LAGOS, EKO, LASGIDI

Tin Can Island,Apapa Lagos

Eko city of my birth
Where my after birth lays buried in the lagoon
And I spoke my first words and took my first steps
A land that often calls to me in my dreams
In the dead of the night
When the moon rules the skies
And the stars whisper to one another
Land of creeks that never sleep
And the weary traveler finds a rest
Ask Rui de Sequeira the Portuguese explorer
And for the adventurous, there is never a dull moment
The rich get richer
and the poor drink the dirt of the Lagoon
From Iyana Ipaja to Aja Lekki
The fun is unlimited
for the nightcrawlers
And the merchants make more profit
then the Merchant of Venice
Ask my Igbo brothers in Alaba and Idumota
or Iya Risikatu in Balogun market
I once found myself on the Caribbean Island of Tobago
and I could swear I was at Gbaja market in Lagos

Eko o ni baje
Lagos no go spoil
Chants the "area boys" in the dark dingy alleys of Isale Eko
The ins and outs of Lagos
are at their fingertips
"Alaiye fada fyne sometin for awon bois fun weekend nau"
Drive through Isale Eko streets on a Friday night
And you will know
"Ah say you go know to say
e dey shele"
It is happening
The streets are closed off to traffic
As party tents, chairs, tables converge and litter  the streets
No City parties like Lagos
Las Vegas has nothing on Lagos
My Trini family say Saint James in Trinidad is the city that never sleeps
And I laughed so hard
You guys ain't seen anything yet
Ask any bonafide Lagosian

The first time I visited New York
And someone asked me what I thought
My response was "It's just like Lagos but with taller buildings"
And she smirked
We are proud of our city warts and all
It beats a tune that pumps the heartbeat
dancing swaying hips
as giggling  Ikebes roll
like the undulating hillsides of idiroko
and the feet stamp in ecstasy
to the praise singer beating at his talking drum
in commune with the gods
at an Owambe
And voices of sons and daughters gone, echo
Eko o ni baje

Lagos is my City
No, not the one in Portugal
But this one
On the West coast of Africa
Eko....Lagos

Lagos at Night

Lagos Marina

<script data-ad-client="ca-pub-9722270561140471" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>