Hi all,

I am an architecture student and I am currently working on a project based in Lagos. I have never been to Nigeria before and so I'm not very familiar with many things about this project. But following this website for the past couple of weeks has been very helpful. I'm trying to get some information on the city and have some questions for any of you who live in Lagos. I'd be really thankful if you could answer any of them. Thanks!

1. How common is the esusu to everyday people? Are you part of one?
2. When purchasing petrol, do you know if it came from legit source or is part of black market? Do you even care between the difference?
3. If Lagos State was opening a new market to service people who have to travel too far to get to a market, where should it be located?
4. Do you prefer shopping in traditional market or modern facilities such as Palm Mall in Lekki? Why?
5. If you like market, how can shopping in a market be improved?
6. How often do you eat at fast food (Mr. Biggs, Tantalizers, etc.)? How does it compare to home cooking?
7. Do you own a generator? If so, how often do you use it?
8. How often does power go out in the city?
9 How big of a problem is hunger in the city?
10. If there was a system of urban farms in the city, would you purchase food grown there?
11. It seems like Nigeria has much arable land. Why does the country not grow a lot and send food aid to hungry countries in Africa?
12. If current development in Lagos State makes the entire city look like Lagos Island, is this a good thing or bad thing?
13.What team do you support in English Premier League? (just curious)

Many thanks for your time.

So where are you located and what sort of a project is this?

I believe giving some background information will assist in getting appropriate responses.

Hello beauty. thanks for the post. I'm a an architecture graduate student at Columbia University. I'm Korean-American, born and raised in New York. My knowedge of Africa alone is very limited, so this whole semester has been a real learning experience. The project is treating the city of Lagos looking through the lens of Food, Fuel, Finance. I'm in a group of 3 so right so we are looking at Lagos at the city-wide scale. Although what the city needs more than anything is basic infrastructure (please correct me if you think I'm wrong), since I'm not in an urban design program, my group is looking to implement something a little different than a power or transportation infrastructure. (But it is still soemthing we talk about all the time)

In looking at different flows through the city, we've found that the top-down government network doesn't always work, and the informal organizational systems (pseudo governments in specific areas, even the power wielded by area boys to a certain extent) have been created to fill in wherever the government system isn't working propoerly. Sometimes this is good and sometimes this is bad, but the city nevertheless figures out a way to manage. Lagos seems to be in the middle of a process of formalizing everything; when markets are torn down and new ones are built, sure Lagos State can being collecting taxes (a good thing), but too much change can make Lagos look and feel like everwhere else (which may be a bad thing). Or maybe this is a good thing. I don't know. But I'm interested in your opinion.

The direction of my project seems to be going towards food right now. While there are many obstacles, Nigeria has the potential to become a net food exporter. Anything from millet, sorghum, yams to cassava can be grown in the country, and possibly even sold or donated to other countries. And so for lagos State, if food production can occur in the state, a lot of the food that ends up in Lagos could be shipped elsewhere and Lagosians could eat the food grown in the city.

That's the basic approach right now. Any comment would be greatly appreciated. Since there's a load of other stuff we've been looking at (esusu and stanbic ibtc e.susu, nollywood, bunkering of oil in the delta region, party scene in Lagos Island, etc), we're still interested in answers to the previous quetsions, since their still all things we're thinking about. even your favortie team in EPL. We've become as familiar as we can through videos and articles, but we're really missing on the ground information. Sure I've watched a lot made by the BBC, but they have their own agenda in making the videos. And so I thought going directly to the source (Lagosians) might help. Many thanks for any responses. Any comments are invaluable in us making a meangful proposal.

Eko o ni baje
Andrew

Wow, already been a few hours since my last post and no responses. Feedback usually happens much quicker! To all you Lagosians out there, please help a brother out. Any comments would be invaluable in helping me come up with a good proposal.

