Lagos Vs. Abuja: Nigerian Facebookers disagree to agree

• which megacity is actually better?

By Ediale Kingsley

In what has taken Facebook timelines by storm, the subject of a Lagos Vs. Abuja debate has become an unending viral item in the last 48hours (as at the time of this report).  The argument that may have started from one individual showing highlighted disgust over her stay in Lagos as compared to Abuja has gotten a spiral reaction effect. As many other lovers of Lagos decided to enter for the debate challenge, in a bid to rep their beloved megacity. In turn other Abuja-freaks also stepped on the podium, until it became a Facebook National Debate.

Bibian Chinenye insists, “I agree that Lagos is the economic hub of Nigeria, I totally agree. All the banks have their head offices in Lagos. You get the best law practice in Lagos. I had my law school in Lagos, unarguably the best campus of the Nigerian Law School. But that’s just all that there’s to Lagos. You can’t compare the living condition in Abuja to Lagos, you just can’t. The air in Lagos is dirty, no apologies guys. I visit Lagos, return to wherever I visited from and fall sick. It’s a routine. Should we talk about your gutters, Lagosians? Your road network is terrible. Your means of transportation is even worse. It’s only in Lagos that you find planks or plastic chairs as bus seats. Lagos is traffic jam and traffic jam is Lagos, you can’t separate one from the other. In Lagos, you leave your house hours before the time slated for your appointment or you’ll be doomed”.

Amanda Pius adds, “Lagos is a Nigerian that molds something out of nothing. It hurts that is Abuja that is talking. Abuja oh! Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria but it houses everyone from the 35 states in Nigeria. The soil of Lagos do not discriminate. Lagos, the only city that molds the weak, strong and the brave. Lagos is the only city that is boldly written ‘THIS IS LAGOS’ at the entrance and not ‘welcome yen yen yen’ because you are about to face the real world. NYC is learning about night life from Lagos.”

And so a lot of others have voiced their reasons for or against.

Ediale Kingsley, Head of Entertainment and Sports Desk, National Daily Newspaper had this to say on his Facebook wall:

“Hustle took men from Abuja to Lagos. They have become successful and now thinking how to advance their projects from Dubai to New York even as they leave traces of their footprint in Kenya and China. You are here debating on two failed states. You better try and invest in a travel plan even as you attempt to get a PVC.

“Just hide in the state that offers you that temporary boom that fits your situation and condition:

— Of Abuja, of Lagos, the power supply isn’t 50% stable. Even in 2018. Whereas, saner cities are finding creative ways to reduce surplus power supply.

— Of both places, tourism accounts for less than 5% of the state’s revenue. If they are that glorious why aren’t we experiencing the exodus of tourists to these glorious states?

— BBN couldn’t even host in Abuja. Once they couldn’t do Lagos they opted out. And so we had a Big Brother Nigeria hosted in South Africa. It could have been BBSA- Big Brother South Africa.

— Whether you are coming from Abuja to Lagos. Or you are going from Lagos to Abuja. By road is still a pain. A frustration. You guys don’t even have quality, easy-drive, and properly constructed roads linking each other.

— A dollar to a Naira in Abuja is 360, same in Lagos. All so, because in Abuja the Churches holds more people than any Industrial Company.  It is the same in Lagos. And we only have manufacturing companies that specialized in producing cook foods as against making electronics or other useful inventions.

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— In Abuja, they use Expensive Fuel. Same in Lagos. There’s no refinery in both cities. Just giant fashionable lighted fuel supermarket. They call them petrol stations and they won’t pump until the White Man helps them to refine in their cities and ship to your cities.

— In Abuja the sports facilities are dead. In Lagos it’s the same. You can’t host a car race competition yet in any of the cities. The other day they hosted a marathon in Lagos. The foreign viewers wondered why Dangote Trucks were blocking the better parts of the race road.

— We have few cinema screens in Abuja and Lagos. Compare to other megacities. It’s a miracle how producers make their money back after screening a good film.

— The poverty rate in Lagos is quoted as a livelihood of $2 per day for the average individual. Same for Abuja. These cities have stolen money and properties of corrupt politicians with the walls.

— No hospital in Abuja or Lagos is good enough to take care of your President’s medical needs. If you are poor and reside in Abuja or Lagos you best pray not to have a rich man’s ailment. You will die. Except you attend MFM. Cos if God doesn’t heal you. Where will you get the money Medical Tourism?

— Coke in Lagos tastes the same shitty ways it tastes in Abuja. I still wonder why a foreign made coke is different from the Lagos/Abuja own.

— There’s no professionally run football club, like West Brom or Malaga, in Lagos or Abuja. Let’s not talk about ala Barca or Madrid.

“I can go on and on.

Let’s stop the noisy debate and figure out how we can solve our issues. Ordinary Internet access we haven’t figure, we are deceiving ourselves with here-is-better-than-there-crusade”.

Caleb Eshiebuye, a social media commentator also added his views, ‘Even the fashion industry as well, that is, the clothing and textile industry together with the shoes and accessories produced in Aba, is a great source of revenue for any economy.  Milan or Milano is known as the fashion capital of the world because of brands and fashion outfits like Dolce and Gabbanna, Giorgio Arman, Prada and Versace. Milan also hosts the fashion festival on a regular basis where brands all over the world converge in Milan to display every item they have to offer. An events which will of course generate revenue for the brands in profits and revenue for the economy in taxes. But in this country that has been successfully transformed into Donald Trump’s description of some countries through Buharic, Dinoic and Melayeic leadership and policy making, this industry has not even been harnessed’.

However if we yet choose to go thorough in finding which among the two cities is better, we may as well ask the neutrals.

Travelstart, an online expert in travels and tourism had a publication in 2015 that supports Lagos as the better place. And Nairaland, the social media platform, thinks otherwise.

What do you think?

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