THE MEGACITY

The Third Mainland Bridge is a looping ribbon of concrete that connects Lagos Island to the continent of Africa. It was built in the nineteen-seventies, part of a vast network of bridges, cloverleafs, and expressways intended to transform the districts and islands of this Nigerian city--then comprising three million people--into an efficient modern metropolis.

As the bridge snakes over sunken piers just above the waters of Lagos Lagoon, it passes a floating slum: thousands of wooden houses, perched on stilts a few feet above their own bobbing refuse, with rust-colored iron roofs wreathed in the haze from thousands of cooking fires. Fishermen and market women paddle dugout canoes on water as black and viscous as an oil slick.

The bridge then passes the sawmill district, where rain-forest logs--sent across from the far shore, thirty miles to the east--form a floating mass by the piers. Smoldering hills of sawdust landfill send white smoke across the bridge, which mixes with diesel exhaust from the traffic.

Beyond the sawmills, the old waterfront markets, the fishermen's shanties, the blackened facades of high-rise housing projects, and the half-abandoned skyscrapers of downtown Lagos Island loom under a low, dirty sky. Around the city, garbage dumps steam with the combustion of natural gases, and auto yards glow with fires from fuel spills.

All of Lagos seems to be burning.

Continued here: www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-26679213_ITM

Once you made it into the city, a gantlet of armed robbers, con men, corrupt policemen, and homi-cidal bus drivers awaited you.

I feel home SICK already,

Lagos is by far the foulest, smelliest, most litter-strewn, most randomly violent cauldron of sardine-crammed humanity that I have EVER had the misfortune of visiting, and I would be perfectly content if the place simply ceased to exist.

The above article captures the horrifying squalor of Lagos with unblinking precision and in excruciating detail.  Why some folks claim to be proud of that repulsive fetid slum shall for me remain a perplexing and enduring mystery.  Lagos, Nigeria,  is the physical location of hell on earth, and those forced to live there can bank on a significantly shortened life expectancy, even by Africa's abysmal standards.

no, this western media are trying to rubbish us, dont mind them they see nothing good in lagos, havent you seen the silverbird

Asiwaju Ojuyobo has cleaned up the whole state, he really tried , there are flower in the middle of the road yea right

Shythole!!

Posted by Jakumo

Lagos is by far the foulest, smelliest, most litter-strewn, most randomly violent cauldron of sardine-crammed humanity that I have EVER had the misfortune of visiting, and I would be perfectly content if the place simply ceased to exist.

The above article captures the horrifying detail of Lagos with unblinking precision and in excruciating detail.  Why some folks claim to be proud of that repulsive fetid slum shall for me remain a perplexing and enduring mystery.  Lagos, Nigeria,  is the physical location of hell on earth, and those forced to live there can bank on a significantly shortened life expectancy, even by Africa's abysmal standards.

It is extremely disappointing to read the comment posted by a fellow Nigerian. It is amazing.

Are you a Nigerian or what? How can you support a stranger to bring down your mother's land just like that?
Believe me, you will never never get a star for stepping all over your country, Nigeria.

I could take the same writer to Alabama, deep down Chicago, Gary Indiana, deep down Brooklyn NY, dirty Detroit, New Orleans and many many more American cities. Guys, these areas are horrible, you will not believe your eyes, infact you wouldn't believe that these areas are parts of United States. Hence, this writer can bend down and kiss my As#.

It doesn't matter where you come from, forks, every country has the good, the bad and the ugly. It makes me sick that writers like this only focuses on the bad and the ugly when it comes to writting about African countries.

They never show us the crack heads, prostitutes, murderers, robbers, fat rats, dirty/smelly streets, homeless folks and beggars everywhere, when they talk or write about the holy land (America).

Give me a break!

Nigeria is my country; yes, things are currently not organized and it's very tough out there, but it will never stay this way forever; I guarantee you that tomorrow will be much better. And Nigerians from everywhere will return back home.

