Finding my way around Lagos is challenging, exciting, & very interesting. Mainland or island, which one do you prefer?
Part I Back in Lagos to tie up some loose ends having taken motor from Abekuta to Ikorodu, half of the Ogun state end from Saganmu was bad road. The number of factories on the route has increased immensely from the last time I was here. There are also many housing estates from Shimawa to the Express.
I didn’t realise how big Ikorodu is. I toured from the garage to Gbogbo & Baiyeku. At the Jetty, you can take a boat to Ajah, which takes just 7 minutes.
Ikorodu is experiencing a lot of development and expansion, with the state government undertaking roadworks all over the place.
At the Jetty, one of the passengers wallets was stolen by a tout who gave him the life jacket.
Security flung into action; they said such never happens there. Before you know it, they apprehended the culprit, who was flogged mercilessly till he admitted & returned the wallet. Not sure you would get your wallet back in London if stolen by the numerous pick pockets.
The waterway and flood plains in Ikorodu from. Iseri in Ogun State are all flooded. The extended rains are having a drought effect. Advice: Don’t build on flood plains; your bound to get flooded. Then screaming at the government won’t help.
I got my Cowry card in Ikorodu and took the BRT to Ketu, then went to the new Ikeja bus/metro terminal. It’s a nice place with a shopping mall, restaurants, & cinema, but the red line doesn’t operate on weekends.
I meet up with Paul, my Wakanda friend living island life in VI, a completely different planet from Mainland Lagos, where I reside.
VI & Lekki phase I am experiencing massive construction with new commercial buildings, hotels, & luxury apartment blocks. Anyone telling you things are not moving in Nigeria need to go to VI & Lekki Axis to clear their minds.
Construction is ongoing & nearly complete on the Lekki to Epe Expressway
Inflation is biting everyone but is an advantage for the Diaspora; many are investing big in Lagos. I can’t see the slowdown, though it may be so under the surface.
There is no sign of slowing down for those living chop life, living large on the island. Their compatriots on the mainland in Sonibare, Ikeja GRA, Magodo, etc. aren’t relenting either.
We went to look at the progress on the Lagos to Calabar Highway but couldn’t get access; all roads were blocked. But we saw serious roadworks. Many businesses, including Landmark, have been affected by the construction. Why that section of the coastal road couldn’t have been elevated is beyond me (355). Restaurant on Landmark is very nice but ordinary Nigerians will faint at the sight of our bill. Both of us acknowledged that we are clearly not ordinary Nigerians but part of the privileged few, though many other class of Nigerians just looking at the cars in Oriental Hotel reception area are living in the stratosphere far removed from reality. Most of them are not politicians or politically associated.
We also pondered how Nigeria needs to plug its fx drain & brain drain by sourcing locally for material inputs as well as cyber security & AI, as much of Nigeria’s cyberspace and gateways are wide open.
Having visited Ikorodu, Ikeja, & VI, I will say people on the mainland are more grounded and live lives closer to normal Nigerians. Lekki life is an enjoyable life, but there are also those finding it difficult there, especially the middle class & poor. My advice: return to the mainland. I also noticed less traffic in general and not the usual mass holdup on the Third mainland & Lagos Ibadan Expressways. Some attribute this to the cost of pms & general inflation. As well as the improvement in the roads after reconstruction. I can truly say Lagos is working and Continuity should be the next buzz word in Nigeria. Go to states where there is no continuity and see the regression; you will be saddened.
To be continued, what’s your view? Please share, thanks
Femi Oke Betta
