Night life in Lagos
Eric Ikhilae, Lagos
A musician dazzling Lagosians at a night clubIt is often said that of all
cities in Nigeria, Lagos
comes first as a place where residents hardly sleep. This assertion can safely pass as the truth because, while people in other cities hit their beds as early as 9 and 10p.m., most Lagos residents are unprepared for such luxury at such early hours. And, this practice of keeping late night, TLM findings revealed, is an age long one informed by varied reasons.
In some years back, night life in Lagos was a pleasant one, and in which people engaged just for the fun of it. The after-work hours were those hours when people hit fun spots to ease off the stress they had gathered while at work. Rather than heading home after work, people would prefer to hang-out with friends until late in the night.
According to Engineer Tayo Johnson (73 years), night life in Lagos was pleasurable several years back. “People look forward daily, to the after-work hours of self indulgence with eagerness. It was a voluntary thing that you engage in because of the fun of it. There was enough security. You could move around anytime and not encounter robbers. There was enough to eat and drink. You know, the economy was not this bad. So people could afford to have fun with friends in the night at either the bars or clubs before retiring to bed. But I do not think many people can afford such habit these days. Except the few rich.”
As against what existed in the past, night life in Lagos today is hardly pleasurable. In fact, it is harrowing and risky. And this turn of event is attributable to a combination of factors, part of which include the wide-spread poverty among the people (occasioned by growing unemployment and worsening economy); the growing security problem (that has made every resident of Lagos a potential victim of robbery attack) and none functional infrastructures.
A greater percentage of Lagos residents, except the few affluent who reside in the exclusive parts of the city, can hardly afford the extra expenses that accompany after-work hours self-indulgence in which people engaged in the past. So instead of being a relaxation time, night time for most Lagos residents is work time. Road sides and medians that were left unoccupied in day-time become market places where people buy and sell.
In places like Ketu bus stop, (on Ikorodu road), Obalende and Ojuelegba areas, commercial activities last into the early hours of the second day. While those who could afford to rent shops in those commercial areas utilise their shops in day time, the front of such shops are taken over by another set of traders in the night.
The problem of insecurity in the city also contributed to making night life an unpleasant experience for most residents of the city. Once it is dark, everyone is at risk. You are at the mercy of the prowling robbers and thieves. The car owner, who rides in his car is not better protected than his fellow resident who rides in the ever rickety commercial buses that break down at will.
Every night is rush-hour in Lagos and you can hardly evade the ever present traffic snarl on most roads that have become unmotorable. While stuck in traffic, anything can happen to you. In some instances, you would spend the rest of the night in traffic and simply turn your vehicle and return to work the following day without making it home. You could be robbed while stuck in traffic and be thankful if you escape with your life. Your car could simply pack-up.
These unpleasant situations which residents encounter daily after work are encouraged by the non-functional infrastructures in the city. The roads are bad and an efficient traffic management system is not in place, hence, the persistent traffic problem. At night, security personnel engage in activities other than securing the society. Darkness, thick enough to be felt, envelopes the city once it is night owing to the non-functional street lighting system. Light poles are visible in most Lagos streets at day-time, but when night falls, they do not provide light. This accounts for why robbers and thieves operate freely once it is night in Lagos.
If you ride in commercial buses, besides suffering the pains of being trapped for hours in immobile traffic, you could fall prey to the phenomenon of one-chance (where robbers pose as commuter vehicle operators and rob their passengers thereafter).
In a bid to avoid the bad traffic and its accompanying problems, some residents are compelled to stay longer than necessary at their work places. Others who can afford it end up in beer shops that exist in most streets and bus stops in Lagos.
Another aspect of the night life in Lagos is that which is lived by the homeless. A greater percentage of the city’s residents are homeless. This is as a result of the prohibitive cost of renting residential apartments. Since majority are either under-employed or unemployed, they can hardly raise funds for such exorbitant rent.
In most major bus terminus like Oyingbo, Obalende, Yaba, Ojuelegba, life exist through the night. People hardly sleep as they engage in all sorts of activities.
A resident, Mr. Samuel Aiku said there is nothing unusual about night life in Lagos. According to him, every major city in the country features the same problems that people experience in Lagos once it is dark. He noted that there are hardly cities in the country where the street lights work. He added that the problem of insecurity is also not exclusive to Lagos.
“Why the case of Lagos attracts public attention is because of the size of the population and its diverse nature. So, that is why one can say strange things happen at night in Lagos. It is only in Lagos that people sleep in the traffic. You can be held up in traffic for the whole of the night or you could be lucky and get home around 1, 2 or 3a.m. While you are held up in traffic, the robbers can come and rob you or even kill you. We have had cases like these in the past”.
Another resident, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmed said while he was younger, he enjoyed the night life in Lagos because there was enough security. Cases of armed robbery and vehicle theft were not rampant. “We could go to clubs anywhere in Lagos. We could leave our houses in the Mainland for clubs in the Island at night without nursing any fear of being robbed or attacked. Today, you engage in such activities at your own peril. Have you ever experienced a vehicle break-down on the Third Mainland bridge at night? These miscreants are everywhere on that bridge. They swoop on you once you experience a break-down and you only thank your stars if they do not throw you into the Lagoon. It is so bad my brother. Night life in Lagos is terrible.”
According to Mr. Ben Ugochukwu, “there is nothing like night life in Lagos. Every time is lived as if it is day-time except during the few hours when you sleep briefly. I wonder why cases of stress induced death are not on the rise. People hardly sleep here. Except for the few rich who live in places like Victoria Garden City, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and other exclusive places.
“How can you even rest when most houses are not built to provide comfort for the occupants? Rooms are too small in sizes, and yet you pay through your nose to acquire them. The size notwithstanding, you can’t even rest comfortably in your apartment because there is no electricity. In a bid to provide electricity, every resident resort to generating set which create problems of noise and environmental pollution, so tell me, where is the night life? You spend the earlier part of the night in traffic jams and hold-ups. That is if you have your own vehicle. If you don’t, you experience more problems.
“You are first, stranded for hours at the bus stop after work in wait for commercial vehicles. In the process, night falls and the bus-stop becomes crowded with anxious passengers. Meanwhile, the vehicles are held up in traffic. Those who eventually make it to where the passengers are, jack-up the fare. You have no choice. So you all struggle to get inside, and in the process you can even lose your valuables. By the time you eventually get home, it becomes late in the night and you are exhausted to even think of engaging in any further activity. Well, if that is what you call the night life in Lagos, then there it is”.Next
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