DOWN SOUTH - TO LAGOS

‘Down South!’ that’s what they always called it, the other part of Nigeria. Having grown up in the ‘Core North’ all the tales I heard of the Southern part of Nigeria were from books and tales especially from corps members in my secondary school days. Even though I had been to other countries in North Africa and the Middle East, the southern part of my country was still just a myriad to me, hence when the opportunity presented itself to have a sojourn to my brethren in the south, I just could not refuse the offer. We were soon leaving Kaduna state and moving towards Niger State, the state with the largest land mass in Nigeria, and the words kept constricting, growing narrower, and incredibly scarier. The long Niger bridge sat thinly across the majestic river which was flowing with regalia majestically along its banks, befitting of its name. Our five minute of love drive aboard Niger bridge eventually came to a halt, yet the beauty of the Niger was imprinted in our minds. It was the brick walls and brown roof zincs of the ancient town of Ogbomosho that awoke us from our sleeping escapade. The sun was about to leave for a well-deserved rest, but the cosmopolitan Ogbomosho was still thriving in its peak. Dusk had already settled in its abode when we drove past the red roofs of Ibadan surrounded by orange bulbs that sprang up the city. Lagos was getting closer and you could feel the eagerness trickling amongst the crowd. The port and most populous city of Nigeria and the largest in Africa welcomed us in awe. Meeting Lagos at night is a love-story that has no second fiddle. No matter what stories you might have had of Lagos, meeting it for the first time will always leave a lasting imprint in the heart. Lagos welcomed us with its metropolitan landscape, Portuguese architecture entwined amongst modern skyscrapers as well as African traditional buildings. We were left agape in astonishment. In the days to come Lagos bared open our historical archives: from the historical amalgamation site of Tinubu Square to the history-rich National Museum, we trekked the past and discovered our very oneness. On the shore along the Atlantic front and the warm enclaves of the bar beach we mingled along and felt the core of this loving earth. We jumped to the corporate island and felt the chill of the heart of Nigeria’s business district – our own very walk on the African Wall Street. Spread magnificently across the Atlantic Ocean Lagos we gathered crumbs of stories to tell forever