We know what we have and we also know what we need to fix it. Please, don't be a fool; never allow or encourage a stranger to expose your dirty laundry

would it have been better if it was written by a nigerian? many nigerian wrote about the state of lagos, we juts passed it on as tinwn tinwan (our own)

Truth is bitter and dirty in this case! Something have to been done and with our praise singing, people worshiping culture we wont get much done by saying Ashiwaju ojuyobo employed agberos to clean the streets!

did he lie? lagos is rotten. and everyone has piled into abuja. abuja will soon experience the same rot. we definitely dont have maintenance culture.

It is always better to be criticized by your own.
I prefer my father, mother, brother or sister to let me know that I have a smelly ass, rather than hearing the same thing from Mr Smith who lives down the road.

It is even worst to condone the stupidity of the writer. The writer needs to focus more on Iraq war; I'm sure there is a lot to write about.

and I am sure there are more qualified journalist to write about iraq than this tourist/writer, he is a tourist FDI _{right? he didnt carry huge cash through the airport though}

the person doing the criticism is not important. . .

Posted by Spoilt

did he lie? lagos is rotten. and everyone has piled into abuja. abuja will soon experience the same rot. we definitely don't have maintenance culture.

Like I've said; we know what we have and we also know what we need to do to fix it. Instead of giving this writer air time, we just need to step up and improve the standard of living in Nigeria.

It is OK, if you guys see nothing wrong; but I must tell you that your image around the world continues to get darker and darker every single day. Very soon Nigerian businesses around the world will be affected negatively and may be that will wake us up as citizens of Nigeria.

Enough Nigerians are now starting to use their middle English names to cover up their Nigerian identities because of the image the media is painting to the world.
We must stop this nonsense, but I'm cool, if you guys think there is nothing wrong with this picture.

FYI: American media doesn't leave things alone till they see the down fall; therefore watch out, guys.

he cant be blamed. each time i return to naija to visit, i am alarmed at how the whole place has decayed.
its so bad. there's filth in the middle of the streets, the air is thick and polluted. its really bad! [s]even the people look oily and greasy as if they have been burnt or something.[/s] we are just so used to living in that squalor. i dont blame a visitor for actually writing about it. lagos is one of our major cities and visitors are always shocked when they touch down. its a mess. i personally never throw stuff out of the window of a car or on the streets. i cant change the nation but i can control my own actions.

Yes, this is clear to everybody. we definitely need to make changes and change direction, but I don't need a stranger to negatively write about my country.
When American media starts exposing the bad and the ugly of a country, the result is never a favorable one.

FYI: American media doesn't leave things alone till they see the down fall; therefore watch out, guys.

FYI: Nigerian journalists are too lazy to write their own story, they wait till their relative die before they report a story. They have award ceremonies every other month importing foreign artists are treating their own like shyte!

It is OK, if you guys see nothing wrong; but I must tell you that your image around the world continue to get darker and darker every single day. Very soon Nigerian businesses around the world will be affected negatively and may be that we wake us up as citizens of Nigeria.

you sound as if the guy is lying? He is doing his job as a tourist/journalist, how many journalist in nigeria ask proper questions when interviewing officials?

when you leave your ass open, you cant blame the person pointing at it can you?

Hey, I'm cool and it is OK, if you guys see nothing wrong; but I must tell you that your image around the world continues to get darker and darker every single day. Very soon Nigerian businesses around the world will be affected negatively and may be that will wake us up as citizens of Nigeria.

One love!

They write what they see, No one wrote anything bad about Obudu_{(apart from accommodation problems)}

If we wait until someone write something negative about our country then too bad

Big B1:



Nigeria is my country; yes, things are currently not organized and it's very tough out there, but it will never stay this way forever; I guarantee you that tomorrow will be much better. And Nigerians from everywhere will return back home.

We know what we have and we also know what we need to fix it. Please, don't be a fool; never allow or encourage a stranger to expose your dirty laundry

Big Bee, I really admire your undying optimism that continues to fly high even in the face of a diametrically opposed reality, but you need to try removing those rose-tinted glasses with which you are peering into the optimistic FUTURE of Lagos, and instead focus on the PRESENT situation there as described by the New Yorker magazine article.   Can you identify any falsehod in that article ?  I sure can't, and I would even go further to say the writer of that article has been somewhat lenient in a depiction of hell's best known branch office on earth - Lagos.

