A letter of frustration to the drowning city

Dear Lagos,

How is your day going? Mine is not going as planned. I had planned to leave home by 5 a.m to beat the traffic on your roads which start by 6 a.m. Mother Nature had other plans as she opened her skies and rain come forth.

The rain did not stop, it still hasn't stopped on my side of town. Lagos, you do not make things easy. When it rains in your city everything shuts down from the Internet to the roads. Major roads are blocked and to make matters worse, the other side of town is flooded.

Yes, your beloved 'Island' which has made you neglect the 'Mainland' for decades is doing its best 'lost city of Atlantis' impression. Victoria Island, Lekki, Ikoyi, Ajah, VGC are flooded. Hundreds of thousands of people will likely work from home today because you have failed to do anything meaningful about the floods. Productivity will drop today because you have failed to create an efficient drainage system.

Lagos, all you do is take and take but don't give back to people. Fancy bridges and festivals are nothing. The suffering of the common man still continues. Traffic is more than a major issue in Lagos, it is a demon. Yes, we thank you for the work on 3rd Mainland Bridge but it is just one out of many.

Lagos is hellish to live in. If you do not get out of your house early enough, wahala. If it rains, wahala. You remind me of some women who use a lot of makeup, one clean wipe of the face and we see what is underneath an ugly mess.

Lagos you are ugly and no Eko Atlantic make up can fix it. Lekki, which was originally meant to be your crowning glory is filthy. The gutters are choke full of waste and when it rains it is nothing more than an overpriced, flooded ghetto that most times has no electricity.

The rainy season brings out the worst in you but let us not blame it on Mother Nature, you have been ugly for a long time. Recent attempts to touch up your profile will do little (Banana Island, Eko Atlantic) only shows how you are biased towards the rich and not the millions of Lagosians who toil night and day.

Lagos, you were once beautiful, now you are a drowning mess.