“Growing up in Ibadan, I was a Bodija boy. I had always felt Ibadan was slow-paced even when I was much younger so by 2010 I was already going to Lagos by myself running projects and seeking out opportunities. I moved to Lagos to do my NYSC in 2011 and then I stayed back afterwards. So, it makes ten years since I became a permanent resident in Lagos. Transitioning from a visitor to a permanent resident wasn’t that hard for me; my frequent visits already opened me up to the dynamics of the city so when I moved to Lagos, I fit in just perfectly.
I had one or two experiences but my real welcome to Lagos experience happened on one Sunday afternoon. In the morning of that day, my car had a delay in starting but eventually it responded. In the afternoon, I was driving to FESTAC and when I got to Mile 2, I decided to stop at the ATM. I got back into the car, started it a couple of times before the engine roared to life again. Then I got back on the road.
.
.
As I approached one of the bridges on Mile 2, someone was flagging me down and was shouting, “smoke! Smoke!” I knew it was a scam – that the person was just trying to scam me so I kept on going. Then further down the road, another guy was flagging me down. This time I got curious that maybe it was real and so I parked – just to err on the side of caution. The guy who had flagged me down approached and said “open the bonnet!” I did.
.
.
I didn’t want to turn off the engine of the car because I was too cautious of where I was and I also didn’t want to leave the key in the ignition either. The guy kept saying there was smoke and I should turn off the engine so, in the end, I reluctantly turned off the engine. Once I did that, I knew I was done for. I just knew! Obviously, there was no smoke. When I saw there was no smoke and I tried to restart the car, the car refused to start patapata.
People are usually not nice in Lagos but this guy decided to help me push the car to one side of the road, in front of one large gate like that. Then this same guy offered to get me a mechanic, he left to fetch the mechanic. There was another area boy around the huge gate who came over and started issuing advice: “make una no tey for dia o”. He began to talk about how they killed someone right on the spot I had parked. I knew I was about to be conned so I wasn’t even bothered by all the scary things the second guy was saying.
.
For me, I had two options: one, to tow the car back to Omole Phase I which would cost me about #11k at that time or to play along deliberately with these guys and let their mechanic fix the car. I collected 4-5k from the ATM that day. The mechanic came, checked the car and said he had to buy a part of the car. He said the part would cost #14k and then he added his workmanship separately. I told him all that I had was 4k and that I could hustle to get #3k, making #7k in all.
.
The guy told me to go and sort out the 7k and he’d fix the car before I got back. He gave me his number and said I would send whatever balance was left to be paid afterwards. Me, I knew I was being conned because nobody is that nice and with how everything had played out, I knew that somewhere in between me turning off the engine and coming out of the car to where he was, he had removed a part in the engine.
.
By the time I came back with the 7k, the car was already fixed. I got back on the road and decided to call the number out of curiousity. It rang but nobody picked, no one ever picked every time I called till I gave up. I just accepted my fate that the #7k I paid was my welcome to Lagos #7k.
.
.
So I take it that I have paid my dues.”
.
.
“There’s a whole lot of money circulating within the Lagos economy which almost gives an assurance that you can snatch a piece of the pie for yourself. There are big opportunities in Lagos. If you’re averagely paid and you’re deliberate about meeting a certain calibre of people, you can meet people that will help you find the growth you desire. The first thing about the opportunities in Lagos is that you have to be deliberate in seeking them out.
.
.
For example, there are a couple of big names in the Nigerian tech space who may not be so hard to reach. If you have a tech proposal that you want to pitch to any of them, you may not be able to get access to them if you went to their offices; but guess what, there’s probably a restaurant somewhere around the corner where tech folks gather for lunch. In that case, just go there someday and have lunch too; meet the people there and that will be your way in.
.
.
I believe in fate but I also believe that nothing is by accident. Sometime ago, I was doing a research for a company and so I spent much time around the subjects of my research. I was very deliberate about the subjects of my research and how I put myself together around them.
.
.
One day, one of them just reached out to me and told me that there was a new project they were starting out and that they believed I’d be fit for a role in it. Because I had the skill, I had to find an opportunity, but I couldn’t just sit down waiting for the opportunity to find me. I had to deliberately plant myself in places where the opportunity might pop-up.
.
.
Someone once told me that employers need employees just as much as the employee needs the employer. However, it is the job of the employee to make the potential employer know that he/she is available. Employers need you but they won’t think of you when they don’t even know that you exist. Your job is to help them find you.
.
.