Also your assertion that only Nigerian's have a moral right to talk about the ugliness in Lagos is absurd.  Using your own analogies about America's inner city decay, would your theory of journalistic exclusivity also stipulate that only junkies may write about drug abuse in Chicago's mean streets, or that only hookers should be permitted to write about violence in the sex industry  ?

I don't think so.  Anyone who has walked the walk ANYWHERE in the world has earned the RIGHT to talk the talk, regardless of what color passport the writer holds.     Lagos is a horrible place that can and will only get worse, your discomfort with that truth notwithstanding.

@ Big1

I remove my cap for you I must commend you and your Patriotism. You must know that our people like to hear from outside.

Our mentality is such that we must hear from outside and I appreciate your position that we must say our own news. But our people love to condem our own people.

I had a discussion in Ghana with a black American and immediately I had a clear mentality of how the Negroid thinks of his own people. I dont blame her I blame the negative publicity supported by the neo colonial Journalist she must have been polluted with the fact that we are doomed to backwardness.

Just read the post in the political section you will see the millions of negative comments about the black race from the mouth a black race.

Imagine a black man can call his brother Niger for minutes and make into a cassette and sell it for people to buy but the White man can never call the black man Niger.

We have a problem Yes

They also have a problem

In our case we dont have Patriots that are Journalist we dont have CORE people that will defend the African even if they have not eaten.

We dont Have BBC WE dont have CNN etc.

I have lived in singapore where the Europeans were made to look like Villagers when they were about to board a train. If i had a camera I could film them and use that as a propaganda.

ONE THING WE MUST KNOW THAT THE FOREIGN NEWS MEDIA IS A BIG MILITARY WEAPON AND THE AIM IS TO FIGHT AND IMPLANT IN THE MINDS OF THE LISTENER THAT THEY ARE ON TOP OF EVERY SITUATION.


ONCE THEY ARE ABLE TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE "UNBIASED" YOU WILL BELIEVE ALL THEY SAY. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO QUESTION THEM AND THINK THEY ARE 100% CORRECT.

THE BBC IS A HIGH SPYING BODY AND IT USED FOR PROPAGANDA.

LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE

LOOK AT MUGABE

ONLY 4500 WHITE FARMERS OWN THE LAND IN ZIMBABWE. EVEN IF MUGABE IS A BAD MAN LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED.

WHEN HE DECIDED THAT THE LAND WILL GO TO THE BLACK PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE IS THAT NOT WHEN HIS "BADNESS" CAME OUT?

WHICH MEDIA BROUGHT IT OUT?

LET US LOOK AT WHAT THE CATHOLIC RADIO DID TO RWANDA 800,000 PEOPLE WERE SLAUGHTERED.

4 million people have died because of the war in Congo tell me how it started. Patrice Lumumba was killed and they brought in a man like Mobutu.

They want us to feel that we cant rule ourselves and they were right to colonize. we should give ourselves a chance. If you look back They White people did not colonise immediately they saw us.

If you look at the political structure in Nigeria you see that Some "yoruba" based people Criticised OBJ and as a result We had a government that was less tribal. But this could be used by some people that the Yorubas are incompetent.

EVERY NEWS HAS ITS DUAL NATURE. IT CAN BE A WEAPON OR A HELP.

The news the American posted is GOOD NEWS TO PEOPLE THAT WANT TO STAY IN AMERICA AND WANT TO BE PAID SLAVE WAGES

It is good propaganda news to people that want to invest in Nigeria because it gives them bargaining power to let you feel that your country is not worth investing in.

It is "good news" to the NIGERIAN also because we can see the problem and solve it.

We need to have our own news media that can OBJECTIVE CRITICIZE OUR OWN CITIES AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL HEAR ACT.

THE GOVERNMENT MUST SET UP NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES TO COUNTER THIS WAR IN THE MEDIA.

oga Backslider this your argument is the lousiest crock of shit i've seen in print in a very long time.

so money that should be spent on basic amenities and proper waste management should now divert to 'counter the war in the media'

and you're glaringly ill-informed, especially regarding your analogies to Zimbabwe & Rwanda

ziddy

Then inform us better about ZIM and Rwanda. Am waiting.

