Some friends of mine invited me there to Lagos, but i dont know how exacltly is..
Does anybody know anything?
Every answer would be precious.
Thank you Lagos (pron. IPA: /藞le瑟g蓲s/ or /藞l蓱藧go蕣s/ overseas) is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with around 8 million people[2] and the second most populous in Africa after Cairo. Formerly the capital of Nigeria, Lagos is a huge metropolis which originated on islands such as Lagos Island, separated by creeks, fringing the south-west of Lagos Lagoon near its mouth, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. From this beginning Lagos has spread on the mainland west of the lagoon and the conurbation including Ikeja and Agege now reaches more than 40 km north-west of Lagos Island. With a livability ranking of 60.1% (0% being exceptional quality of life and 100% being intolerable), The Economist rated Lagos 130th out of 132 cities.
Lagos is Nigeria's most prosperous city, and much of the nation's wealth and economic activity are concentrated there. The commercial, financial and business centre of Lagos and of Nigeria remains the business district of Lagos Island, where most of the country's largest banks and financial institutions are located. More than half of Nigeria's industrial capacity is located in Lagos's mainland suburbs, particularly in the Ikeja industrial estate. A wide range of manufactured goods are produced in the city, including machinery, motor vehicles, electronic equipment, chemicals, beer, processed food, and textiles.
The standard of living is higher in Lagos than in the rest of Nigeria, as residents have considerably greater access to food, fresh water, indoor plumbing, and modern technology.
The Port of Lagos is Nigeria's leading port and one of the largest in Africa. It is administered by the Nigerian Port Authority and is split into three main sections: Lagos port, in the main channel next to Lagos Island, no longer used much, Apapa Port (site of the container terminal) and Tin Can Port, both located in Badagry Creek which flows into the Lagos Harbour from the west.[11] The port features a railhead.
The port handles imports of consumer goods, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, machinery, and industrial raw materials. Its export trade in timber and agricultural products such as cacao and groundnuts has declined since the early 1970s, although the port has seen growing amounts of crude oil exported, with export figures rising between 1997 and 2000.[12] Oil and petroleum products provide 20% of GDP and 95% of foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria as a whole
Highways
Lagos has suburban trains and has modern ferry services.Highways are congested, due in part to the geography of the city, as well as to its explosive population growth.
Local roads in Lagos vary in quality from well-maintained to pothole-ridden. The freeways were built by German contractors, most notably Julius Berger PLC. Most freeways are currently in working shape. The Lagos鈥揑badan expressway and the Lagos鈥揂beokuta expressway are the major arterial routes in the north of the city and serve as inter-state highways to Oyo State and Ogun State respectively. To the west the congested Badagry Expressway serves outlying suburbs such as Festac Town as well as being an international highway (see below).
A highway in LagosThe city is teeming with poor quality transit buses known to locals as Danfos or Molues, as well as taxi motorcycles known as Okadas. Both means of transport are a vital part of Lagos's transport network, however, they are notorious for vehicle collisions and robberies. Many foreign tourists avoid travelling on them.
An agency called Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA)[14] has been created to solve the transport problems in Lagos. The Bus Rapid Transit scheme was launched on the 4th of June 2006.[
BRT (Lagbus)
Lagos is building a bus rapid transit system and expects the first phase to be complete by the end of November 2007. It is expected operate on eight routes on special BRT Lanes running through the city but will expand its operation. First phase of the Lagos BRT to run from Mile 12 through Ikorodu Road and Funsho Williams Avenue up to CMS is scheduled to start operation by November 2007.
It is projected that the system will carry up to 10,000 passengers per direction per hour during peak travel hours. The LAMATA BRT corridor is about 22 kilometres in length.Two operators, NURTW Cooperative and LAGBUS, a Lagos State Government owned Asset Management Company are contributing about 180 high capacity buses for the implementation of the first phase Mile 12 to CMS BRT Lite system.
Culture
[edit] Music & film industry
Lagos is famous throughout West Africa for its music scene. Lagos has given birth to a variety of styles such as highlife, juju, fuji, and Afrobeat. In recent years Lagos has been the fore-runner with African styled hip-hop branded Afrohip-hop.
Lagos is the centre of the Nigerian film industry, often referred to as 'Nollywood.' Many of the large film producers have offices in Surulere, Lagos, though there aren't any film studios in Nollywood, in the Hollywood sense. Idumota market on Lagos Island is the primary distribution centre. Also many films are shot in the Festac area of Lagos.
The cinemas are gradually losing their supporters to the movie industry. Yoruba films happen to be the most watched in the cinemas, followed by Indian films. Films are not premiered for a long period of time in the western sense, especially with Yoruba films. The English spoken films move directly from the studios to the market.
Iganmu is home to the National Arts Theatre 鈥?the primary centre for the performing arts in Nigeria.
[edit] Football
As in the rest of Nigeria, football is the most popular sport. The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and the Lagos State Football Association (LAFA) are both based in Lagos. A prominent Lagos soccer club Julius Berger FC, members of the Nigerian Premier League; the team, owned by the Julius Berger Construction Company, is set to close in 2008, potentially leaving Lagos without a Premier League team.[16]
The Nigerian national football team, also known as the Super Eagles, used to play almost all of their home games in Lagos; however, games are now split between the Surelere Stadium in Lagos and the larger, newer Abuja Stadium in Abuja, which may soon become the default home of the Super Eagles.[17][18]
[edit] Tourism
Lagos tourist destination, as it is primarily business-oriented and has a reputation for chaos, danger and squalor amongst some foreigners and while such aspects exist in some places, others appreciate the culture and vitality which can be found in the city as well. Visitors are also drawn to the musical heritage of Lagos, such as fuji music (see Music section).[19] There are tourist attractions such as the Oba's Palace and modern facilities for international visitors exist particularly in Ikoyi and Victoria Island, such as the Silverbird Galleria, The Palms Shopping Mall, Eko Hotels & Suites & City Mall.
[edit] Education
The Lagos State Government operates state schools.[20] The education system is the 6-3-3-4 system, which is practised throughout the country (as well as by many other ECOWAS states). The levels are Primary, Junior Secondary School (JSS), Senior Secondary School (SSS), and university. All children are offered basic education, with special focus on the first six years. Their family's finances may determine how far the child will go after this.
Lagos is home to four universities, several colleges and other centres of learning. