This text is a part of FT Globetrotter’s information to Lagos
Don’t inform strangers the reality as a result of warning is forex right here. That is the primary lesson Lagos teaches you. If a random stranger asks who you might be and the place you’re from, it’s greatest to manufacture the main points, if you happen to should reply in any respect.
However Lagos additionally teaches you a counter-lesson: don’t take its prescriptions too critically. Not like most main cities, the place warning is likewise the primary instruction, Lagos invitations you to problem what you assume you already know. Its fact is that there isn’t any singular fact. Its nature is kaleidoscopic, continuously shifting relying on who’s trying, and from which angle.
So, regardless of this preliminary warning, I’ll share who I’m and the place I’m from in relation to Lagos — or reasonably, the place I’m not from. I’m not initially from Lekki, the Lagos neighbourhood I’m now encouraging you to go to. However it’s this very outsider perspective that permits me to understand Lekki in a means that I hope will make my strategies compelling.
Let me first provide you with some context. Lagos is a metropolis break up into two elements: the mainland and the island. They’re typically handled as totally completely different worlds — generally even completely different planets — and the variations between them are actual. Geographically, the 2 are divided by the Lagos Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. The island is coastal, flat and extremely urbanised, whereas the mainland is extra various, with inexperienced areas and fewer improvement. Although the mainland is sort of 20 occasions bigger than the island, the latter holds the financial energy — it’s town’s prosperous, commercially vibrant coronary heart, whereas the mainland is extra modest and fewer rich. But what really separates the island from the mainland will not be geography or dimension, it’s one thing intangible: authenticity.
Authenticity, within the context of a metropolis, is a slippery idea. What one particular person considers genuine could appear contrived to a different. At its core, although, authenticity implies a connection to an authentic essence. On this sense, the mainland is profoundly genuine. It’s the place you’ll be able to nonetheless catch glimpses of the west African area because it’s all the time been — natural, earthy, and deeply cultural. The mainland is alive with small companies which have operated the identical means for generations, coexisting with factories, superstores, army bases. It’s a spot of contrasts, a surrealist portray that one way or the other is sensible. I do know it intimately as a result of I’m from the mainland. It formed me into the particular person I’m right this moment.
The island, against this, has a extra flamboyant and flashy air. Developed by Nigeria’s colonial masters to go well with their life, the relics of this previous have largely pale, but it surely nonetheless enjoys a sure privilege over the mainland, and an accompanying flavour of pretentiousness. This voguish ambiance is so ingrained within the island’s sense of self that it’s real in its personal means. However it could be a stretch to say the island is genuine within the sense of a historic African way of life. Till Lekki.
Lekki is a part of the island however carries the authenticity of the mainland. Stretching for kilometres alongside the Lagos shoreline, Lekki constitutes a considerable portion of town’s land space and combines the island’s shiny life with the mainland’s freer, on a regular basis really feel. That is the attract of Lekki, and why you need to go to. It may be as extravagant as its neighbouring districts — Ikoyi and Victoria Island — but it surely additionally maintains the unpretentious character of the mainland.
Once I say “Till Lekki”, as if Lekki occurred by probability, it’s no exaggeration. Main improvement within the space started solely within the Eighties, with the development of the Lekki-Epe Expressway. Earlier than that, the Lekki Peninsula was residence to the indigenous Awori folks — farmers, fishermen and merchants who lived in concord with the land. I first visited Lekki as an adolescent within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, when my father took me to see the plot the place we’d construct our household residence. I keep in mind standing on the grounds of the home the place I now keep after I go to, looking at an empty horizon. Had I not seen it myself, I’d discover it onerous to imagine that this reverberating, vibrant space was till pretty not too long ago a big stretch of undeveloped land.
The very best place to really feel the distinctive vibe of Lekki is Fola Osibo Road, proper on the coronary heart of the realm. Be ready for Lagos-style buying, which requires endurance (and a great night time’s sleep earlier than tackling the site visitors). However the effort is value it. Fola Osibo is residence to all the pieces from reasonably priced Nigerian style manufacturers like Iconola to way of life shops corresponding to Ariába. Many outlets alongside this strip are housed in what have been as soon as residential buildings, including an intimate, generally virtually too private really feel to the buying expertise.
For a Zen escape after buying, go to the DEW Centre on Adebayo Doherty Road. This wellness sanctuary affords blissful massages, yoga courses and a peaceable surroundings to chill out in. The centre features a pretty café, an enthralling store and a flourishing backyard, making it the proper place to recharge.
Lekki has expanded a lot for the reason that Eighties that it’s now divided into phases — Lekki 1, Lekki 2, and Lekki 3. Lekki Section 1 is residence to the realm’s most sought-after spots and is likely one of the most costly elements of Lagos. Lekki 2 is value a go to amongst different issues for its serene Lekki Conservation Centre. It immerses guests within the area’s numerous wildlife, and if you happen to’re feeling adventurous, climb the cover walkway that provides gorgeous views of the wetlands and mangroves. Don’t neglect to greet the resident tortoise!
Additionally close by is Nike Art Gallery, west Africa’s largest artwork gallery, run by feminist icon Nike Davies-Okundaye. Often known as “Mama Nike”, she is a fascinating conversationalist, and if you happen to’re fortunate, she could also be there to share her insights. Lekki Arts and Crafts Market is one other must-visit the place you’ll discover all the pieces from jewelry to work to furnishings — I’ve found gorgeous antiques and gem stones there at discount costs.
For those who’re keen to enterprise to Lekki’s outer edges, keep at La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort and go to the pristine fantastic thing about Eleko Seashore. Alternatively, return to Lekki 1 and take a look at 22b Lagos on Olawale Cole Onitiri Avenue. It’s an eclectic house internet hosting each personal and public occasions — which aren’t repeatedly marketed, however an exhibition there may be actually value your time.
In his satirical piece “How to Write About Africa”, Kenyan creator Binyavanga Wainaina famously mocked the clichés typically utilized by western writers in regards to the continent, together with the ever-present picture of “the African sundown.” However I wish to reclaim that sundown — with out the clichés — as a result of it’s really spectacular, particularly when skilled from certainly one of Lekki’s many waterfront bars, such because the famed Sailors Lounge on Admiralty Road. Get pleasure from reside music alongside your meal (strive the barbecue fish), sip on an Orijin (a bittersweet alcoholic beverage that ticks all of the “genuine” containers) and watch the sundown unfold in all its magnificent hues.
Alternatively, cease by Terraform restaurant on Wole Olateju Crescent, my favorite spot in Lekki. The gang right here consists of confident but laid-back locals — fashionable, hard-working, hard-partying too, and effortlessly cool. The ambiance is concurrently hip and welcoming, completely reflecting Lekki: younger, evolving and unapologetically itself.
Minna Salami is a senior fellow and analysis chair at The New Institute. She is the creator of “Can Feminism Be African?” (HarperCollins) and the weblog MsAfropolitan.com
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