State of example
By Sam Omatseye

No Nigerian city or place concentrates the minds of its citizens more than the city of Lagos. Like London or New York, Lagos is the most beloved and reviled by Nigerians. It is seen, in the words of poet and former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, as the beautiful and damned.

It is the brook of hope and the harmattan of despair. It hoists the nation’s blue-blood – the breed of plutocrats manifesting a feathery excess of the rich, extravagant, pompous, vain - with the best of sartorial profanity and architectural splendour. These boasts lie across the humblest of the world - the teeming poor, sweaty with hope but abiding in despair, bundles of vitality, boisterous with cheer and pain.

In between are coddled its most resourceful beings - toiling, thinking and unthinking, striving, subversive and accommodating, fierce and fearless, innovating, multiplying the hopes of geniuses, looking both to heaven and earth simultaneously. They abide in the reflected glory of the plutocrats and the seedy gloom of the poor. They live in the delicate line of misery between the rich and poor. They are sometimes mischievously called the middle class but reject all appellations: the subversive hate such pigeon-holing.

Yet, when you cut through all these chaos, you note that Lagos is Nigeria’s ultimate rhythm, its quintessential city, its residents Nigeria’s quintessential people. It is our indispensable place. In terms of hard work, no place encases that ethic. Nothing tells the story of development more than this city.

But for me, it is Nigeria’s place of hope. Its history alone tells its theme. It battled from its founding with the idea that it can never be a monolith, held by a family, dominated by monarch or even enthralled by an invader. Hence, it is the best place where progress is an ethic today.

Remember the story of the Bini kingdom and how it took over the place, but not for long. The city became its own, cosmopolitan, vibrant, fierce like a melting pot.

While the Edo met the Awori - the Youbas there - it never became a Bini town, but a town for all who could strive and gain. When Akintoye was ousted as king, by slave trader Kosoko, the wrong subversive fell by the logic of history to the rightful owner.

Lagos has thus with a small population absorbed the largest gathering of black people in any one place on earth. Thanks to its fairness and the Yorubas who are the best in accommodating strangers anywhere in Nigeria, every people, every faith, every ideological tendency feels a sense of belonging here more than anywhere in the country.

No surprise it has always insisted on the best at its helm. Johnson, Jakande, Marwa, Tinubu, Fashola are examples of the best of breeds. Anytime undistinguished ones were in charge, like Rasaki, Akhigbe, Oyinlola, etc, Lagos sagged. When Lagos sagged, the rest of the country sagged.

Today, Lagos is a state of example, showing the path to the others in all parameters. In an age of oil, it is the richest without a single drop of black gold. Without a farm, it is the biggest agricultural market. Without many raw materials, it is the industrial mecca. It hosts the best actors, musicians, technocrats, students. It is the city of the breast milk, where others must suckle or faint.

That was my sense when I attended the Lagos Economic Summit recently, where Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola reeled out indices and the way forward for Lagos. Lagos has become the city of example. Other governors have looked and want to show similar flair in their places.

But Lagos has shown one important thing about the capacity to develop in Nigeria. We can make money where it seems the sea is dry. Lagos in the military era thought it was impossible to make more than N600 million a month in internally generated revenue (IGR), thus dooming the state to a snail of progress. Between 1999 and the end of Tinubu tenure it rose to about N9 billion and under Fashola to about N15 billion. This is the show of prowess in governance. Other governors today concede in public that Fashola is the first among equals. Some other states like Edo, Ekiti, Rivers, Sokoto and Osun are doing a good job of boosting their IGRs, which is a good sign. State of Osun Governor Aregbesola recently announced how, through ingenuity, he has turned the state from red to black in less than two years with over N30 billion for development.

Lagos is attracting more people here than anywhere, including Abuja. The burden on infrastructure, schools, housing and environment is enormous, and that means that one governor is carrying the burdens of others.

