Nigeria is one place you would have mixed-feelings living in; its street life is one you can’t forget if you ever find yourself in this part of the globe. Just like any other place in the world, be it Moscow, Budapest, Hong Kong, Cali, Buenos Aires or what have you, they all have streets. ‘Street’ according to the dictionary is a public road in a city, town, or village, with houses and buildings on one or both sides. In Nigeria, street is more than this definition, it is a ’Home’. From Beere in Ibadan to Ajegunle in Lagos, Rumuodara in Port Harcourt to the streets of Warri, the home of average Nigerians is the street.
In contrast to the GRAs, Estates and other places where the rich inhabit, the highest population of Nigerians live in the street. They are overpopulated with people who are trying to get rich (hustle) or die trying. A single room may house six to seven members of a family. Street is a place where most of the people can lay their heads after the day’s activities. A large number of people spend a few hours sleeping anywhere they end the day’s toiling. People who live here are the ones the politicians rely on to get into their desired offices. They are the ones who throng voting centers during elections.
Nigerian streets are one of the noisiest hoods you would see. Cassette and record sellers, religious places (churches and mosques), taverns, car hoots, tradomedical sellers and traders constitute the noises. These I like to tag the ‘causative agents of the noises.’ Nevertheless, Nigerians revel in this noise as it is a way of life for them. Street Carnivals and other jamborees are peculiar to the street.
Another common thing about Nigerian streets is the use of slangs. Many words are coined and used in day-to-day activities. You will get lost if you don’t understand the streets lingua franca. Words are encoded to suit the people’s lifestyle. You just have to learn some street words if you must survive in the streets of Lagos. Street urchins, bus conductors, street lords are the originators of the street languages.
If you must survive in this part of the world, Nigerian street is a learning ground. You have to be smart or else you will be grounded by the forces around. The street has shaped and modeled many who dared to rise from grass to grace. It is a fuel that fires anyone who sees it as a starting point to tour the world. Nigerians’ ways of life are well seen here. The people live in packed settlements rather than being apart with a divide. There is no dullness in Nigerian streets, in fact, Nigeria is strictly a street. Even in Peckham UK, Nigeria has a street.