By Bose Adelaja

An octogenarian Pa Samuel Sode, a former policeman, has for long been nostalgic of the period when peace and security were easily taken for granted in Lagos.

Thus, he would always tell whoever cares to listen that in those days Lagos was usually referred to as home away from home. ‘’I lived Dopemu with my wives and 15 children and we never had any cause to cry over insecurity.

In those days, there was no influx of people and residents lived peacefully with one another. Also, I usually trekked from Dopemu to the airport in company of my immediate family and there was never a time any of us was hit by a vehicle.

Also, paying a visit to the market was never a problem as there was a high level of discipline; the markets were well structured while traders were unwilling to play smart on the buyers. At various bus-stops, there was nothing like pick-pocketing or robbery as residents were contended while the government was out to serve the citizenry.

Shaking his head in dismay at what has become of Lagos over the years to the present, Pa Sode said: ‘’Residents lived in harmony with one another and there was a high level of discipline, especially in homes, schools, offices and churches.

“Nowadays, the reverse is the case; indiscipline has gradually set in and Lagos has almost lost its special features as evil thrive daily in various homes. A place which was hitherto was referred to as a ‘small London’ has more or less become a no man’s land with various atrocities thriving in every sector !’’

The octogenarian did not stop there as he lamented thus: ‘’Now that I am close to the grave, I wish I can rewind the clock and turn the State to what it used to be. I want to enjoy peace like before, a neat environment, road free from gridlock and a high sense of discipline in every sector’’.

But relief seem to have come the way of Pa Sode and all who share his sentiment as some concerned residents of the State, have taken it upon themselves to restore the lost glory of the State.

The concerned citizens, through an initiative called ‘’The Spirit of Lagos’’ have introduced various programmes packaged by these concerned citizens, there is hope that Lagos can still become what it used to be. One of the programmes meant to sanitise residents, took place recently with Ebute-Ero, Makoko and Oworonshoki as take-off points.

The concerned citizens arrived each venue with canoes flying their banners on the lagoon while the project coordinator Mr Olaniyi Omotosho, took time to address residents on attitudinal changes in the State, saying we all have responsibilities to return the lost glory of Lagos.

Olaniyi said the sudden change in the citizenry’s behaviour was as a result of population explosion through migration from different parts of the country. ‘’The unique value that were present in Lagos are getting eroded gradually. However, we want to bring back those values again and present them to Lagosians,’’ he said.

According to him, the group has designed a better way to make things work for them, one of which was to make people understand the need to be part of the new development.

‘’ There was a time in Lagos when everybody understood the need to be part of the development, that is why we joined organisations like Boys Scout, Boys Brigade, and voluntary organisations did some things because we realised we had a role to play. This time around, people do not care about what goes wrong in their environment but we believe things will work out fine,’’ he said.

Olaniyi enjoined people to cultivate the spirit of togetherness which “is no longer in existence; in those days people were interested in their neighbours and looked after their children. This time around, nobody cares about about this and people now go in different directions. Also, we need to understand the laws of the land which has gradually faded away. We are introducing the whole idea about the Spirit of Lagos, the initiative is a long term plan’’.

On why the choice of some coastal communities, he said,’’the name Lagos came out of water and we hope to bring back what Lagos truly represented’’.

Also, a member of the group Solaboludele Simoyan, said residents have the responsibility to contribute their own quota towards the development of a new Lagos. ‘’Being a part of the society, we must contribute our quota and think of what to do to help Lagos to grow. If you want Lagos to be clean, learn to dispose refuse properly, use the pedestrian bridge and obey traffic lights, there are so many things we can do to make Lagos great,’’ she added.