Hospitality
Lagos is a bustling state
in the south western region of Nigeria. It’s a popular state in the country and
widely known as the ‘city of hustlers’, the ‘city of action’ or more formally
as the ‘center of excellence’. Lagos is the go-to state for a lot of Nigerians
to make their lofty dreams come true, but as exciting as the state is, there
are a couple of unusual things about it. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel
agency, shares five unusual things about Lagos.
The
rush to board a bus
Especially during the
early morning rush on most weekdays, the struggle of Lagosians to board a
public bus is one usual thing that might be quite difficult to comprehend. The
rush presents itself as a war-like scenario with people ready to engage in a
fierce battle with one another for a coveted seat in the bus, regardless of the
collateral damage. Some of these people don’t even mind risking their own lives
or physical well being as they are quick to jump in front of moving buses in
the process of the struggle.
The
consequence of change scarcity
Lagos is one of the few
places, especially when boarding buses, that you have to be very mindful of the
value of the currency you are carrying. You might have more than enough money
to cover your transport expenses, but if the value is too high it can attract
the same insult and aggression that not having enough money might attract. It
is indeed strange. The best thing is to do what you can to have the exact
currency value you need for your transport expenses or something relatively
near it. The bus conductors that collect these transport fares can get
unrealistically aggressive if that’s not the case.
The
driving
It seems most drivers that
ply Lagos roads are auditioning for some kind of African Fast and Furious
spin-off because their unreasonable, illogical and sometimes straight up
dangerous approach to driving remains a marvel to many. There is a popular and
widely believed saying that ‘once you can drive successfully in Lagos, you can
drive anywhere’; and there is nothing closer to the truth than this saying.
The
professional beggars
Lagos doesn’t have
conventional beggars, there seems to be beggars of all types and forms roaming
the Lagos streets. From the well-dressed phonetic speaking young man that will
walk up to you with tales of being stranded, to the scruffy looking woman that frequents
the same spot for over a year begging for a dying child on admission in the
hospital, you’ll soon realize that Lagos has it all. Sometimes, it seems like
these ‘professional’ beggars disregard the fact that God has graciously given
us all common sense and we all can make use of this common sense to put two and
two together and realize when certain things about their emotional and
heart-wrenching tales don’t check out.
The
law enforcement agents
Well, the law enforcement
agents are not actually the unusual ones but their attitudes most definitely
are. Law enforcement agents readily board public vehicles without paying,
turning a blind eye to the traffic rules broken by these drivers. On alighting
from the bus a few moment later, the same law enforcement agents are seen
zealously booking other public vehicle drivers for breaking the same traffic
rules they just turned a blind eye to. The police, army, navy, air force, Man O
War and LASTMA are all beneficiaries of this free transport.
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