Lagos City

Description:

The city of Lagos is situated in the south western part of Nigeria, in Lagos State. Lagos is Nigeria's largest city, chief port, and principal economic and cultural center. It served as Nigeria's capital until 1991, when the seat of federal government was moved to Abuja, in central Nigeria.

Broadly speaking Lagos consists of the mainlaind and the Islands. Major sections of Lagos city include the old city, which now serves as the commercial district, on western Lagos Island; Ikoyi Island, situated just east of Lagos Island and Victoria Island. The mainland has Apapa, the chief port district, and other suburbs, including Ebute-Metta, Yaba, Suru Lere, Ajegunle, Shomolu, Agege, Mushin, and Ikeja.

 

Three main bridges connect the city with the mainland namely Carter Bridge, Eko Bridge and the Third Mainland bridge. These three bridges allow for fairly quick access from the mainland to the Island dependent on traffic.

 

Lagos has a very diverse and fast-growing population, resulting from heavy and ongoing migration to the city from all parts of Nigeria as well as neighbouring countries.

 

The Yoruba tribe constitute the city's main ethnic group. English is the most commonly used language, but Yoruba, Pidgin English and other Nigerian languages are also spoken.

 

Lagos is Nigeria's leading port, particularly for imports of consumer goods, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, machinery, and industrial raw materials. Its export trade in timber and agricultural products such as cacao and groundnuts has declined since the early 1970s. More than half of Nigeria's industrial capacity is located in Lagos's mainland suburbs, particularly in the Ikeja industrial estate. A wide range of manufactures are produced in the city, including machinery, motor vehicles, electronic equipment, chemicals, beer, processed food, and textiles.

 

Lagos is the western terminus for the Nigerian railway system and is linked by rail and road to Ibadan, Kano, and other major Nigerian cities. Murtala Muhammad International Airport is located in the suburbs northwest of the city center. Lagos's rapid, mostly unregulated growth, coupled with the challenges of its fragmented geography, have resulted in chronically congested traffic conditions on the city's roads. Despite this, there is relatively little transportation by water between the islands and mainland sections of Lagos.

 

The most common means of transport is the motor vehicle as there are no rail services in Lagos city. There is usually a lot of traffic, usually referred to as "go slow" in Nigeria. The traffic tailbacks are caused by large numbers of people and vehicles competing for road space. Public transport consists mainly of buses called ‘molues', taxicabs, and motorcycles known as ‘Okada', and these are available in reasonable numbers.

 

The Lagos airport lies northwest of the city in Ikeja. The Murtala Muhammed Airport is a major hub for flights within Nigeria, the rest of West Africa and to other international destinations worldwide.

 

Lagos City is a combination of the modern and the traditional, with skyscrapers and glass houses sitting alongside old residential buildings.

 

The city of Lagos has many historical sites and tourist attractions, these include:

• Anglican Church, built in the eighteenth century
• Bronze statue of Shàngó, god of thunder, (PHCN building)
• General Post Office building
• National Theatre
• NITEL House, Africa's tallest building
• Official residence of the Oba of Lagos
• Old Secretariat, built in 1906 to house colonial offices.
• Tafawa Balewa Square

 

Lagos city has many rows of shops usually tightly packed together and a large number street vendors. It is not unusual for vehicle passengers stuck in traffic to do their ‘shopping' from their cars as the vendors are in between the cars peddling their wares. Items available for sale on the road range from newspapers, magazines, mobile phone top up cards to food items and watches, household goods.

 

There are also several markets in Lagos City. The Jànkara market offers new or second-hand clothing, jewelry, musical instruments, and hardware; the Ìsàlè Èkó market is known for food items while the Balógun market specializes in imported and African clothing material. The Bar Beach market on Ahmadu Bello Road offers food products and handi-craft, such as baskets, leather, and batik. Other markets in the city include the Ògógóró market, named after local gin, the main commodity on offer, and the Èbúté Èrò, Ìta Fãjì, and Sandgrouse markets. The Fálomo shopping center in Ìkòyí is on Awolowo Road. On the mainland the Téjúosó market in Surulere offers a variety of goods, as do other markets in Àpápá and Mushin, among others. In all cases, traders are eager to cut deals on prices; a consumer can buy cheap or dear depending on the state of business, the trader's mood, or time of day.