I was born, bred, buttered and jammed in Ibadan. I had my primary and secondary education in Ibadan. I made up my mind not to stay in Ibadan for my undergraduate studies, so I went to Obafemi Awolowo University. I stayed all my life in Idi-shin. My church was at ANCE building (Jesus Academy), so my life was essentially school, church and home; I didn’t really have a social life. Plus the fear of my mum’s beating was the beginning of wisdom for me.
I moved to Lagos finally on the 22nd of January 2018. I went for a training at the National Broadcast Academy at Adekunle Fajuyi. I was a bit skeptical about moving because I was scared of Lagos life and Mosquitoes(lol). Moving to Lagos was something I had to do so I left my fears behind and hit the road.
Trust me when I say the atmosphere in Lagos is really different. The hustle starts right from the toll gate unlike the peace and quiet we have in Ibadan. My first night at the academy I couldn’t sleep because there was no light and Mosquitoes did a welcome feast on me! Light was restored like around 6 am, I was happy that I could catch up on sleep a little then came the almighty train! I didn’t know when I started crying(lol); it was that bad!
I haven’t stayed up to a year in Lagos but, man, I have adjusted already o. Before I left Ibadan, I used to feel I couldn’t cope with waking up very early to go to work then come back late and all. At first, it was a bit challenging but now I am so used to it that once it’s 5am I am up; even on a Sunday morning!
Moving around has been fairly easy; Taxify has made my stay there very comfortable, God bless the person behind that. All you have to do is make a request and your ride will be available in the next 5minutes max; unlike the migration cabs we have in Ibadan.
However, I once had an interview in VI, so I requested for an
Uber ride because I felt it was going to be more comfortable, little did know
that my village people were waiting for me. The ride that was supposed to cost
me max between N3,500 – N4000 cost me N8,000 because the driver kept on taking me round and round forming
he didn’t really know where I was going to. Thank God I had enough cash on me
if not, serious gobe! I later told a friend of mind about what happened, he
laughed and said the Uber guy just welcomed you officially to Lagos! I was sad!
There’s never a dull moment in Lagos. I tell my friends that if I had known that this was what Lagos was like, I would have moved a long time ago. If you sell stones in Lagos, people will buy.
I miss the peace and quiet we have in Ibadan. A lot of times, I miss the original amala and gbegiri we have. I also miss the original fresh roasted corn we have in Ibadan a lot of times but, man, Lagos is the money making place, I can’t trade that for anything.
(Lagos, 2018)
