It was all emotional that Sunday evening on the 3^rd of January, 2016 when the luxurious bus of Bonny Ways Travels honked its horn and started the engine preparing its passengers for departure from Jos to Lagos. Tochukwu who was one of the passengers set to travel with the number 12 bus to Lagos for her National Youth Service Corp Program waved at her family from the window and as they waved back, drops of tears rolled down her chin then she realised she had to suck it up because it was inevitable. She waved some more and this time with a smile to her family and her boyfriend who took out time to tag along to see her off, they waved back and blew kisses. At another louder horn from the bus, the driver let the engine run for a few seconds and then with vigour he moved the bus forward. The first step to a Billion Naira Dream; Eko, “The land of Opportunities” or so they say.

It’s actually not far-fetched because truly it is full of life, full of glamour, full of drama, everything you desire can be found in Eko. Right from the conductors and agberos wrestling over 50 naira to LASTMA harassing a bus driver for holding on at a bus stop for too long, or just the individual craziness of the Lagos residents.From the mainland where you see the people coming down from Oshodi buses, and insulting the conductor for “marrying” two of them for change or the long trip to Obalende-CMS from Ikeja, through Ogudu, Alapere and Iyana Oworo and the rest of them or probably the far end of the city where you be in a bus on Lagos-Badagry express for hours in the mad traffic for which the city is known.

At Agbara you get to see these gala hawkers run so fast with their carton (you wonder why they don’t just get picked for our games) as they chase a bus with someone that “seems” to want a snack of gala, hmmm, the hustle is crazy mehn. Then to the supposedly “high class ones” on the island in Osborne and Dolphin Estates or the famous Lekki where you go to a persons’ house and it looks like a modern day museum with expensive portraits and artefacts, DiarisGod ooooo!In all of this humour, one could get lost in the excitement of the beautiful Eko

Just like Tochukwu, so many individuals come to Eko, for a purpose. In search of that “thing” the city offers. Like Tochukwu, though she came for her mandatory National Youth Service Scheme, one would immediately enjoy the serenity of this beautiful Centre of Excellence.

Eko is a promising city which could yieldloads of opportunity. Tochukwudiscovered this weapon entering the landmark city. Though it didn’t all go rosy she had a good star and even she couldn’t get it, but in due course,she found herself in a bus shouting “Conductor, Change me dah!!”
It may sound like I am raining so many praises on Lagos so I think I will say no more and let you explore yourself. Why don’t you do that? If the fare seems too much, save towards it, if you can afford it then please be my guest. I just want you to be the judge for yourself. Take a trip to Lagos and I assure you that it will be a memory you will not forget in a hurry.

 C.K David