Backslider:

@ Big1

I remove my cap for you I must commend you and your Patriotism. You must know that our people like to hear from outside.

Our mentality is such that we must hear from outside and I appreciate your position that we must say our own news. But our people love to condem our own people.

I had a discussion in Ghana with a black American and immediately I had a clear mentality of how the Negroid thinks of his own people. I don't blame her I blame the negative publicity supported by the neo colonial Journalist she must have been polluted with the fact that we are doomed to backwardness.

Just read the post in the political section you will see the millions of negative comments about the black race from the mouth a black race.

Imagine a black man can call his brother Niger for minutes and make into a cassette and sell it for people to buy but the White man can never call the black man Niger.

We have a problem Yes

They also have a problem

In our case we don't have Patriots that are Journalist we don't have CORE people that will defend the African even if they have not eaten.

We don't Have BBC WE don't have CNN etc.

I have lived in singapore where the Europeans were made to look like Villagers when they were about to board a train. If i had a camera I could film them and use that as a propaganda.

ONE THING WE MUST KNOW THAT THE FOREIGN NEWS MEDIA IS A BIG MILITARY WEAPON AND THE AIM IS TO FIGHT AND IMPLANT IN THE MINDS OF THE LISTENER THAT THEY ARE ON TOP OF EVERY SITUATION.


ONCE THEY ARE ABLE TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE "UNBIASED" YOU WILL BELIEVE ALL THEY SAY. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO QUESTION THEM AND THINK THEY ARE 100% CORRECT.

THE BBC IS A HIGH SPYING BODY AND IT USED FOR PROPAGANDA.

LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE

LOOK AT MUGABE

ONLY 4500 WHITE FARMERS OWN THE LAND IN ZIMBABWE. EVEN IF MUGABE IS A BAD MAN LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED.

WHEN HE DECIDED THAT THE LAND WILL GO TO THE BLACK PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE IS THAT NOT WHEN HIS "BADNESS" CAME OUT?

WHICH MEDIA BROUGHT IT OUT?

LET US LOOK AT WHAT THE CATHOLIC RADIO DID TO RWANDA 800,000 PEOPLE WERE SLAUGHTERED.

4 million people have died because of the war in Congo tell me how it started. Patrice Lumumba was killed and they brought in a man like Mobutu.

They want us to feel that we can't rule ourselves and they were right to colonize. we should give ourselves a chance. If you look back They White people did not colonise immediately they saw us.

If you look at the political structure in Nigeria you see that Some "yoruba" based people Criticised OBJ and as a result We had a government that was less tribal. But this could be used by some people that the Yorubas are incompetent.

EVERY NEWS HAS ITS DUAL NATURE. IT CAN BE A WEAPON OR A HELP.

The news the American posted is GOOD NEWS TO PEOPLE THAT WANT TO STAY IN AMERICA AND WANT TO BE PAID SLAVE WAGES

It is good propaganda news to people that want to invest in Nigeria because it gives them bargaining power to let you feel that your country is not worth investing in.

It is "good news" to the NIGERIAN also because we can see the problem and solve it.

We need to have our own news media that can OBJECTIVE CRITICIZE OUR OWN CITIES AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL HEAR ACT.

THE GOVERNMENT MUST SET UP NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES TO COUNTER THIS WAR IN THE MEDIA.

pure fantasies! the truth is bitter my brother.

Lagos is by far the foulest, smelliest, most litter-strewn, most randomly violent cauldron of sardine-crammed humanity that I have EVER had the misfortune of visiting, and I would be perfectly content if the place simply ceased to exist.

The above article captures the horrifying detail of Lagos with unblinking precision and in excruciating detail. Why some folks claim to be proud of that repulsive fetid slum shall for me remain a perplexing and enduring mystery. Lagos, Nigeria, is the physical location of hell on earth, and those forced to live there can bank on a significantly shortened life expectancy, even by Africa's abysmal standards.

What a way to describe your homeland? Feeling lost wherever you are right now, not yet? Some of us were
like that for a while but have since come around, you can't tell me there is no one single good thing to talk
about Lagos?

