“I was born in Ibadan and lived there, practically, till my teenage years. I enjoyed the Ibadan life. After High school I proceeded to Ekiti for my tertiary education, and trust me, I went home almost every weekend while in school. The Ibadan living (and lifestyle) just wouldn’t let me stay a weekend in school, except there’s test or any other important thing to attend to. That was how accustomed I was to the Ibadan life. My older siblings lived in Lagos and whenever I visited them, back then, I would ask them: ‘what’s so special about this your Lagos?’ I didn’t understand what the big deal was about Lagos. Everywhere seemed noisy to me. It’s either one street jam was happening or there was a street-to-street fight. It was very lousy lifestyle and I never really enjoyed it.
Fast forward to 2012 when I met my husband (then my fiance) here in Lagos. I begged hubby to let’s move to Ibadan while he can work in Lagos, probably visit home weekends. But he is someone who had lived his whole life in Lagos and so asking him to move to Ibadan was like asking a fish to stop living in water. I wasn’t sure, too, that I could put up with the tough life of Lagos because Lagos can be stressful. In the end, marriage brought me to Lagos.
Having been raised in Ibadan, living or adapting in any other city was a tough one for me. I tried to adapt when I moved to Lagos after our wedding but it was tough. As smart as I assumed I was, my bags were snatched countless times. The first incident was in Iyana Ipaja. I was returning to school on this fateful day and had to be at the park early enough. The load I had on me was much and so I decided to wait for a wheelbarrow guy to assist me. While waiting, I suddenly heard some guys shouting: “Ole! Ole!” and every one was running for their dear lives. In an attempt to run as well, my bag was snatched by a lady on a bike. Oh my! It was like a dream that my bag had been snatched.
By a lady for that matter.
In the space of four years of living here, I’ve lost too many things to petty thieves like that. My sister calls it a ‘Welcome Party’.
One thing I love about Lagos, if you can work smart, your reward is here. Forget the stress, traffic, toughness, noise, crowd…if you’re a passionate person you’ll get your reward. However, as much as they make money, they spend much of it too. You’ve got to work smart and spend wisely – that way you’ll enjoy your stay. If granted any break at work (long or short) you’ll definitely see me in Ibadan. There’s so much peace in there and less expenses. Things are way too costly in Lagos compared to Ibadan or any other less stressful city. I miss Home…I miss Ibadan, my Origin.
This is my Lagos story.”
[END]
