In
Lagos sky, Airplanes, Helicopters and Jets literarily get stuck in traffic,
yes, hold-up. Infact, this happens more regularly on weekends. This is to say
that the frequency of air travel in that part of Nigeria is one of a kind.
Private Jets of Gulf Stream category serenades the sky as though it were birds.
Lagos
is a city of three extremes, there are class of (about 20%) who are actually
living in wanton opulence, a kind of live one can refer to as ‘’paradise on
earth’’. You find the bulk of this class in plum locations like Lekki, Victoria
Island, Ikoyi, Aja, and Ikeja. They can afford anything except expensive live
adversaries that doesn’t respect money. They are mostly political thieves whose
greedy actions has and still sweeping the land of human values and dignity (with
the exception of few who made it through legitimate business). They lack
Humanity and they hardly help the less privileged- It is Infact doubtful, if
they ever contend that there are set of people who cannot afford anything. They
own most houses and infrastructures and set the conditions for rent really
harsh and expensive. They are the class that fly in the sky and doesn’t even
know how regular road traffic in Lagos is costing many lives and causing many
headaches.
The
second class are not totally off comfort but they also sweat profusely in
traffic as the suffering class does and this is notwithstanding that they ride
in air conditioned fitted exotic car. This class are largely people who have
sufficing means of livelihood. They are class that can afford a good home in
average Lagos settlement like Isolo, Iyana Ipaja, Gbagada, Ikorodu, Berger,
etc. However, due to the fact that transit within Lagos is terrible, this class
also wish they can climb the ladder up to the point where they won’t have to
bother about unease of Lagos. This class have a stake in the media, and they
will not take a breath as they keep crying for road network magic. They live in
constant desperation to rub the society of whatever it takes so as to change their
personal status and comfortability- it hardly occur to them that some persons
are caught in-between Lagos transit unease, home unease and striking in-ability
to make ends meet. To them what is rather sacrosanct is to elevate themselves-
they held this, oblivious of the fact that societal peace and comfort is
interdependent.
The
bottom class cannot but take water from a sympathetic eyes. In candid, the
extent of their suffering makes one wonder why most of these people will not
relocate to lesser cities where they will no longer have to cope with
day-to-day hassles yet struggle to fetch to the mouth. However, the fact that
the bulk of these people are hooked in Lagos clears any wonderer.
This
class, no doubt, account for more than 25% of Lagosian. A large of proportion
of this group lives in the gutter and feed from hand to mouth! Some lost their
youth to over-zealous lifestyle of Lagos while some laid a good foundation but
instead of enjoying, they are victim of economic downturn in Nigeria (the lack
of job syndrome).
However,
it is this ‘’Victim’’ sets that irks
and give me unrest.
With
a mix of exhilaration and abundant fear, I watch how every nooks and crannies of
Lagos have become narcotics joint of some sort, how juvenile, adult and old
lagosian have become so inhuman, how Lagos is tending towards a ‘’everyman to
his head set up’’. The affore-stated joined with oppressive nature of Lagos
sets the ground for social anarchy. Therefore, it is no surprise that in that part
of Nigeria, it is not scarce to see man hack fellow man to death in broad day
light, brigandage in Lagos seems limitless, ritual instance is not scanty,
armed robbery and all sort of animosity besets Lagos everyday like it is a
cursed land.
Frankly,
the horror is not yet here, the kind of crime Lagos is witnessing today is a
tip of an ice bag. In the next 10years, rich men in Lekki will no longer have
the comfort of sleep, the city will be thrown in acute restiveness- this is no
cause but reality- you can prove me wrong, simply go to the city streets and
take inventory. The class of Lagos is egregiously crazy, pathetically
oppressive and ominously frustrating.
Meanwhile,
a sight of a cloud gathering is enough awareness to prepare for the rain, it is
time when government must assiduously worked to provide jobs for its citizenry
with particular reference to Lagos. The time is now when the rich must realise
that the peace and comfort of the poor determines how lasting their own too
will be, thus, put concrete measures in place to alleviate striking poverty in
the neighbourhood. The middle class however, should rather be supportive of the
poor instead of been unnecessarily desperate to change status.
That
said, PunditAfrica contend that to build a solid, prosperous and humanity-based
Africa, we must become 1. Lively to the needs of our society (in other words,
we must become an active participator in the project Africa) 2. We must be our
brothers keepers (lets the ‘haves’ remember the ‘have not’) 3. Every African
must have a mind that stand up and strife for sheer excellence.
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