hey akimate, i believe i can provide all the help you may need cuz am also an Architecture student at the University of Lagos.
Yes, what the city needs most is indeed an upgrade in its current infrastructure as the available is already overstretched due to the large and ever growing population of its inhabitants so yes, its pretty much safe to state authoritatively that the biggest challenge in Lagos is the infrastructure!
Concerning the pseudo government aspect, yes, sometimes it could be an advantage and sometimes it could outright abhorrent (mostly to the lower class citizens and masses who directly bear their excesses) reasons is that the pseudo goverment in the form of 'area boys' and 'agberos' (who both have their areas of specialisation) only have direct contact and wield a minimal level of power at the very micro level, mostly over the roadside traders, and other petty artisans, with their primary objective being tax collection. But then again that kind of arrangement is only
only found in small parts of the Lagos Island (you should also know that lagos is socially and economically subdivided into 2 - Lagos Island and Lagos mainland). i must also state the 'Area boy' phenomenon is daily losing its clout due to public outcry over their excesses and is almost extinct! concerning the 'agberos', well i'ld say they are the informal "government of transportation" over bus operators which is known in local parlance as 'danfo'and is largely controlled and operated by uneducated folks who have little regard for driving ethics and traffic rules and always constitute a nuisance to other road users and as a result, always run into problems with the traffic cops. The agberos collect taxes at bustops and sometimes engage is fisticuffs with defaulters. But like the Area BOys, the agberos are also losing their influence as the Government is massively rolling out a more unified and organised system of transportation called the BRT (BUs Rapid Transportaion) adopted from the indian system
where there are dedicated lanes on the road for the buses only. The idea behind it is to move the citizenry en masse from one location to another as well as encourage people to drop their cars at home and uses this buses instead so as to ease the already congested roads (you need to see a typical lagos traffic to understand the gravity of that problem) as traffic is lighter on those lanes less man-hours are lost due to traffic, plus the buses are safe and convenient, and so far the response by the citizenry has been staggering and thats just putting it mildly, the system was initially planned to do between 60,000 to 100,000 passengers a day but instead does almost 2 million! The government was forced to increase the number of buses and jerk up the fares by
30% but that doesnt seem to have an effect on the response which prompted the government launch another initiative, this time involving a light rail project planned to move even more passengers from one end of the city to the other.

True as you say, The government is indeed trying to formalise a whole lot of things, tearing down old markets and building new ones, relocating destitutes from under the numerous bridges and chasing illegal occupants of public spaces which has been greatly commended and it is a good thing!
Concerning the food aspect, Lagos is already grapling to find enough space to house its populace cuz if you check the map, lagos has one of the smallest land masses compared to other states that make up the federation plus of all the vast array of opportunities available, from banking to commerce to manufacturing, which makes Lagos the commercial capital of the entire NIgeria, i seriously doubt that the average lagosian would settle for farming if at all that kind of arrangement is put in place. But that doesnt mean theres a shortage of food in Lagos. you see Nigeria is politically subdivided into 6 geo-political zones - North east, North west, NOrth central, South east, South west and South South. with each having its own kind of contribution to the economy, the South west is where Lagos is located, THe South east is home to vibrant and fast growing movie industry, the South south which many refer to as the NIger delta is where the crude oil industry is, The north central is where about 80% of the food come from, from maize to millet to vegetables. a large percentage of the yam and cassava we consume is also from the South east and south west (excluding lagos) respectively, and what we get is just about enough to feed the population, and the other zones are something in the model of a parasite (for lack of a better term).

concerning your initial questions, i'ld answer them in the order they were asked.


