“It will not be easy for you, as it is not easy for the people that made money in Lagos”. These were the prayers of an old man whose daughter was about to travel to Lagos from the village. I pondered on these words trying to decipher if this man was praying for his daughter or cursing her.
Years after I have realised that the man’s words carry power and they are true considering the situation of things in Lagos. Lagos is a place of hustle. I first heard the word hustle when I was in secondary school and one of my classmates told me that he was a hustler. I became interested in who hustlers are, and what hustlers do.
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The struggle became real to me when I became a Lagos Corper. My 19,800 NGN alowee became small compared to that of other corpers who were in other states. I lived at Isolo and my Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) was at Ikeja. I spent over 1000 NGN every day. Here is the breakdown of my daily expenses:
Transport Fare to Work: 300
Transport fare from work: 300
Lunch: 200
Dinner: 200
Maruwa from Ikeja Along to my place of work is 100. Going from my house to Ikeja Along costs 200. Anytime I want to struggle to buy 100 NGN recharge card for my phone, I think twice. My PPA was paying a stipend of 8,000 NGN. I am sure some people would have advised me to save it, but how could I have saved it when I was spending about 30,000 NGN in a month. I was even spending more than I was earning. My friends in other states spend just 60 NGN to their PPA’s. The were able to save part of their alowee. I found out that it was so difficult for me to buy gifts for my younger ones or even my parents.
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What prompted me to write this, was my experience at Ikeja-Along last night. People were seriously running just to catch up with a BRT bus going to Oshodi for 50 NGN. This time, there was no tush babe or posh guy. I stood to watch them in amazement. The fact that the struggle is real dawned on me. Most of these people manage an income of 40,000 NGN as married men and women to feed, house, and clothe their families.
Now, I understand what Lagos hustle means and I know that the hustle is real. I was just checking my BBM last night and I saw my cousin’s Pm. It reads thus, let the hustle pay. The hustle really really needs to pay. If you have been posted to Lagos for your one-year compulsory service, click on this link to get affordable accommodation in Lagos.
Huh, one thing i realized in lagos is that, no matter hoe stringy u are, u must spend money, 19800 for corpers won’t be enough to satisfy the need of lagos corpers, Nd again, the state government are only paying some of the corpers, otherz especially those that came from far place to serve in lagos like mysef, i found it difficult to live in lagos, am still suffering the mess, lagos ain’t a place 4 person like me,
Maybe, but you must learn to manage the stipend and enjoy the lifestyle.
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