Lagos is a unique type of stress. This city is not only massive! There are some areas of the city that are much more visually appealing than others. In any case, concrete walls, compounds, barbed wire, and security guards can be found everywhere in Lagos.
I have always believed that if I move with caution, I will always return home safe and sound until one day.
Let me start by letting you know that I had an experience so chaotic and traumatizing that I could not do anything for nine days. I was just filled with fear and could not go anywhere.
It all started with my first Bolt ride upon landing at the airport in January 2021.
During my trip, as usual, I sat in the back of the driver’s seat for safety reasons. Everything was going smoothly, with no issues whatsoever, I was security conscious as I always am, and I was fully awake with my eyes on the road and fixated on my phone screen to ensure we were heading in the right direction.
When I became aware that the driver was taking a different route, of course, I asked why we were not following the map, but he said it was because of traffic, which was a reasonable explanation given that there was traffic.
It was a typical day in Lagos. Anyone who has visited the city will tell you that at any time of day or night, Lagos is packed with people of all ages, the elderly, and very small children begging at car windows, especially when the traffic lights change. Many of them are in wheelchairs or have missing limbs, and they are pleading and begging for money or food at every window. This is why, whenever anyone enters a private vehicle in this city, the first thing they do is lock all the doors for personal safety and security.
Lagos’s poverty is overwhelming. The number of people who are clearly impoverished is overwhelming. I have visited some impoverished cities, but the magnitude of the problem in Lagos is difficult to comprehend.
Anyway, back to my story. Perhaps I was not prepared for this issue to be so large, or perhaps it is because, based on what I have learned, I have always believed that as long as I am always on guard, I will always safe.
I never appear flashy, when I enter a taxi I always play it safe, and my valuables are always in the car’s booth.
So, as we were about to turn to get back on track because, as you may recall, we had passed another route.
Suddenly, someone used a stone to break the window beside me and pointed a knife at me; my soul left my body that instant. Before the thief could say anything, I handed him my phone and I began shouting at the driver to pass his own as well. I didn’t want that knife to come into contact with my face for any reason.
That had to be the worst experience of my life; I still find it difficult to walk down Lagos’s streets during the day. It was so bad that I was psychologically stressed about coming to school for the first three weeks of my MBA program because of that experience.
Imagine following all of your safety precautions and still falling victim to daylight robbery. I did not even have the mental fortitude to blame the government, the driver, or the poor; I just wanted to hide forever. My mother is still unaware of the incident, and I will never tell her because I know she will panic more than I will.
My anxiety was so bad that when I called her later, she noticed something was wrong with my tone. I have had a driver’s license since 2017, and I used to drive before the incident, but I do not think I can even drive today. Anyway, this incident taught me that location is not everything in this city. There is insecurity everywhere, including your home in your estate.
My friend even told me about a day when he booked an Uber from his hotel and the driver parked two blocks away and refused to come to his hotel’s correct address. He had no choice but to leave his hotel and walk the two blocks to find his car after 30 minutes of texting him and asking him to drive to the correct address. Guess what? On his way to the car, he got robbed. But is it really safe to walk around Lagos? I blame him for that one because he was not aware of his surroundings.
I am sick of hearing that only God can deliver us from this country. It is simply not possible. We better wake up and help ourselves.
#MBA21