I have seen people rise from one big job to the other by being deliberate about the kind of circle of people they move with and they make sure that these people know what skill-sets they have. If you’re in Lagos, you need to know how to do this.
.
.
Networking in Ibadan isn’t the same as Lagos’. The funny thing about Ibadan is that Ibadan is large but the social circle is small and so everybody knows each other. The thing is if you’re trying to network in Ibadan, where are you expanding to when you are all within one network? The good thing is that Ibadan is growing fast which means more people and institutions are getting into the city, which in turn means more spaces to network into.
.
.
No one loves the traffic situation in Lagos – not one! Within Lagos, the worst experience I have had, I spent 6hours in traffic; It was one of those when RCCG was having a program and then I think the President was coming to Lagos or so. I was coming form Idimu, met up with a colleague at Dopemu and he was supposed to drop me at Omole Phase II. It was a trip that shouldn’t be more than 15mins.
.
.
We were trying to leave early so I got to Dopemu 5:30pm but I didn’t get home until 12midnight. It got to a point some of us got out of our cars, gathered in groups and we’re just gisting. Truth be told, that was peculiar.
.
.
On a normal day, you spend about 3-4hours in Lagos. At some point when my posting was far from where I stayed, I’d leave home at 5:30am so that by 6:15am I’m at the office. I’d have different pairs of shoes, socks and ties in my booth. Then I’d sleep in the office for maybe an hour.
.
.
Once I wake up, I then begin to change into my proper work outfit. The thing is you’re not alone; you’ll see other colleagues too by their cars changing into proper work outfits. The truth is if you miss that 5:30am window, you’d end getting to work like past 9am and you’d be late.
.
.
I ran this routine for about a year and a half but at this point, I can’t do that anymore.
If I had the power to change anything in Ibadan, I’ll change the mindset of most people in Ibadan. The way Ibadan people in Ibadan think is very different from the way Ibadan people in Lagos think. Here’s a simple example: I have a lot of friends that are Lagosians but I’ve also got friends who left Ibadan and moved to Lagos just like me.
.
.
Ibadan folks move to Lagos and have the mentality to hustle and so we work twice as hard as say a Lagosian cos nobody come count bridge for Lagos. Not only do we work twice as hard, we are twice as ambitious as the Lagos people and we are generally more financially prudent than Lagosians. An Ibadan person in Lagos will most likely not go clubbing every weekend and spend money; they will most likely just pick a day in a month when they go hangout with friends and that’s it because there’s the consciousness of wanting to have something to take back home.
.
.
Ibadan people in Ibadan are very different: they get too comfortable and complacent where they are and they are not as ambitious as their counterparts in Lagos. Maybe there’s a special drive/motivation when one is away from home, I really don’t know but An Ibadan person who is laid back leaves Ibadan, moves to Lagos and the mindset changes completely.
.
.
Typical example, I want to buy recharge card and I have driven closest to you and all that is left for you to do is to stand up and sell to me but no, Ibadan traders will expect you to park, get out of the car, walk up to them for them to sell to you.
.
.
I wonder sometimes like, is it that you’re too big and you’ve earned so much money for the day that you can’t get up and approach a parked car? In Lagos, if you drag your feet too slowly, another recharge card vendor is less than a minute away who would run to the customer and satisfy the customer.
.
.
You can argue that is competition that has made Lagos so but then why wait for competition before you are your best self at what you do? I am a sucker for quality customer service: as a vendor, you have to give your customers quality service whether there is competition or not. If I had the power, I’ll change the attitude of Ibadan people to business and to expand their mindset to be more ambitious.
.
.
Frustration can kill ambition, especially when you have tried over and over again. I can’t say the city kills ambition or limits the dreams. I don’t have it as a fact but I am sure the reason Ola Mummy is improving and increasing is because the woman who founded the place has a child who has gone out of Ibadan, seen how other establishments are run and is introducing these innovations.
.
.
I’m sure left to the founder, Ola Mummy would have remained in the location where she began because all that would matter to her is her amala and not the service or the brand. Amala Skye came to the GTB Food & Drinks Festival in 2019, guess what? It was the daughter that brought the joint to that festival: that’s ambition.
.
.
Part of the mindset thing that has to change is that young people in Ibadan need to learn to collaborate more. The moment they realize that they can do more for themselves by collaborating, the better the city will be for it.
.
.
The biggest lesson I have learnt living in Lagos this last decade is that nobody is going to present opportunities to you on a platter; you have to seek out your opportunities and you have to be deliberate about how you do this.
.
(Lagos, 2021)
