The New Yorker Magazine Article On Lagos

majority of the contributors on this thread beleive that Lagos is dirty when compared to most cities of cognate status in the world, but the annoyance of some of us is that we do not need any foreigner, (who do not see anything good in us anyway) to tell us that. There is a way you will tell somebody the truth about anything bad in him/her that he/she will take it in good faith. have newspapers in Nigeria not published worse stories about the same problem? and when a supposed Nigerian or Nigerians begin to condemn anything Nigerian the way quite a few have done on this thread and on some other threads relating to Nigeria, you should suspect that something is wrong some where and that is why i reacted the way i did in my own case, and i am ready to take on anybody that belongs to that group.

I have followed this post with a lot of interest. I have lived in Lagos, Europe and now Abuja. Actually I was in Lagos over the weekend. While I agree that Lagos is filthy, it sure felt good to be there because Abuja is too much like the west. I looooooveeeee the heart beat of lagos. Lagos has a pulse. You fill it immediately you step into the airport. The people are hard working and vibrant. In Lagos you feel alive. Pity the journalist did not notice that. Although thats understandable considering his whole trip was to the third mainland bridge.
LAGOS ROCKS!!!

All of una no well at all. I always say this about nairalanders, na over-sabi all of una be.

Just a couple of days ago, this white bloke ( a friend to my principal partner) came into my office and they were chatting away excitedly. I was in the next office and I could only overhear their conversations whenever they get to the highpitched laughters, exclamations etc, but I kept on hearing Lagos, Lagos, Lagos.

After he left, fearing maybe this visitor had been another victim of our naija brothers(,  you know what I mean, ), I was pleasantly surprised to hear my principal partner say that the guy has just got a job {a fat paying one (even paid in Pounds Sterling)} in Lagos and he is so excited and happy he is relocating to Lagos.

What am I saying?

You Nairalanders log on to this forum, raise issues about youselves, your country and your leaders, insult each other's papa, never give concrete solutions and then log off.

You are all saying Lagos is bad, Lagos is bad, foreigners are coming and enjoying themselves and making it. If you know something is bad, then make efforts to correct it in your own little way, even if it is insignificant. Not writting unneccessary big vocabulary on Nairaland!!!!! Shuo!

My observations

100% of posters contributed to this thread live/ visit Lagos at one time or the other.
93% currently lives outside Lagos
80%  live in Europe/ USA
100% agree the city look bad

Question?

How do we solve the "smelling" problem?
Can / should we as a forum member, make an official complain to the government?


rather than focus on the report of our beloved city, where do we go from here?

I have read with great interest the threads on this topic. I would not normally drop a line but this is one topic too good to miss.

To the die-hard Lagos patriots, I say good luck to you but I seriously worry that with this type of views, Lagos will not be very much different in 236 years. Every successful society in the world today has succeeded through criticism,harsh or gentle. A society that can't criticise itself will never succeed. You don't need specsavers to see that there are serious environmental and social issues that needs to be immediately addressed if the population of Lagos is to survive. Our young people rather than blindly defending the status quo, should be ready for a radical psychological and social change of attitudes. The world is moving too fast and we can't afford to continue thinking in this "Zombie" ways. Calcutta,Bronx,suburbs of Paris, Peckham and co may be the eyesore of some developing/developed countries but with the exception of India(too many people), these cities are located in Countries that have the resources and mentality to deal with these problems ( A careful observation of these places will also reveal that they are populated by a high number of unskilled locals and immigrants which in itself has its problems, but why we should even think of comparing Ikoyi, Festac and co to these places beat me. These are areas populated by the middle class hence no excuse for the squalor which is the case).

And to those saying the critics are those Lagosians who have not succeeded in diaspora, I think you should get a reality check. I think it takes guts for people to say NO to a life of filth,oppression and insecurity and try their luck somewhere else. When I see the middle class Nigerian looking lady at Waterloo station sweeping coaches, I look at her with respect as I know what she is feeling. Betrayal by her people and her nation!

We all need to wake up and realise that the world is moving at an incredible pace and take advantage of the availability of information and ideas to make our society cleaner, healthier and a better place to make a living (and I'm not talking about yahoo boys or working in a dumb bank).










CityBoy is a Nigerian born and bred  blogger who works in the City of London

Which Bridge are your referring to?

I love my country dearly ,  but man, as much as you might hate to admit it, that article is dead-on accurate. I doubt I've seen a more artful depiction of what a trip along MB3 is like.