I Did Something I Never Expected
“Change is inevitable in life. You can either resist it and potentially get run over by it, or you can choose to cooperate with it, adapt to it, and learn how to benefit from it. When you embrace change you will begin to see it as an opportunity for growth.” — Jack Canfield
To begin with, I would have strongly objected if a prophet had informed me at any August crossover service that I, Daniel of the Anomfueme household, would embark on this semi-crazy quest of travelling to Lagos. Okay that being said, I’m usually the type to pour my blunt thoughts into my article, so this is like a heads up and I’ll put this into sections, to help me gather my thoughts together. Stick with me for this journey and you’ll decide if I wasted your time or not.
Pre-Event
I woke up on the morning of September the 9th, the usual weekday way. Checking my class calendar now, Thursdays are usually my busy days but from my memory, I actually can’t recall doing any school stuff that morning. I can recall scrolling through Michael Olaleye’s WhatsApp status to discover that my favourite artist, Brymo just dropped a project, not just one but dual projects; 9: Esan and 9: Harmattan & Winter. I knew a project was in the works but the expected release date was unknown.
I quickly went to Twitter to confirm with my own eyes and that’s when I saw it, the announcement for Organised Chaos. I knew I wanted to be there live for the show, but how I’ll pull that off, I didn’t know. Then a thought struck me, “Why not run a GoFundMe for it? It’s much better than having people contribute to my burial which I wouldn’t even enjoy.” I honestly doubted this would have any effect but 2021 has taught me to always utilize the opportunity to knock. So I made a budget estimation of how much my trip and everything would cost. Looking at it now, oh boy was I naive.
Typed it and posted it on my WhatsApp status around midday, this was after some hours of sharing the news of the new album to people on my contact list. Hours passed and nothing happened, I was slightly being told “I told you so” by another part of my mind. Then it happened, I got a message from someone I never expected.
At that moment I realized that there was a possibility of me pulling this off. Shared the news and within three days I had ₦12,000 from four individuals. On the same 11th, I got a call from an uncle and in the end, I received more than enough to cover my budget. It was like a dream to me, some people on my list thought I was joking about it and all. It was something unexpected. I quickly purchased my concert ticket and knew I was going to be in Lagos for the second time in my life and the first time as an adult. The first time was uneventful, my phone got stolen on the first day but that’s a story for another day. “Money has changed you” I saw this play out as I had more than enough (or so I thought) that I decided to use air transport rather than the budgeted busway. Did some background checks and finally settled on using Green Africa despite the few complaints I heard from some friends. Booked my two-way ticket and was all set for the day.
Thursday (Arrival)
This was the day of my departure flight, and I was hyped about the journey. I had just finished my SIWES IT defence, which was the only possible obstacle to my plans, the previous day. Went to the morning class because I enjoy the lecturer’s teaching. Came back home, packed my bag and told my boys at home I was leaving. Got to Peace Park at Nsukka and took a bus to Enugu town by 12:40 pm and I arrived by 2:18 pm. I earlier scheduled to meet a friend Bell Omuboye (she’s doing beautiful work in the blockchain space) at Enugu and we met. We had an interesting conversation about tech, school, and stuff. In over 3 years of knowing her, this was the first time I’ve spoken to her in person for more than 5 minutes. We didn’t stay as long as I wanted but I couldn’t risk missing my flight.
Booked a ride to Akanu Ibiam International Airport and got in time to check-in. Oh now I remember, I tried to check-in online earlier, I got a seat that had a window view as this was my first flight. Only to get stuck in a payment bug so I was unable to check-in online and I owed them ₦1,500. Got in time and passed the necessary checkpoints and boarded the plane. I honestly thought using the plane’s seat belt would be a hassle but it wasn’t. Take-off was the main thing, I felt like I was floating in space at one point, at another like the plane was about to fall off the sky, I didn’t want to appear as a newbie so I tried hard to maintain my posture.
Arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and it was quite busy. I booked a ride to Oga Blossom’s area and I got the first Lagos shock.
Haba, when it’s not interstate travel I am doing. I’ve always heard on Twitter that Lagos is expensive but experiencing it was different. I called Oga Blossom, my host throughout my stay at Lagos about what I just saw. He told me to enter like that as that was my best bet since it was late and I didn’t know my way around. He offered to meet me halfway in my journey and in the end, I ended up paying ₦8,000, the highest amount I have ever paid for road transport. Got to his house with him and got to meet his amazing wife and children. Honestly, their hospitality was amazing and it was always fun to be around the kids.
Friday (D-Day)
It was finally Friday the 1st of October, followed Blossom to his workshop, Tee’s Garage 🔧⚙🔩 (Auto Services provider and Auto merchant of special vehicle brands like Land Rover, Bentley, BMW, Ford etc.) Stayed till the afternoon and asked for directions to go to Landmark Beach.
