IS THIS REALLY OSHODI?

A few days ago, an old friend of mine came home from the States after twelve years of leaving the country in search of greener pastures. It was an awesome time hanging out together. Spending most of his time on the bourgeoisie end of Lagos, he was surprised at the rate of development on the Island. Much more, the Lekki – Ajah environment and the Lekki link bridge. At a point, we were unhappy at the opportunity we missed to become land owners and multi-millionaires now. Back then, as students around the law school environment, we will often wonder around 1004 estate, Maroko, Sand fill and beyond at our free time and wished we had enough money to buy plots of land. Our dreams.

We soon forgot about the missed opportunities, and decided to focus on the possibilities in this land. At the end of the day, we decided to lounge at one of the bars in Victoria Island. Again, it’s no longer 11:45 or Y Not. You now have Quilox, Bay Lounge, and Sailors. According to him, everything seems to be changing and developing so fast. A die-hard Nigerian like me, I was quick to say YES! And if the current plans are been implemented, places like the Lekki Free Trade Zone(LFTZ) and World Trade Center (WTC) Abuja will further boost investment, trade, and every other think we can’t even imagine now. 

The greatest shock came when he was leaving; we decided to check out the mainland hours before his flight. We headed straight for Shop Rite, Ikeja. Where else would I have taken him? Again he was surprised. We couldn’t have imagined 14years ago that something of such would thrive in this country. Even though, we were Land of Plenty (L.O.P) VIP customers back then.It’s time to leave. And by 4pm Nigeria time, we decided to move closer to the Airport. This is where it all happened.  I suggested we take Oshodi route. Your bet was as good as mine. His face got white at the mention of Oshodi.

We had almost passed Oshodi when I told him this is Oshodi. In a few milli-seconds, his heads was almost out of the window. How he was able to tap the button and get his head out of the window so fast still baffles me as I write. His jaw was left dropped for more minutes as I allowed him to express his shock. Our gist soon centered on Oshodi. The crowded and almost no vehicular movement then has become so free with an ability to view buildings and signs from distance. What no one would have tried 10years back.

 

This development has flushed out a large number of street urchins Oshodi was known to accommodate. It has given Lagos a new face, and built investors confidence in the State.