By Muyiwa Adetiba

‘Eko gba ole, o gba ole’ is a saying that is as popular and possibly nearly as old as Lagos itself. When translated literally, it means Lagos accommodates both the thieves and the slothful. But a deeper translation is that Lagos accommodates everybody without pre-conditions. Lagos is the most accepting of all the cities in the country. You come with your baggage – religious, tribal, cultural – and Lagos will make way for you. Also, if you come with your dreams in scholarship, entrepreneurship, evangelism and commerce, Lagos will give you a welcoming bear hug.  And if scamming people is your thing, Lagos will still give you the space you need to ply your trade. You could come with only the shirt on your back and become a shop owner in a year, and a land owner in five or less. Just play your cards well and Lagos will recognize and reward you. It used to be a thing of pride to the Americans that you could come into USA as an immigrant with nothing but your intellect and hard work and make it big. That was the ‘Great American Dream’. It prided itself in being a country of immigrants with a level playing ground for all. You could say the same about Lagos which also levels the playing field for all who seek abode within her boundary. The exception perhaps is that almost every immigrant American – Chinese, Italian, Irish, Jew or even African- will always put the interests of America first. You cannot say the same about every settler who calls himself a Lagosian. Some are Lagosians when it comes to the spoils of Lagos and wear their tribal toga thereafter. It is also easy for those who reside in Lagos irrespective of duration, to take access to the best of Lagos including ancestral lands for granted. Yet it is something that hardly exists anywhere else in Nigeria.

I’d like to think that those who say Lagos is a no man’s land do so it as a tribute to the large heartedness and welcoming spirit of Lagos because it is not factually correct. There is no part of the world that is a no man’s land. And were there to be a war or a catastrophe in Lagos today, the buses to a certain part of the country will be crammed while some people, the true indigenes, will have nowhere else they can call home. We have seen it happen before. I believe Lagos is called a no man’s land because it is not religiously, culturally or ethnically biased. It is a no man’s land because it is a land of opportunity for all. You can live your life without a chip on your shoulder and be anything you want to be. You can settle and build your castle anywhere in the city. Nowhere is declared sacrosanct. It is a no man’s land because you can have legitimate aspirations to any political post in the State – many non-indigenes have served the State in different positions. These are things to be admired, not exploited or derided. It perhaps helps this unfortunate narrative that the man who has held the political reins of Lagos in the last two decades or so, has encouraged liberalism – maybe because he is not, as rumoured, indigenous to Lagos. And for all of these, Lagos has prospered. It has encouraged and enjoyed the plurality of talents, ideas and endeavours.  And if Lagos can somehow curb the corruption in governance, and give value for money generated, its accommodating spirit can become a model not only for Nigeria, but for the whole of Africa.

But the strength of Lagos can also be its weakness. Lagos might be expanding geographically, and even economically, but it is shrinking culturally. Things that are peculiar and distinct to Lagos and its many components, must be revived and made to be respected by all settlers. It should not be a City without character. The original indigenes are also shrinking, thanks to inter-marriages and other economic factors. But they exist. The State can enact laws that protect them from political impotence and irrelevance since Nigeria of today will hardly accept them in other States. Even the US is protecting a particular class of Americans through its collegiate system and through constant gerrymandering. Lagos should not cede control of its sovereignty through carelessness because it will not be reciprocated.

People say Lagos is now dominated by people from the East. I have no facts to verify that. I can say though that I lived in Festac Town for almost thirty years and in that time, I witnessed the changing demography in the many settlements up to Badagry in favour of our Igbo brothers and sisters. But of recent, there is a great influx of our brethren from the North to Lagos as well. They are occupying the lower end of the labour force just as some of our brethren from the East did after the unfortunate Civil War some five decades ago. They are mainly in new settlements and high density areas. You might not notice them because many are attired in jeans and shirts like the rest of us. But if you visit their places of abode – they tend to cluster together- or you pass by at the time of worship, then you will see them in their numbers. To quote the sixties article of Peter ‘Pan’ Enahoro the famous columnist and Editor, ‘The Mallams Are Coming’.

Although I do not buy the Boko Haram tale that suggests they have a sinister motive since I believe they are mainly economic migrants, I think Lagos still has to be watchful. Many of them are young and unskilled. They could easily become excitable. They could easily become desperate. They could easily become susceptible to crime. I wish all those who have come to Lagos to pursue their dreams success. I hope they find themselves. I hope they become economic assets to Lagos. I also hope Lagos learns to protect itself from being run over economically, politically and ideologically. Its true indigenes should also not be made homeless and landless in their ancestral home. 

Finally, I hope Nigeria will soon be run in such a way that people don’t have to leave their ancestral homes for economic reasons bothering on life and death but of choice. Many are coming to Lagos now because of the insecurity in their lands of birth. Vote wisely in the coming elections. Your life may literally depend on it because the outcome of this election would teach more than a few lessons.