Set off on my solo waka to the beach. Took a bus from Awoyaya to Lekki Phase 1 (paid ₦500 but I could swear the conductor ripped me) and I was supposed to cross over and enter another vehicle to the location. I was dropped off opposite AP filling station and I would have believed I was at the wrong spot if not for Google Maps. I had to book a ride to the venue because it wasn’t along the Lekki-Epe expressway I was familiar with. Got to the concert venue around 6 pm and took time to enjoy the beautiful view and landmark (pun intended). I had a call with Pamela and she told me to make sure I come back with pictures of me and Brymo. I laughed because I knew I wouldn’t push for that. The show was slated to start by 8 pm and I could see that The Lagos Touts (Brymo’s band) were ready for it.
As I wanted a front view, I walked to the front quite early but in the end with people dragging and moving forward, I ended up in the third row. 8 pm came and as a typical Nigerian, he wasn’t yet on the stage. With the shout “Give us Brymo,” the audience began clamouring for him after a few minutes. We got to the point where we were singing along to his songs even though he wasn’t around. He eventually took the stage at about 8:46 pm, and the audience erupted in applause. For the first time in person, I stared at him and didn’t know what to say. I became immersed in the music and connected with every one of them. Around 10:55 pm, the performance finished, and I returned home safely. My experience that day is something I can’t describe but I was sure of one thing, I didn’t regret embarking on this.
Saturday 9 (Work)
I had a spare day since my return flight was on Sunday. I had a friend I’ve known online for a while and this was an opportunity to meet. I reported to Tee’s Garage first, to see how things were going. Luckily I got a lift to the bus stop where I was headed from there. While I was in his car, I had an intriguing chat with the man who assisted me in getting to my destination.
Yes, I am aware that it is a land of opportunity, which he expounded on, and suggested that I concentrate on generating money and that once I do, all of these issues will no longer be a concern for me, as I was just speaking as a broke man.
Fortunately, my friend works with this start-up Flux and so it was also an opportunity for me to meet and network with the team. Aside from start-ups that used to be in the incubation stage at Roar Hub UNN, this was the first time seeing a funded functioning start-up. Happy about the work they’re doing and strongly rooting for them. I remembered visiting an IMAX cinema was on my bucket list only to find out the showtime for 007: No Time To Die wasn’t favourable for us. I had fun there as they were hospitable, left for home in the evening and at this point, I knew my way around some parts of the Island.
Sunday 9 (Departure)
Before my trip, I informed Haneefah, Program Coordinator of Ingressive For Good, which I happen to serve as a Lead for my campus, of my trip and we scheduled a meeting. On Sunday my host and family, being aware of my departure, advised me to leave early to meet up with my friend and not miss my 2:50 pm flight. I boarded a bus to Obalande and this was me going from the Island to Mainland during the day. I got to see some amazing buildings and structures. When I arrived at Obalande, I couldn’t wait for the bus to Ikeja to load so I had to book a ride to Ikeja City Mall (ICM). As someone who lives in Port Harcourt which has just one mall, I have never seen it as filled/busy as ICM was. Was about to call Haneefah when I heard my name echo beside me. She’s one of the people doing Community stuff I admire in Nigeria. I earlier informed her of my desire to eat Ewa Aganyin at Lagos and how the mainland was my last option. Unfortunately, the restaurants at ICM didn’t have any left, “Lagos has failed me” I muttered. We spoke about Lagos, Politics, Tech(of course), School and a couple of stuff. She was supposed to leave for her branding class she’s taking by 1 pm but I guess she enjoyed my company and extended it to 2 pm. We parted ways and I headed for the airport.
Told this Bolt driver to go to MM1 and he insisted that domestic flies with MM2. I explained to him that’s where Green Africa operates from but he ended up taking me there first and got redirected to MM1. I got there by 2:20 pm and expected it to be very busy but it was as if everyone was just waiting at the lounge. Showed my boarding pass to one of the staff and he said, “You almost missed your flight.”, yet I still spent 40 minutes before take-off, LOL. Arrived at Enugu airport by 4:31 pm and fortunately, I met a fellow UNN student who was heading back to school and we agreed to go together and split the transport cost.
I don’t know why airport taxi people assume anyone flying has money because how can you say ₦4,000 to take us to Shoprite from the airport? Haba na, we no pick money from ground. Ordered a ride only for it to get blocked by the airport taxi people, saying ride-hailing services aren’t allowed at the airport. I honestly was annoyed about it and wanted to drag the issue, if not for the girl with me. After wasting our time, we settled on using the airport taxi which was now ₦2,000 as it was the only condition for the driver’s release. After we left, I called the driver to confirm if they left him and apologized for the inconvenience. Got to Shoprite and picked a couple of stuff for the boys and the checkout queue was mad. We had to plead with persons on the line and explain to them our situation and we were allowed. Took a keke and arrived at Enugu park by 6:31 pm and our fear was not meeting any vehicle heading to Nsukka but we saw and it moved by 7:01 pm and arrived Nsukka by after 8 pm safely.
Lagos is, as I expected, a bustling, noisy city, but it is also a booming metropolis and the only city that can compete worldwide to some level. Other states, I believe, may learn a thing or two from Lagos in order to assist since Lagos, as it is, is not long-term sustainable. That being said, despite not being able to cross everything off my bucket list, it was a fantastic weekend. I would have loved to go to Yaba, Nigeria’s Silicon Valley. Hopefully, my next visit may be for Dev Fest Lagos 2021, who knows? Till then, man has to hustle.
Thanks for reading.
