How to be a good Lagosian

Ayodele Johnson November 29, 2022

2 4 minutes read

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

How to be a good Lagosian; Office of the Governor of Lagos State, Alausa, Lagos; Taijo Wonukabe Ltd

There is no other city in the world to compare with Lagos, Nigeria in magic, opportunity and surprise. For some, Lagos is simply and squarely the soul of Nigeria as a country. In politics, commerce and social life, once Lagos coughs, the entire country quakes.

Nigerians can never forget how the advent of the Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola regime in Lagos broke all records in surprising the populace. For instance, Oshodi that used to be an impassable leviathan was reduced to pleasurable ride-through. All the things that people thought were impossible were re-engineered in such a way that made Lagos look forever new and enviable.

It’s against the background of the Fashola wonders of Lagos that I recall the exquisitely-packaged book, How to be a good Lagosian. Published for the Office of the Governor of Lagos State, Alausa, Lagos by the pre-eminent PR company, Taijo Wonukabe Ltd, How to be a good Lagosian is a 122-page pocket-sized gem of a guidebook.

In a Foreword entitled, “All that’s not good is bad”, Governor Fashola (SAN) put pen to paper, stating thusly: “We want to build the enduring infrastructure of the mind through advocacy for attitudinal change.” The governor recalled the serenity of the Lagos of old, a city of 350,000 population taking pride in the sobriquet of “Eko for Show”. In time, Lagos would become some kind of magnet, attracting all and sundry from all corners and crannies of the country and the world.

The major part of the book, the meat of the matter, is encountered in Part Two which bears the remarkable title, “The Magicnificient Lagos.” Some relevant facts and figures are detailed out, such as the creation of the state on May 27, 1967; the taking-off of the state as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving as State and Federal Capital, etc.

In one of the featured articles in the book, the immortal Hadj Alade Odunewu, better known as Allah De, who was without a shadow of doubt “Lagos’ most outstanding gift to the world of journalism”, penned an article entitled “Incredible Lagos”. Allah De had to disobey his ophthalmologist, who had ruled that he should not do anything that could lead to the straining of his eyes, to take his readers on “a masterful journey through why Lagos loves to welcome all and sundry and why we should love Lagos back”. The legendary journalist had to complete the assignment with streams of water straining down his wizened eyes. The Lagos son-of-the-soil would not even settle to the ready recourse of talking into a voice recorder!

Lagos can make love to you. It can make a star of you. It can make a giant of you. It can chew you up and spit you on to the pavement. And sometimes, it can do all of these to you in 24 hours. Lagos is a style, a lifestyle. Someday, there might be an Abujan or an Oshogboan or a Kadunaian. Today, however, he is yet to show himself. In the meantime, there is the Lagosian, who is identifiable, and proudly Lagosian.”

Sundry citizens of Lagos, high and low, were made to contribute their vistas on “The zing about Lagos”, with Matthew Oyinloye Jolayemi who left his Kwara State village at age 13 in 1953 to settle for his astounding fortune in Lagos, essaying: “The profile of Lagos that my little head had managed to etch out from the mind-blowing tales that never seemed to cease, was one that was inconceivable.” Music maestro Fela Anikulapo-Kuti crooned: “There is nowhere else I can return to except Lagos.”

In his exquisite piece entitled “Neighbour, neighbour…” suave journalist-turned-scholar Richard Ikiebe rendered the archetypal Lagos story of good neighbourliness, thus giving vivid life to his running into an old neighbour, Broda Felix, whom he had not seen for all of 35 years! The coming-of-age story of Ifeanyi Mbanefo, told in his contribution “‘Am a legal alien in Lagos”, celebrated the boy who came to Lagos to make good by literally travelling “from the slums of Oshodi and Ikotun Egbe through the middle-class neighbourhoods of Yaba to highbrow Ikoyi and Lekki Peninsula.”

According to the well-celebrated syndicated columnist Sonala Olumhense, “Lagos is a national aspiration. ‘Nigerians to Lagos’ could actually replace the old metaphor, ‘bees to honey’. Lagos can make love to you. It can make a star of you. It can make a giant of you. It can chew you up and spit you on to the pavement. And sometimes, it can do all of these to you in 24 hours. Lagos is a style, a lifestyle. Someday, there might be an Abujan or an Oshogboan or a Kadunaian. Today, however, he is yet to show himself. In the meantime, there is the Lagosian, who is identifiable, and proudly Lagosian.”

The twin issues of rights and responsibilities are given requisite treatment, with the obligation being on all to take personal responsibility: “One by one: It starts with you.” The scientist who excels as novelist and poet, Omo S Uwaifo, offered a very insightful piece on “Choosing – and showing – The Right Way.”

The guidebook ends with needful revelations on the genuine agencies of the Lagos State Government that are empowered to bring some sanity to public life in the State, the likes of KAI, LAWMA, LASEPA, LASA, LASTMA etc.

How to be a good Lagosian is a well-made book. I am short of even a critical word, let alone a sentence on the book. The Fashola revolution endures, and all I can advise is that a new guidebook deserves to be written on train rides, BRT travels, ferry transport, etc in the incredible city of Lagos.

Uzor Maxim Uzoatu is a renowned poet, journalist and author.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.