The white men called it-Lagos, our ancestors called it Eko, these urban sprinters call it Lasgidi, in an attempt to rebrand the city with a befitting title, the government ascribed a true name – centre of excellence, which adds lustre to the name.

Lagos, means many things to different people, everyone is to be held honourable for his/her candid opinion. A first time visitor to the city would mistake it for a city of religious hybrids with different denomination of churches all around the street corners. We move to Oshodi, aha! This is where the real show is, the poetical rendition from the bus mates known as conductors will leave your mouth ajar as they pronounce the names of their routes with unease and double edged swagger. To them, time is a factor, sari joor is their watchword, their time is never to be wasted not even in the names of the routes they call out. Ilasamaja is shortened to ‘laa-sa, Ijesha aptly reduced to ‘Jesha.

This is Lagos! The city that never sleeps, the city where the alliance for global change has reshaped the business acumen of the focused few. Nocturnal business thrives, daytime businesses bubbles! The upwardly mobile young executives are engaged in innovative ventures using mobile device applications and the web to scale up social and economic changes. These upwardly mobile young ones have scaled up everything, they spell their names with strange alphabetical mismatch, confuse the elderly with their fast tongues, their taste for music has caused harmonical pandemonium in creative studios, they’re turning obstacles into opportunities, they welcome change and resist idleness, they’ve renamed the city with some heavy dropping name-Lasgidi. This city has witnessed rebirths! The white men called it-Lagos, our ancestors called it Eko, these urban sprinters call it Lasgidi, in an attempt to rebrand the city with a befitting title, the government ascribed a true name – centre of excellence, which adds lustre to the name. That name, Lasgidi, centre of excellence, commands respect, cities bow to it, New York shakes at the mention of it, Accra fumes in envy, London tries to impress her, Texas tries to be a good neighbour, Dubai feeds her with material lusts.! My Eko is a city of choices, a city where the cries and woes of the common man are a true reflection of our collective mistakes and successes as citizens of this country. The best bosses keep orchestrating constructive battles –enabling employees to feel safe and speak their minds while the capital oriented boss underpays his workers, with wages that can’t take the workers home.

Yes this is the city we live in, the city of endless dramas, the city of liquid wonders, the great paradox of empty and full, the riverine distance of the locals from the elites, the great connection between the island and the mainland, the big unquestionable branding question that renowned Harvard professors of business management will never find a perfect solution to, that is , why Kpomo, Ijebu garri, suya and “agbo’ will remain in high demand.

Welcome to Lagos, the birthplace of uncommon successes! And finally, it’s my turn to ask you, what does Lagos mean to you?

Welcome to Lagos, Eko’Oni Baje O!

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.