1 - unfortunately i know very little about esusu. matter o' fact, i know as little as just its name and the fact that its an organic matter. never seen it, never consumed it! even though i have an idea its a food substance but i can tell you its quite popular (or so i think) in the rural areas only in some parts of not only Lagos but Southern NIgeria. But then again i have my doubts that esusu would be an influential topic for your proposal considering the fact that there are far more widely consumed perishables that the esusu. the suya for example would be an amazing topic as it practically cuts across all tribes and social class. even the expart community has joined in the suya craze! i attended a symposium some time ago organised by german outfit in Lagos to showcase Ethiopian Architecture and guests came in from the UK, Germany, United States and all over NIgera. Guess what was served? *wink*
2 - Yes its from a legit source. you dont have to believe everything the CNN or BBC tells you guys out there, their reports are mostly myopic and lack depth not to mention the lack of balance. i can authoritatively tell you that 99% of the fuel Nigerians buy are from a legit sources. and yes theres a world of difference. why would i wanna buy fuel from a illegit source where i wont be sure what kinda fuel is being sold to me.
3 - hmmm technical question considering the fact that the Lagos demographic is a bit on the complex side. but by and large i'ld suggest the market is cited in the most remote area which is ikorodu considering there are just about enough marekts around the city and most people dont really have to travel far to get to the nearest market.
4 - lol it depends on whats on my shopping list and whats of more priority to me between quality and quantity, for example, the price of a basket of tomatos in lekki would be far more expensive at shoprite located in the palms at lekki than it is at mile 12 market. and of course its not everything thats sold at the palms thats also sold at the local markets and vice versa, so it all depends on whats on my shopping list and like i said, whats more of a priority.
5 - infrastructure! like better access roads.most markets are are a horror to access especially for motorists in the event of a heavy downpour, but the Government is working on that as i've noticed and some progress has been achieved in that aspect but theres still some more ground to cover.
6 - i guess the same applies to everywhere around the globe. you dont expect to take a break from work or school and dash home to go cook a meal. but then again, some who are very health conscious do take food to work from home but for me, i'ld rather do the KFCs and sweet sensations but when am home in the evening, its home made meals for me.
7 - well yeah. its mostly used at nights but also during the day on some ocassions, especially when theres a football match or something similar and theres a power cut at the time.
8 - well it kinda varies from one town to the other. but in my town, we get up to 20 hours of power a day on average but like i said it varies in other towns, the could get much less or even more. atimes the domestic power infrastructure in some localities such as transformers and cables could be responsible for poor power supply. like the transformers might not be able to handle the load brought upon it by consumers hence, load-shedding!
9 - well i dont think hnger is a problem as there are food vendors everywhere from the local roadside vendors to the posh restaurants and as little as 70-80 naira, which is the equivalent of 50 cents, you can get a reasonable meal. and to the really broke ones, a 10 naira satchet of 'garri' (a by-product of cassava) and a 10 naira satchet of sugar should do the trick.
10 - sure, why not. the fact that its grown in the city would make it cheaper.
11 - lack of seriousness and fore sight on the part of the Government or maybe the Goverment is just saddled with too much problems to solve for now and relegated that aspect to be addressed later. but some progress are being made as a governor of a state (kwara state) invited some white professional farmers from zimbabwe (am sure you must have heard of the problems there) who were chased out of their farms and settled in kwara to begin mass farming in the state and a lot of progress has been recorded. you might wanna google it with search keys looking like "shonga white zimbabwean farms kwara" for more info on that
12 - well it'll be a good thing and also a bad thing, but i guess its tilted in the favour it being a good thing. reasons being the island is the most developed part of lagos with better infrastructure and is where all the big headquarters of various multinationals are located but then again, its comes with the attendant problem of heavy traffic. but i think i'ld rather have the best infrastructure and cope with the traffic. but thats not to say all parts of the mainland are sh1tty, a good part of the mainland in also as developed as the island. mostly 'ikeja' and some othe towns
13 - lol am a barcelona fan but i've got a bias for chelsea in the EPL.

phew! hope i've been able to help. if you need anymore. you know who to ask! i feel very obliged with a deep sense of responsibilty to help you out in this project being a fellow Architecture student. so dont hesistate to consult me whenever.
oh and while you are at it, you could also check out www.dizining.com - its the fast growing facebook for Architects and Architecture students worldwide


PS- pardon my minor errors and the poor outlining of the write up, i wrote this piece in a hurry.

Hi Snoopy. Holy shizot. I just want to thank you first for your extensive reply because it is so so helpful. I can't even stress it enough. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all and so I will get back to you with some followup, but in the meantime, there are some other things on my mind:

1. future growth of the city. It seems from your comments and things I've come across (rebuilding of road going to Ikorodu bc it floods too easily and moving of Mile 12) that future growth of the city will happen in Ikorodu and areas north of lagos Lagon. But I was wondering what's going on in areas west of the airport because density there seems pretty low and it seems like it could take much more people and activity for growth. Is there any real change that will occur in those areas? and why not?

2. Lagos Island and its mentality? (not the write word, but regardless, ) The way you describe wish of young people to get good-paying jobs in banking, finance, commerce, etc. makes Lagos sound just like New York where people coming out of good schools are really interested in investment banking, hedgefunds, and maybe managment consulting more than anything. But even in NY this is not the common concern, just representative of specific population. I can't help think of Seoul, where there is a huge split between those with money and those without (kids with money go to itnernational schools, or even school abroad, so the cutlture is very different between these 2 groups). I wonder if there is a similar thing in Lagos which may even be more complicated because of the colonial past. So if I ever get to a question here,
a) is the desire to have a hgih profile office job as strong to the everyday person? (I suppose the question is stupid because the answer is obvious, but I hope you can just talk a little more about these things)
b) how is Lagos Island the standard, a symbol of some kind? I ask because most of the hip hop videos seemed to be filmed there and I'm interested also how this positive perception of Lagos Island is reconciled with its past as colonial center of power. Does that stuff even matter anymore for typical Lagosians?