Hence, it is necessary to see the challenges of Lagos as those of Nigerians. If Lagos, first under Tinubu and now under Fashola, did not up its revenue and show doggedness in vision and development, Lagos would have worsened in many areas: environment with the mountain of refuse, infrastructure stifling the majority, hunger on a high scale, and the many homeless.

Its allocation cannot pay its wage bills, so Lagos would have been like many states that cannot afford its minimum wage burden. The doctors have the temerity of strike for quite the reason that Lagos is a rich state as though the state resources are for them alone.

Like President Bush Snr. called for a special status for China, whose evidence we see today, so too do I call for a special status for Lagos in the federation. It is Nigeria’s indispensable city. It has been the nation’s lightening rod, taking the burdens of others.

Lagos does not develop only for itself but for Nigeria. That is the logic of New York as well as London. Lagos ought to develop with a lot more federal money so it can build into a powerful business and infrastructure hub. It can be like our New York and London with enormous influence on the surrounding states up to Kwara State. When a senator, now vice president, Joe Biden travelled in a train from Delaware to Washington daily. A scenario like that will ease the traffic in Lagos, expand businesses and real estate potential in states like Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, Kogi, Ekiti, Ondo and Edo. A friend once said that on a clear road, he can reach Benin city in less than four hours. We need an infrastructure state of being as policy. Lagos has begun this. Infrastructure is a development. It is about innovation and promise.

Fashola is constructing a number of such roads and has done quite a few of them. But it takes money and collaboration to do this. During Obasanjo’s tenure, Tinubu developed the idea of a train from Lagos to Abuja, and that could take commuters a couple of hours. But it was scuttled. Obasanjo resisted and almost scuttled the IPP, which has become a song today though rendered like a dirge.

Lagos is the state of example. From New York, many surrounding states, including New Jersey, derive their prosperity. Ditto London. We need that today for Lagos. We have seen Governor Rotimi Amaechi do quite an outstanding job with infrastructure, education and environment, and he has unveiled the vision of a greater Port Harcourt to ease the burden of the city. Soyinka recently praised Godswill Akpabio’s work in education, but the Akwa Ibom Governor has received plaudits too for outstanding infrastructure work.

We cannot downplay the influence of Lagos and we must not let it slide to London of the era of poet William Blake when he saw only “marks of weakness, marks of woe… in every voice, in every ban/mind-forged manacles I hear.”

Lagosians say “Eko oni baje” meaning “Lagos will not rot.” Fashola is seeing to that. But the progress of Lagos is all Nigeria’s.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/columnist/monday/sam-omatseye/45733-state-of-example.html

Quite fantastic to read and I give it to the Nigerian hosts of the South West: they're pretty damned good! I hope Nigeria can prize Lagos as an asset, draw inspiration and ideas from its progress, leadership and importantly, its hospitality towards everyone from the North, East, South of Nigeria and indeed from everyone around the world!

To ye Nigerians from everywhere: Pray for the peace of Lagos (Nigeria's Jerusalem): they shall prosper that love thee. In the words of the ebullient poets of Lagos: Eko o ni ba' je o (Hope I spelled that right!?)

I am not a Lagosian but I have to say that Omatseye is right!
Lagos, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom are among the very few states I'm proud of. That's why I kinda get pissed off when people try to stir up controversy or try to destabilize the state.

. . . And yes, Yorubas are VERY ACCOMMODATING! An attestment to this is Oduduwa (a Bini man), when he arrived at Ile-Ife (land of LOVE), present day Osun state to become the Father of the Yoruba race up to present day Togo (Ana, Popo and Ewe people). Although, the present day Lagos comprises mostly of non-indigenes (including other Yorubas from neighbouring states), it must be said that the indigenes (Ijebu, Egba, Awori and Eguns) should be respected AT ALL COST! It is not easy to give up your ancestral land to strangers.

Another positive effect of this accommodating nature can be seen in the status of Lagos. Even though Calabar and Abuja were the capitals of Nigeria before and after Lagos, respectively, Lagos still remains a magnet to people. Even the UK prime minister (David) visited Lagos not Abuja.

