Long time no Lagos drama tales😂

It’s being a Fabulous February! Trust you’ve been having a smooth ride through 2022 and maybe it hasn’t been a smooth one for you, still, be thankful for the grace and courage to keep sailing. 

While Putin is breathing real violence in Ukraine we can only hope that World War 3 is not here for Africa’s sake, especially my beloved country, Nigeria. Our daily struggle to survive as a nation is enough war for a  lifetime. Especially, if you live in Lagos, Nigeria, you need extra mental & physical strength plus the evidence of God’s grace to simply survive.

I guess, the phrase “ Lagos is crazy” is not strange to our ears, however, you may not understand or you may underestimate that saying because you think it’s a cliche. One morning, on my way to a training location, I alighted from a bus just in time to hear a LASTMA official comment about a bus driver saying “ Wo were yi ( Look at this mad man)”, moving further, I heard that same driver lashed out to a bike man “ Kuro lo na were (Leave the road, mad man) then I heard the bike man say “ Were le leyi o ( This one is mad o). In the split of 30 seconds, I heard comments of madness from 3 different people. I couldn’t help it, a wide smile spread across my face as I hurried my way because I practically just saw Lagos as it is, it is either madness or craziness.

Lagos tales seem to be unending if you think you have seen or heard a maddd Lagos story, just give it time, you will hear another crazy story that will shock you. It just seems to me like there’s no peak to Lagos tales. Personally, I have seen or heard Lagos tales that leave me in shock, like how can someone be this crazzzyyyy? Just yesterday, my Kid Sis boarded a vehicle from Yaba heading to Ikeja. At a point, her bus almost hit another vehicle and in the midst of that, the passenger sitting beside the driver intentionally poured Pepsi on the other vehicle and it splashed on the passengers. 

They chased the bus my sister boarded, caught up with the bus, while people descended with beating on the guy who poured Pepsi, another guy among the angry mob came to the driver’s side to beat the driver, he escaped and then this guy with a screwdriver aimed to hit my Kid Sis who was sitting behind the driver. Thankfully, she dodged it. Afterward, people interfered. Now, was that not a display of madness? How one act of madness leads to scenes of madness. That’s the loop of craziness that keeps playing in Lagos. 

If you don’t know anything about Lasgidi, the least you should know is the presence of “One Chance” bus in Lagos. I’ve encountered them a couple of times that I can only say it’s God that has been saving this writer girl. The most recent “One chance” encounter I had was late last year, on a morning when I was running late. The normal yellow buses were not coming then this private car with 2 passengers came to the bus stop, I entered. Immediately, I entered, I told myself if I see any suspicious sign I wouldn’t hesitate to alight. After one minute drive, one of the two persons alighted and we moved on. Less than one minute drive the second person wanted to alight and to pay the driver, he brought out a dollar note. 

Immediately, I knew this was it. The driver said he couldn’t collect the dollar note. The fake passenger using fake Ghanian accent said that’s what he has then the driver told the fake passenger that he would have to go and change the dollar notes on him. He agreed and was about to get back into the car. Without prior signs, I said, “I’m getting down here and hurriedly got off the car.”

And yes, that’s how I got saved from another “One Chance” bus. Truth is, there are good, bad, and ugly stories just as we have the bad, ugly, crazy tales of Lagos. I remember there was a day it rained, I was heading home from an event and my laptop was with me. There was no close place to take shelter from the rain and I was so scared for my laptop. I started praying for help, then a private car parked for me and offered to help me. My people with all the “One chance” stories, I entered the car and intensified my prayers for safety while I thought of my mum especially when I realized that the car’s glass was a tinted one. 

Praise be to God, the kind young man drove me to a sheltered place where I could stay for the rain to abate before I moved on. There have been countless days of Lagos traffic where I would pray for help and shortly after a private car or bike would come around to take me to my destination. See ehnnnn, Lagos will test your common sense and spirituality. Even El-Rufai has this to say about Lagos.

In all, I pray that the Lord’s mercy and grace will always be present with us and we stay preserved in Him. In my further post, I may share some hacks for surviving on the streets of Lagos with you because “street-smartness” is a necessity in Lagos.

Have a safe and fun filled weeked fam. Je t’aime mon ami🤗🤗🤗