Many thanks.

Oh, one thing mate about the esusu. Esusu is not a food, it's a collective money saving scheme where a group of people pool their money and give it to one person. Next month they pool again and give it to someone else and keep switching off until the rotation is finished (i think, not completely sure). I think it's a traditional yoruba practice, not sure. anyways, just fyi. you must not be yoruba, right?

hey akimate, my pleasure really. I could need similar help someday myself.


1 - I can tell you that growth prospects of Lagos is very high. And the growth will occur not just in ikorodu but on the island as well and also west of the airport as you mentioned (i'ld deal with that seperately when addressing the question concerning that.
Ikorodu is largely a quiet town. And a lot of professionals are increasingly building retirement homes in this part. But i believe not much will happen in ikorodu in terms of industries and the likes because of its remoteness. Plus its close to a dam and theres a problem of flooding whenever theres a heavy downpour and the dam overflows.

The growth in Lagos island (i should mention that Lagos island consists primarily of the CBD, Victoria island, ikoyi, lekki, ajah and epe) is the bigger project called EKO ATLANTIC CITY its a concept where a large parcel of land (cant remember the exact proposed size) is reclaimed from the atlantic ocean just off the coast of the lagos bar beach with towering structures to house business, leisure and entertainment. Its proposed that btw 100 - 200 thousand people will live and work in this new city. Something in the model of the palm islands in dubai. You could check out youtube for some clips and footages on it or google for extensive details. And about the west of the airport, well thats where you have the sleepy border town called badagry. Now this town was the headquarters of slave trade in Nigeria and a hub in west Africa btw the 16th and 17th century. Its inhabitants are largely uneducated, hence not much activity happens there and thats why the population there is less dense but recently, the Government is opening up the place, expanding the highway that leads there from 4 lanes or there about to 10 lanes with a dedicated path for the light rail project to encourage industries to be cited there so as to ease congestion at the center of the city.

(a) i'ld say Yes! Most graduates want to have high profile jobs in offices but then again that'll remain only a pipe dream for many as its not always easy to get one cuz there'ld be many other graduates competing for the same post. But with the right information and the requisite knowledge, one can always be self employed and set-up a small outfit and nuture it. Many lagosians are starting to act along that line cuz in most cases, its not always rosy being a salary earner and even what you earn is not commensurate to the level of work you are assigned.


(b) Well Lagos ìsland is home to about 70% of the biggest night clubs, 80% of cinema houses, 80% of the best shopping centers, 80% of entertainment outfits are located here not to mention the 5 star hotels and posh restaurants. Reasons being that the creme of the lagos population and the highest social class live in this area. A lot of diplomatic missions are also located here and the expart community also has most of its presence there. And it has more to do with the fact that Lagos was the former capital city of Nigeria before it was moved to abuja in 1991 and the island housed the various ministries and parastatals as well as the goverment house. So the development there is a legacy of it being the former seat of power and not cuz it was a base for the colonial masters. Even though the development started during that time.

Helpful? Need more? I'ld be glad to help.

lol well i did say i knew very little about what esusu is. Not very conversant with happenings in the rural circuits. I dont think its a traditional practice cuz if it is, i would have known its likely its a community initiative cuz am aware of similar practices. Thanks for the headsup though and i am a yoruba dude lol

Hey Snoopy. You are Yoruba! Ha. I guess the esusu is not as common as I thought it was. Good to know. Of course if you ever need any assistance, holler. I'm actually interested in what work you're doing. Do you have a studio? And if so what type of project are you working on? Do architecture students over not sleep as well? Some more quick questions on Lagos:

1) how much of the BRT and Light rail systems have been completed so far, and under fashola, do you expect it to be finished soon?
2) is there anywhere I can find a vector map of the city? gis info is lacking for me.
3) Eko Atlantic was one of the first things I checked out. Was crazy to see the amount of devt going on there. I heard the dredging of sea is currently going on. You think the project will actually happen? And what about the Lekki SEZ. Will that happen as well?
4) Do you expect the the 1-3 story buildings on Mainland to soon be replaced by more large scale devt? In other words, Will Mushin soon look like Lagos Island? And if so, is this a good thing? Is there anything about the Lagos of old to preserve?

