV channel) on youtube that host such shows, I’m not sure if it’s the one you’re referring to. They talk about all kinds of stuff concerning Lagos, from food to entertainment etc. if it’s not the one, you could try this one. I’m sure you would enjoy it.
I am really rooting for Africa in the new decade, especially Nigeria because I keep meeting more and more wonderful people from there.
And I found it! It's called Battabox. Thanks for the other recommendation.
It's really hard to say what could benefit a community that you don't have much of a feel for. I think that's one of the problems with a lot of well-intentioned people in the west. Some of us want to help others but we have no idea what will help and often times, it's hard for intelligent locals to really come up with plans cause there is just so much going on and it's so hard to manage.
I personally believe in the people's ability to organize themselves without much top-down approach. As a general rule, building trust and cooperation between neighbors is always a positive thing. It can be hard to start when there is so much mistrust, as is usually the case when people are stuck competing with each other. It's ok to prioritize your own well-being but I hope more and more people can look to help others out as they become more prosperous.
I know my goal, wherever I am, is to get the resources together to move into a quieter place with artistic people and build our own community where we take care of each other and welcome anyone who won't make problems for others. It's so much easier when we have allies who share our vision.
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