God bless Lagos state, God bless EVERYONE and ETHNIC group in Lagos state. The state will not be what it is today if not for the Yorubas and other ethnic groups.

jason123: I am not a Lagosian but I have to say that Omatseye is right!
Lagos, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom are among the very few states I'm proud of. That's why I kinda get pissed off when people try to stir up controversy or try to destabilize the state.

. . . And yes, Yorubas are VERY ACCOMMODATING! An attestment to this is Oduduwa (a Bini man), when he arrived at Ile-Ife (land of LOVE), present day Osun state to become the Father of the Yoruba race up to present day Togo (Ana, Popo and Ewe people). Although, the present day Lagos comprises mostly of non-indigenes (including other Yorubas from neighbouring states), it must be said that the indigenes (Ijebu, Egba, Awori and Eguns) should be respected AT ALL COST! It is not easy to give up your ancestral land to strangers.

Another positive effect of this accommodating nature can be seen in the status of Lagos. Even though Calabar and Abuja were the capitals of Nigeria before and after Lagos, respectively, Lagos still remains a magnet to people. Even the UK prime minister (David) visited Lagos not Abuja.

God bless Lagos state, God bless EVERYONE and ETHNIC group in Lagos state. The state will not be what it is today if not for the Yorubas and other ethnic groups.

When are you going to stop this bs about Oduduwa being Ibini??

Stop disrespecting the Yoruba race!

jason123: I am not a Lagosian but I have to say that Omatseye is right!
Lagos, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom are among the very few states I'm proud of. That's why I kinda get pissed off when people try to stir up controversy or try to destabilize the state.

. . . And yes, Yorubas are VERY ACCOMMODATING! An attestment to this is Oduduwa (a Bini man), when he arrived at Ile-Ife (land of LOVE), present day Osun state to become the Father of the Yoruba race up to present day Togo (Ana, Popo and Ewe people). Although, the present day Lagos comprises mostly of non-indigenes (including other Yorubas from neighbouring states), it must be said that the indigenes (Ijebu, Egba, Awori and Eguns) should be respected AT ALL COST! It is not easy to give up your ancestral land to strangers.

Another positive effect of this accommodating nature can be seen in the status of Lagos. Even though Calabar and Abuja were the capitals of Nigeria before and after Lagos, respectively, Lagos still remains a magnet to people. Even the UK prime minister (David) visited Lagos not Abuja.

God bless Lagos state, God bless EVERYONE and ETHNIC group in Lagos state. The state will not be what it is today if not for the Yorubas and other ethnic groups.

Jason, I advise you do not inject controversy or derailment into what should be a good topic of discussion for us to show some gratitude and camaraderie with Lagos. Oduduwa is completely Yoruba from what I have read but feel free to start a different topic about it in ANOTHER thread if you are so inclined.

Still; God bless Lagos state, the Yoruba indigenes and Lagosians in general!

Yorubas Are The Best

Agreed.

Btw somehow "Yorubas" as a word feels weird to me.

I feel like the plural is "Yoruba."

1. He is Yoruba.
2. "They are Yoruba", not "They are Yorubas."

Thoughts?

jason123: I am not a Lagosian but I have to say that Omatseye is right!
Lagos, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom are among the very few states I'm proud of. That's why I kinda get pissed off when people try to stir up controversy or try to destabilize the state.

. . . And yes, Yorubas are VERY ACCOMMODATING! An attestment to this is Oduduwa (a Bini man), when he arrived at Ile-Ife (land of LOVE), present day Osun state to become the Father of the Yoruba race up to present day Togo (Ana, Popo and Ewe people). Although, the present day Lagos comprises mostly of non-indigenes (including other Yorubas from neighbouring states), it must be said that the indigenes (Ijebu, Egba, Awori and Eguns) should be respected AT ALL COST! It is not easy to give up your ancestral land to strangers.