Thanks man.

yep! the esusu is not as common as far as i know. and of course theres a studio, where else will the designs be done lol. yeah am currently working on a structural design currently. am saddled with roofing a complex space with irregular bevels and curves of about 60,000 square metres without beams and columns, hahaha of course we hardly sleep as well here, its the same for all Architecture students worldwide and if at all we are going to have anything close to sleep, it'll only be a quick nap right there in the studio. i 've listened to all my 3gb worth of music files on my ipod back to back within the space of a week. atimes i carry large bags in my eyes during the day due to sleepless nights, but theres fun in all the hardwork though.


1) The success of the BRT in the initial routes it was designated encouraged the Government to introduce it in other routes and more people are embracing the initiative. The plan of the Government is to naturally phase out the rickety 'danfo' and 'molue' buses i talked about previously as less people are patronising them because of the better services and fixed fares of the BRT. The entire State is about 60% covered by the BRT system and yes i expect it to be completed under fashola. We'll be having our general elections next year where executive public office holders would be elected into a four year term, and with the success fashola has recorded in the state within his 4 year term, its almost certain he'ld be re-elected and when that happens, if he could cover 60% of lagos with the BRT within 4 years i dont see why the whole state cant be covered within another 4 years provided no unforseen circumstances. reagarding the light rail, well you should understand that its a capital intensive project and it might not be completed before fasholas term ends but the modalities and the initial bureaucracy would have been over with and something concrete is expected to have been on ground by then.

2) hmmm unfortunately i've been serching for one myself and yet to find, i actually found one on a torrent site but the seeders are hardly online and so the download had been stalling, but am still searching though and hope i find one soon.

3) yes the dredging is at an advanced stage and i hear sale of plots at the reclaimed land are already up for sale, saw a couple ads in some newspaper publications. and yes! it will happen. The project is already at an advanced stage with a lot of money put into it for it to be abandoned anyway. and if you are familiar with CNN international news channel, you must have seen the eko atlantic ads that runs often there, that also shows the seriousness behind the project. about the lekki SEZ, do you mean the lekki FTZ as in LEKKI FREE TRADE ZONE? If thats what you intended, then yes! i see that happening as well though work hasnt progressed much like the eko atlantic (i guess its a case of which is more of a priority) but yeah going by the master plan of the lekki area, the FTZ is clearly outlined there and i dont think Government will make the same mistake and distort that a second time. it might take a while but i see the FTZ becoming a reality

4) nah! i dont think so, at least not in the next 5 years, that decision is up to the owners of the properties there. but then again there is that possibility and that possibilty depends on how fast the economy grows along with the real estate sector and of course it'll be a good thing. And i dont think theres much to preserve about the old Lagos cuz the old Lagos was characterised by many negatives from filth and poor sanitation (Lagos used to be the dirtiest city in the world some 10 years back) to rowdiness to crime to unruly behaviour but thanks to the new Government, the orientation has changed to a large extent and a high level of progress has been made so to be plain, theres not much if at all theres any to preserve from the old Lagos

alright snoopy, so things are taking a little turn for me here. We were originally in a group of 3 and we're splitting up and working on different projects that we still want to keep related as a network of projects in the city. 1 of the projects has to do with finance and it will be on Lagos Island. The other is a system of small-scale urban farming and markets based along the railroad tracks. As for mine, not really sure yet, but it will be related to infrastructure, but not necessarily physical infrastructure of roads, tracks, concrete, etc. I'm looking at waste now and seeing how I can come up with some system of waste removal that uses the people as a type of infrastructure as well. Despite many examples of the people as a problem, the Environmental Day is a great example of how the people can become a resource. So I'm interested in this idea and somehow combining it with 1) tradtional notions of waste removal at urban scale and 2) the high amount of sustainability that seems to occur at the dumps--the stuff of creative intelligence that archtiects (including Rem Koolhaas) looked at years ago. But there seems to be a pseudo community/goverment going on at these sites and they seem to embody the very codes of behoviour and negotiating that characterizes the rest of the city. As Lagos modernizes, the treatment of the waste will be a big issue (it already is of course), but a question becomes will it take a similar attitude like in the USA (New yorkers generate so much trash and we have no idea where it goes. I mean we recycle, but that just means we throw different types of trash in different containers, but we have no idea what happens to it after its taken from in front of our building. And it's America so we don't typically care about those things. (Yes, it's so wrong).
So I don't know what all this means, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts, and if you could tell me a little about waste in the city. I'm looking into LAWMA and sure there are the BBC videos on waste from Mile 12 and such, but any suggestions would be a great help.

