It is the dream of many to come to Lagos.
From different parts of Nigeria and beyond, people daily, troop in to visit, work or live in Lagos. Why do people believe that Lagos is the land of opportunities in Nigeria?
Ifeoluwa Idowu provides answers.

The notion that Lagos is a land of riches is one that is well believed in Nigeria. This probably explain the reason behind the large population in the state. Lagos is a state filled with people from different backgrounds, different states, different
communities and different countries even.
Most of the people that were not born in Lagos had come into the Centre of Excellence in search of greener pastures.
Every day, People flood into the state to either live, work or simply visit. Several people risk their lives making treacherous journeys, some climbing on goods or cow laden trailers. And some too use their lifelong savings to take the journey, or using money contributed by family members to take the journey, with high hopes to come to Lagos and make it big. Dotouyi Patrick
Michael, is a Beninese, who specializes in making Shawarma at an eatery in Lagos.
According to him, no place like Lagos where he doesn’t have to think hard on how to feed himself and his family. “Even though, I don’t really like Lagos because of the volume of stress here, I can’t afford to miss out of the opportunities here,” he said. He added that it was his elder brother who got him the job. “He told me to leave Warri and come to Lagos. I initially thought I was to work for a white person like I used to, but when I got here, what I met was different. My whole family believed Lagos is the best place to be which is why they insisted that I moved here. Really, if I had my way I would stay back at my former job. I prefer it to the stress of Lagos.” He said.
Abubakar Mohammed, a native of Bornu State, explained that he came to Lagos with his brother inside a trailer meant for transporting cows, to seek greener pastures.
Together with about 20 cows inside the trailer, he landed at Berger in Lagos with his elder brother. “I came to Lagos with my elder brother in 1996. My brother used to come to Lagos prior to that time to buy Kolanut and bring it back to Borno to sell. He did not persuade me to come to Lagos. I
made the decision on my own because I knew that Lagos would give me better opportunities than sitting at home. I told him that when I come, any job I get I would do it. We came to Lagos with a trailer. When I got to Lagos, I worked at Cosmos Nigeria Ltd. as a security man for a long
time. After that, I moved to Sara Foam on the same street at Kirikiri area also as a security man. From there, I went on to work for a construction company, which was just opposite Julius Berger headquarters, also in Kirikiri. Most of the jobs I got had to do with being a security man. So, I left that and went on to riding commercial motorcycle for a living. And when the state government banned commercial motorcycles in the state, I moved to this area and I met a very nice woman who provided accommodation for me, also gave me permission to set up shop. So, I set up this kiosk and it has been very comfortable for me.
I really prefer doing this to everything that I have done prior to now. I prefer being in Lagos, because when I was in Borno, I was not making money. I was just attending Islamic school. But here in Lagos, I have opportunity to do different things. That my elder brother that I came to Lagos with, is also in Lagos, working as a security man with Glo Company. I support people that come into Lagos to work. It is better to work
here than to be over there getting nothing,” he said. Abubakar Usainni, who works at an industry as a security man in Lagos explains that coming to Lagos has been worthwhile. “I came to Lagos in 2003 from Mali, my country.
I left Mali, passed through Niger, and from Niger Republic, I crossed the border and passed through Kebbi State, through Kaduna and continued the journey into Lagos. Nobody brought me. I came all by myself. I had my mind set on Lagos from home. So, I went through all that I did in order to make it here. Nobody told me to come to Lagos to make money. It’s just that I noticed some of my friends that come to Lagos and whenever they return, they were usually quite buoyant. And I know that if I stayed back in my country, I could not make any money, and there’s a family to take care of. I just finished speaking with my father, who told me that he needs money and now I am happy because I have a salary to look forward to collecting at the end of the month. So, I think coming to Lagos has been worth the risk for me.” He beamed.


http://newtelegraphonline.com/searching-for-the-golden-fleece-in-lagos/