Will Connors has a 5-part series on Lagos featured in Slate. I thought it was a rather balanced piece. I recommend reading it for yourself. 10 keys points I took away:
- Where some see chaos, others see opportunities. Welcome to Lagos, Africa’s Mega-city
Depending on how you see the world or what kind of mood you're in on a particular day, you can look out of your window and see the unstructured chaos of a Third World city on speed or the vibrancy and sense of hope that continues to attract thousands of newcomers every day.
- The governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola is admired by Lagosians. His plans for the state are ambitious, will he succeed?
- Houses remain expensive in certain parts of Lagos (Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki). It seems there is still money to be made in the property market.
- Makoko really needs to be cleaned up. Yet the area seems to attract folks from Benin, Togo and other parts of Nigeria searching for a better life.
- Lagosians love fish. The local fisherman can’t keep up – as a result frozen fish continues to be imported from Europe to satisfy demand.
- Lagosians don’t have time for religious conflicts (which is somewhat common in other regions of the Nigeria).
To some extent, the can be explained by government intervention and a strong inter-religious council. They are “too busy trying to make money”.
In the search for work, money, and advancement, there seems to be no time for religious violence in Lagos. Churches and mosques espouse a healthy desire for wealth in most of the country, but Lagos is the physical embodiment of that desire, and people have far too much to do.
- Lagosians strive to look good all the time despite rolling in danfos (mini-buses) or okada (motorcycle). Vanity!
I once headed out the door unshaven, wearing a T-shirt with a small hole in it. My Nigerian friends refused to be seen in public with me, and they weren't joking. A few days later, a friend saw my outdated, beat-up cell phone and offered his BlackBerry so that the people we were going to meet wouldn't shun us. Grunge will never be in style here.
- A British-Nigerian couple recently set up two finishing schools in Lagos (Lagos Finishing School and the Lagos Etiquette Bank).
- Alaba market is West Africa’s biggest electronics market.
- Plantain chips are still taste good.