One more question. Can you give me a sense of what's going on at the bus stations? I just see this collection of people but I'm wondering if there are kiosks or even vendors hanging out around there trying to sell things. Do cab drivers wait around there trying to get a fare, do people socialize? etc.

many thanks

Snoopy: "esusu" is the same as AJO in Yoruba (and I think it is probably called "susu". Maybe the e.susu version maybe a marketing variation (as in eCommerce).

Yes, Ajo (or susu) is based on trust and relationship. With banking deregulation in Nigeria (more banks, more branches, more financial offerings etc) and coupled with decay in societal norms, ajo (susu) may not be as big as what it was, but still very much active and still play an important role among many people that don't have assets for collateral loans. The proceeds from ajo/susu typically serves as seed money for capital projects.

Interestingly, many Nigerians and Caribbeans here in NY/NJ area are actively involved in many susu clubs.

Esusu is a kind of informal savings where group of people save money and kept with somebody they really trust,it could be daily,weekly or monthly.
It is also called AJO in yoruba terms( Yoruba language is spoken in Southwestern Nigeria).
A group of 10 persons can come together to be contributing a fix sum every month,so logically the esusu wil last for 10 months in which each person will be collecting the total contribution each month until it reaches the last person.

However they can choose to start another round of esusu and more people can be invited,some might also back out depending on the person's plan.
If you have further questions,you can ask and if I can think of any other contributions, I will surely add up.

jerseyguy:

Snoopy: "esusu" is the same as AJO in Yoruba (and I think it is probably called "susu". Maybe the e.susu version maybe a marketing variation (as in eCommerce).

Yes, Ajo (or susu) is based on trust and relationship. With banking deregulation in Nigeria (more banks, more branches, more financial offerings etc) and coupled with decay in societal norms, ajo (susu) may not be as big as what it was, but still very much active and still play an important role among many people that don't have assets for collateral loans. The proceeds from ajo/susu typically serves as seed money for capital projects.

Interestingly, many Nigerians and Caribbeans here in NY/NJ area are actively involved in many susu clubs.

thanks. i know about AJO but never knew it was also the same as esusu the poster was refering to, but still, its not that common as far as i know but hey maybe its me whose not just responsive to what happens around me

akimate:

Wow, already been a few hours since my last post and no responses. Feedback usually happens much quicker! To all you Lagosians out there, please help a brother out. Any comments would be invaluable in helping me come up with a good proposal.

LOL, this chinaman already thinks he's a black African, or to be precise a naija man.

^^^ Do you know the difference between Korea (both North and South) and China or a Korean and a Chinese (aka chinaman)?
I see nothing wrong with the poster addressing himself as a "brother" when seeking advice/info in a friendly way.
Geez, stop writing nonsense if you don't have anything to contribute!

To: Akimate and Snoopy
I know nothing about architecture but I simply enjoyed reading this thread. Please keep the dialog going!

@snoopy and korean dude pls come bk and continue ur gist, am learning alot. And to korean dude, u cld try pasting this link on other nairaland post to solicit advice!

hey akimate. You must have noticed i hadnt replyed your last post. I actually posted the reply same day i posted the one before this, but for some strange reason, the post disappears after a couple mins. And kept resending and i guess the spambot thought i was spamming and pulled the plug on me. Now that my posting privileges have been restored, i'ld post the reply again first thing monday cuz am currently using my blackberry to post this
@ electronic and raintree. I didnt bolt away o. Its nairaland bugs that did me strong thing.

Welcome back, sir! (Shieldtox >>>>> kill the NL bugs. )

Calling Akimate, where art thou? The 2nd half of the game is about to begin.

woh, haven't checked in in a couple of days, but I'm loving the activity. appreciate all the posts, many thanks!

To SNOOPY, no worries about the reposts. I hate when that happens, when you finish writing a long string of text and you lose it. So frustrating. You've been real helpful so far and thanks for that. I had a 3/4 review last week, so I can finally get some sleep lately.

