Cheta Mbajekwe
A typical day in Lagos is very hectic. It is full with loads of hustle and bustle. It can be very busy and engaging. Lagos is the economic capital of Nigeria. In Lagos, everything happens, from street-hawking, stand-still traffic, night clubbing and many other activities that constitute busyness.
Below is a SNEAK-PEEK into the lives of ordinary, fictionary characters…
Bola Akpan leaves his house early daily anticipating a great day ahead, with the expectation of receiving constructive criticism from his boss as usual. As he gets to his bus-stop, he sights a crowd and he wonders if there is “fuel scarcity” of any sort. He tried to find an easier route to escape the entire hustle and bustle but his mind became blank.
The first bus approached him and the price to Bola was pretty outrageous as it was 4x the amount the usual fare. Some inconsiderate persons rushed towards the bus, they were even fighting hard to board as Bola watched in amazement. If only he knew much better, he would have not taken that particular bus.
The second bus came around with the same price as the first and just like the first bus, many inconsiderate people boarded again the bus again. After the 10th bus that passed, it suddenly dawned on Bola that he was in trouble indeed. Instead of the fare experiencing a decline, it kept increasing. A bus-ride that was to go for N200 just turned to N500 right in front of him. Bola did not know how to accept his fate of ‘being stranded’, he simply started trekking to his office.
Nkechi, on the other hand, a nurse in the government hospital folds her clothing neatly as she zooms off hurriedly to work. It’s 5:30am. She runs down the road, in a bid to catch the C.M.S bus before prices get hiked. She swiftly jumps into one which immediately transports the passengers to their destination. Chioma, the Deeper Life sister in the same bus began preaching voraciously as she shared tracts to all the passengers in the bus starting from the front row to the last row. At this point, Nkechi quickly plugs in her earpiece as she begins to jam to Davido’s “Gobe” as she hopes and prays to make it to work in time, 7am.
Obinna, a street hawker who happens to be selling “zobo” in Lagos Traffic chases down cars as he struggled to pull out the ‘change’ of a passenger who just paid for one of his ‘zobo’ drinks. He almost injured himself in the process yet he keeps pushing through till he’s able to catch up with the buyer in the moving vehicle.
Mama Tayo just returned from dropping her two children in their respective schools. She further proceeds to grind the beans for her ‘akara’ business and packs her tools and equipments to proceed for the ‘business’ for the day. She gets to her market space, sets up and in less than 30 minutes, she sets up and organizes her work-stand.
A queue is formed and she begins to serve each customer their ‘akara’ gracefully as they pay her her money and leave gracefully to their various destinations. It’s now 3pm, the roads are getting blocked as parents are rushing home to their various childrens’ schools to pick them up. Mama Tayo has packed up for the day and rushes to pick her children from school.
Bode, on the other hand, sets out everyday in his UBER vehicle at 7am daily to pick-up his routine customers from their usual routes. He usually encounters a gang of hoodlums (also called ‘area-boys’) at various corners looking for ‘daily bread’ from ‘daily commuters’ on their way to their place of work. Like other commuters, he settles these ‘street urchins’ on a ‘regular’. He is happy with his transportation business though as he is able to take care of himself and his family with his earnings.
I would like to know what your typical day in Lagos looks like in the comment section below…