Another positive effect of this accommodating nature can be seen in the status of Lagos. Even though Calabar and Abuja were the capitals of Nigeria before and after Lagos, respectively, Lagos still remains a magnet to people. Even the UK prime minister (David) visited Lagos not Abuja.

God bless Lagos state, God bless EVERYONE and ETHNIC group in Lagos state. The state will not be what it is today if not for the Yorubas and other ethnic groups.

Ile-ife means land of expansion not land of love

@jason123, you have actually said a lot of good things, but please do not say it again, Oduduwa was not and will never be a bini person! and where did you get your interpretation of Ile-Ife?

Very true. Tell someone outside that you're from Nigeria and they ask if you're from Lagos.

[size=18pt]Igbo are the best strangers/visitors in Nigeria and the World at large.[/size]

They live peacefully with their host community.
They are very industrious, thus they develop their hosts' community.
They learn the language of their host communities so as to adapt.
They do not discriminate against their host communities; thus, they marry their daughters and sons as well.
They stay for eleven months at their host community and spend only one month at their traditional home, during a twelve calendar month year.
They take the culture of their host communities to their traditional communities.

These are just few reasons why Igbo are the best visitors/strangers, kindly add yours to the list.

[size=18pt]No wonder Lagos is populated with Igbo and the people of Igala are ready to welcome Igbo to invest in their community.[/size]

Lolest@best strangers.I actually hate being a stranger.

Oya omatseye go collect your salary from your oga, Tinubu. oops I just learnt I landed into the fools paradise on nairaland. Let me get out of here.

^
Not again! Why must you always do this?

@ POST
Even my dog knows that we are very accommodating, but the gentility of the tiger shouldn't be define as simplicity. We are watching those trying to bring us down by all means.

saintneo: [s][size=18pt]Igbo are the best strangers/visitors in Nigeria and the World at large.[/size]

They live peacefully with their host community.
They are very industrious, thus they develop their hosts' community.
They learn the language of their host communities so as to adapt.
They do not discriminate against their host communities; thus, they marry their daughters and sons as well.
They stay for eleven months at their host community and spend only one month at their traditional home, during a twelve calendar month year.
They take the culture of their host communities to their traditional communities.

These are just few reasons why Igbo are the best visitors/strangers, kindly add yours to the list.

[size=18pt]No wonder Lagos is populated with Igbo and the people of Igala are ready to welcome Igbo to invest in their community.[/size][/s]

Will you take away this nonsense away from here or do you think we are talking about the best in armed robbery and kidnapping ni ? Ode

@topic

Sam is just asserting what has been known to the whole world.IF YORUBAS WERE HAUSAS,THEY WOULD HAVE BOMBED THE HELL OUT OF THOSE STRANGERS ON THEIR LAND.we are indeed God's own people and I'm so proud to be a YORUBA.We are not arrogant,we are just better than you.

show u the proof of accomodation in yoruba states of osun , ondo , ekiti and ogun. outside lagos that is federal capital .

I totally agree with the views of Mr. sam O. Thats 110 percent correct!!!! I have and continue to repeat the Yorubas are the best in Nigeria.With there neutral,understanding and all embracing attitude.In short they remind us what tolerance,nationalism and unity looks like without doubt.
thumbs up for the Yorubas!!!!

haka_nai: I totally agree with the views of Mr. sam O. It's a 110 percent correct!!!! I have and continue to repeat the Yorubas are the best in Nigeria.With there neutral,understanding and all embracing attitude.In short they remind us what tolerance,nationalism and unity looks like without doubt.
thumbs up for the Yorubas!!!!

OMG. . . . .yeeeeeee I'm blushing. thank you sir for the remarks.

bashr8: show u the proof of accomodation in yoruba states of osun , ondo , ekiti and ogun. outside lagos that is federal capital .

About Ondo, they allowed the Apoi and Arogbos to settle there.
Ogun, even Dangote does his business there. Also the real estate in Ogun is growing RAPIDLY!

haka_nai: I totally agree with the views of Mr. sam O. It's a 110 percent correct!!!! I have and continue to repeat the Yorubas are the best in Nigeria.With there neutral,understanding and all embracing attitude.In short they remind us what tolerance,nationalism and unity looks like without doubt.
thumbs up for the Yorubas!!!!