To my man ABRANTIE, I don't know what all this talk about Chinamen is about, but Im American. I believe the expression helping a brother out was started by MY people here in the US, maybe you should do well to come up with your own.

TO the rest of you. Appreciate the love. keep it up!

Just to update all of you on my project, it's now on waste and recycling collection and transportation. I'm using the BRT and will design the stations. And then I'll design a recycling center, I suppose. Not sure yet, but only a couple of weeks left until my review. Essentially, I'm using the undercarriage of the BRT buses to transport recycleables. Some of the BRT stops will be turned into larger stations that collect and store the recyclables before they're put onto a bus. The people are the ones bringing the recycles and they get a free fare or maybe even get to go to front of the line for bringing a certain amount of recycleables. ANd then the bus transports bot hte people and recycleable along the route on Ikorodu Road. One stop on the route near the Military Hospital (are you familiar with this place? Is it used by the people? It's where Ikorodu Road almost meets the Rail line) is the site for the recycling and composting facility. So the bus will drop off all the stuff at that busstop and continue along its way to Lagos Island.

Any comments by Snoopy and others would be appreciated. And also, as usual, here are some questions for all of you:

1) How do you transfer to another line on the BRT. For example, if I'm going down Ikorodu Road and I want to transfer to another bus that goes East along Apapa Oworonshoki Road, how do I do the transfer? Do I have to walk to another bus stop? Or do both lines come to the same bustoop? And what about the fare? Do I have to pay another full fare?

2) Does LAWMA come to your house to pick up your waste? If so, how often does the truck come? If not, how do you throw out your waste from home?

3) DO you recycle? Paper, plastic, metal, etc.?


And to RAINTREE, I'm back for second half, maybe it's just stoppage time, but I'm back. Gutted that my Arsenal lst to Tottenham last week, but back nonetheless. Not sure where I should link this to in the forum. Any suggestions?

hey akimate

i see you have settled for waste and recycling collection and transportation. hmmm the idea of a people oriented waste disposal, in as much as it sounds great, i have my reservations, basically because it'll be difficult to get people to bring along their waste when leaving their respective homes in their suits and other corporate gears plus, a lot of people have to first of all board a motorbike before getting to the bus stops and it'll look kinda awkward carrying waste bags on a motorbike not to even talk of the stains it could put on ones clothes. Going by the psyche of Most Lagosians, i dont think such initiative would be embraced much and that itself could defeat the objective. But other means of getting the trash to the stops can be arranged, for instance, the local cart pushers (that have been banned because of their habit of indiscriminately dumping refuse in public places) could be reinstated and tasked with getting the waste from peoples homes to the stops and even with that, jobs could be created. one question, do you intend to incorporate the waste disposal system into the existing design of the BRT stops or you are gonna design new stations (which i advice). Anyhow you go about it, there could be a problem of space cuz the BRT route is on the main highway and not on the service lanes but thats where the ingenuity of the Architect comes to play. (I assume you mus have seen photos of the BRT stop) Unfortunately, am not familar with any military hospital along the ikorodu road axis.

Questions
1)Yes you have to walk to another bus stop as they are not on the same route and you have to pay another full fare.
2) YES! LAWMA has franchised the part of collecting the waste to private operators for efficiency and only restricted its operations to managing the cleanliness of the streets and various parks, and the operators have pasted notices on customers' gates on what days of the week they'ld stop by to take their trash and enjoins such customers to put their trash at designated points for ease of collecting.
3)nah! and i cant tell most people around here dont, they couldnt care what happens to their waste not to talk of what good they can get from it.

So good to see both of you back in action. Allow me to sit back and get FOC tutorials!
BTW, I'm a Malaysian and have yet to step foot on Lagos soil. Sorry Akimate, I can't contribute much except to read and nod whenever Snoopy replies you. This guy knows what he is talking about.

Let me be blunt with you, are you sure your intended project on waste and recycling collection and transportation is currently feasible in Lagos via the BRT line? In theory yes but in practice, hmmm, provided the link between the residences and the BRT collection stops is filled by some other carriers such as cart pushers/bikers/truck drivers but definitely not by individuals.

How many of us will personally carry a bag of recycled junk to the designated BRT stop? The farthest we go is the garbage dump closest to our homes. (A layman talking here!)

As regards linking this thread to other section, can't give you any suggestions, bro, I'm not a very active forumite myself. Any idea, peeps?