Keep LAGOS Jumping

What’s really good people? It has been raining cats and dogs out here in the DMV the entire week and it does not look like there is an end in site. Wait a minute; correct me if am wrong but wasn’t this all the hype Hurricane Irene was suppose to bring us here on the eastern seaboard? But all is not lost. The torrential rain and over flooding of homes and major roads took me back to my roots this week on the blogspot. Let’s Go!

Ok people; let me get focused…

Let me school you all a little about my city and where am from:

• I’m from a city where everybody’s line of work is BIS-NESS!

• I’m from a city where people go about there everyday routine despite the site of grown men whipping out their penises in the open air and pissing openly in public without shame.

• I’m from a city where when someone bumps into you, you check your wallet fast to make sure you ain’t got GOT!

• I’m from a city where people argue all day about who was Nigeria’s greatest president YJG, IBB, OBJ.

• I’m from a city where people ooze MATERIALISM and only got love for foreign cars preferably (Bema, Benz or Bentleys).

• I’m from a city where every little boy/girl in their lifetime will encounter a CRAZED middle-aged man walking through their town BUKKED-NEKKID on any giving afternoon after taking some type of illicit drug.

• I’m from a city where when you cross the street and almost get hit by a motor-bike (Okada) instead of being alarmed or startled, you CUSS out the operator.

• I’m from a city where prostitutes & drug lords swear up & down their money is LEGIT and it was God’s work.  

• I’m from a city where you pay no attention to the lady walking down the road having a perfectly normal conversation with HERSELF.

• I’m from a city where a dead body on street is just another day in the slums not a Law & Order crime scene investigation.

• I’m from a city where little boys play football barefooted on dirt roads dreaming of one day playing for the SUPER EAGLES & BARCA!

• I’m from a city where roasting corn, plantain and suya meat are considered a grown man’s delight.

• I’m from a city were the police stay BEGGING bus drivers and perform unnecessary searches all to make their salary from bribe money.

Yes people, I just thought I’d remind ya’ll…

Lagos is Africa’s New York PERIOD. Ranked amongst the world’s largest cities in population, this former capital remains the commercial hub and industrial center of Africa in my opinion. And yes; it is where I call home. No disrespect but simply put in Nigeria you either from Lagos or it’s not worth mentioning. Everything about Lagos is different. Like the Big Apple all the trends in Nigeria start in Lagos; from fashion, music, and everyday pop culture. Things are forever in motion in Lagos, nobody sleeps, there is always something to get into and it was a fun place to grow up.

But there are many extremes to my city. We have that mentality of SURVIVAL. Our approach to things is “Ok; Abuja you MAKE the money, and in Lagos we TAKE the money”. It reminds me of a great line from the movie Shawshank Redemption “Get busy living or Get busy dying”. And you know what; I don’t think we would want it any other way. That is what Lagos represents, a city that offers great challenges and equally great opportunities. The competition to make a name for yourself and family is often toxic, at times overbearing and can damage a lost soul.

When you first wake up in Lagos, the first thing you take in is the distinct smell. A typical day in Lagos starts with the heavy traffic jam and little boys and girls weaving in and out of roadways selling their goods. A knock on your car window could be a begger or an orphaned child asking for money or attempting to sell you a newspaper, oranges, apples, bread or water. Up and down the city is mayhem. Everything is fast paced; people are always in a rush to get to their next destination. There is always some grown men fighting due to the unnecessary congestion caused by an Okada or a yellow bus (our public transportation).

There is a saying, “if you can make it New York you can make it anywhere”. Nah; it’s more like if you can survive and make in Lagos you can conquer the world.

So where you from?