I don't mind an outsider writing about my country, but what I am interested in is some balance!

@ Big1

i dont seem to understand what the problem here is
as i was reading that article, my mind gives me a clear picture image of every description by the writer
what are we saying

this is Lagos!

tell me single thing the guy said that is not true?

while i advocate a balanced report on Africa, where both our good sides & bad sides are reflected
i dont frown at reports like this since it is basically the truth.

@jakumo

i have been reading your posts, i should say i have been highly impressed by your smooth flowing English and the way you marshal your points with all sense of maturity. But my man, i must say i am a bit disappointed with your post on this matter. though i do not know your age, but if good English and logical reasoning are the yard sticks to determine ones age i would say you are a matured person. The only question i have for you is that with that your post is it now that you are in oyinbos country you knew that Lagos is as hyper bad as you painted it. Make una sofly sofly other nationals are reading all these things you guys are writing , i am sure many of them will be laughing at our "patriotism".

Can somebody please tell me!! I thought our Nigerian press and some very "patriotic" Nigerians said Ghana has achieved 24 hours non stop power supply, if you are one of those spreading that dubious fallacy, listen to the entry (today) of a Ghanaian lady in one reporters' competition just begun on the BBC (radio). I laughed at the folly of many Nigerians when i heard the way the girl reported the story, she even drilled their country's Minister in charge of that sector in their country and the man confirmed the lady really caught her in a tight conner. Apart from that she interviewed tens of ordinary Ghanaians on the street, there is nothing from their responses that showed there is uninterrupted power supply in Ghana. I know with this revelation the argument will change.

Agreed Lagos is  dirty but is one of the most peaceful cities to live.
Ask Foreigners who live in Lagos how they thrive in abundance.
Nigerians face hell in the streets of major European countries, they face discriminatory and racist abuses. Not in lagos.whatever you say of lagos , you cannot take away its shine. it is still the most secure place to live.

@ Big B1
thumbs up, never mind these people, what have u done 4 Nigeria, have u ever organize people to clean up these places or have u ever bent to pick up a piece of paper, when last did u involve yourself in the monthly environmental sanitation, instead u drive pass these placed and drop litter on the already dirty streets and u sit and type rubbish , may your fingers not twist out of its joints .

yes lagos is all of those things jakumo said and more.

However, it is also the financial nerve center of nigeria. if you are ambitious, you'll just have to close your mind to all those things, hope and pray that each day will not be your last at the hands of any of the following: area boys, policemen, soldiers, armed robbers, KAI, Lastma, Ferma, mobile  policemen, bullion vans, navy/military motorcades,etc.

its a crazy city, but if you can make it in lagos, you can probably make it anywhere. I salute all those lagos workers who do not see the sun rise  or set(how can you, when you have to be out of the house at six to beat the traffic, then leave the office at eight after the hold up?)

as always, if you have enough money, you can insulate yourself from the worst of lagos.

Has anyone noticed the change cabin air (the smell) when a flight is about to land? It gets me Hot and immediately become Nigerian, change into the Naija gear, Shine ur eyes kind of thing. I LOVE NIGERIA Jooo. It is for us to make it better,

You can write anything about Lagos - who cares?

@backslider
i feel you

@evryone
lagos belongs to all of us if we want things to change we all have to do our part ,no amount of critisism internal or external will cause change,leave the white man to his devices they are good at what they do,lets concentrate on our own strenghts,no society is perfect but evry society can be improved upon.

@Big B1
i salute you fro your seemingly genuine patriotism.

Yes. lagos is rough, smelly, overcrowded and quite difficult to live in(lots of destitutes, beggars, crime, uncomfortable public transportation systems etc)
presently BUT should we write it off completely and promote negative images and stories about our land?
We must remain optimistic and help in our little ways to improve our city and image.
Lets not forget, some of its societal and physical structures may just be downright ghetto presently but good things will happen.
Remember it may take years to erect a skyscraper or destroy a clean and functioning city but only a bomb to destroy it i less than an hour(9/11 sounding familiar?)
LAGOS must n will get better

Exactly what, is the writer's interest in lagos?.He should go write something about their war monger president if he is lacking something to do or write.