Its so obvious! Any neutral person will make the same comment!

saintneo: Igbo are the best strangers/visitors in Nigeria and the World at large.

They live peacefully with their host community.
They are very industrious, thus they develop their hosts' community.
They learn the language of their host communities so as to adapt.
They do not discriminate against their host communities; thus, they marry their daughters and sons as well.
They stay for eleven months at their host community and spend only one month at their traditional home, during a twelve calendar month year.
They take the culture of their host communities to their traditional communities.

These are just few reasons why Igbo are the best visitors/strangers, kindly add yours to the list.

No wonder Lagos is populated with Igbo and the people of Igala are ready to welcome Igbo to invest in their community.

I agree. Only the Igbos will drop their language to adopt the host's language! Nice one Ndigbo!

The cosmopolitan energy of lagos is simply unique in Nigeria.

Today, Lagos is a state of example, showing the path to the others in all parameters. In an age of oil, it is the richest without a single drop of black gold. Without a farm, it is the biggest agricultural market. Without many raw materials, it is the industrial mecca. It hosts the best actors, musicians, technocrats, students. It is the city of the bosom milk, where others must suckle or faint.

That was my sense when I attended the Lagos Economic Summit recently, where Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola reeled out indices and the way forward for Lagos. Lagos has become the city of example. Other governors have looked and want to show similar flair in their places.

But Lagos has shown one important thing about the capacity to develop in Nigeria. We can make money where it seems the sea is dry. Lagos in the military era thought it was impossible to make more than N600 million a month in internally generated revenue (IGR), thus dooming the state to a snail of progress. Between 1999 and the end of Tinubu tenure it rose to about N9 billion and under Fashola to about N15 billion. This is the show of prowess in governance. Other governors today concede in public that Fashola is the first among equals. Some other states like Edo, Ekiti, Rivers, Sokoto and Osun are doing a good job of boosting their IGRs, which is a good sign. State of Osun Governor Aregbesola recently announced how, through ingenuity, he has turned the state from red to black in less than two years with over N30 billion for development.

Lagos is attracting more people here than anywhere, including Abuja. The burden on infrastructure, schools, housing and environment is enormous, and that means that one governor is carrying the burdens of others.

Honestly, Yoruba worldview and philosophy is simply amazing. Yorubas see life in a very simple way and just try to enjoy it as much as possible without creating divisions and making a fuss about everything. That's why we don't have caste system like Osu in Yorubaland! It is just too much headache for us. We are very comfortable with differences, be it in religion or whatever. Hausas and Igbos are the biggest troublemakers we have in Nigeria because they just can't live without drama in their lives. Hausa man will bring his religious drama while Igbo will bring his paranoia and stroke-my-ego drama. If you live in an apartment with Hausa man, you have to tiptoe around the house because if you accidentally step on his Quran, he will shout and call his brothers to come and slaughter you. If you live with an Igbo, you have to always stroke his ego and tell him he's the best thing since bread. You can't be blunt so that he won't have an emotional meltdown and whine about things he brought on himself. Too much sensitivity. Always REMEMBER to use the magic phrase "World class". For EX, Hey Mr Okoro, you have a world-class walking stick! and your village is also world class !If you live with a Yoruba man, you can just BE YOURSELF!

Oh Yeah. The so-called "minorities" are also awesome, by the way. I'm gonna marry an Ibibio Wonderful ppl.

jason123:

I agree. Only the Igbos will drop their language to adopt the host's language! Nice one Ndigbo!

They have no choice. They have to survive.

jason123:

I agree. Only the Igbos will drop their language to adopt the host's language! Nice one Ndigbo!

They have no choice.

Tinubu must be paying this guy really well. He is doing his hardest to keep his plum job it seems.

quite true...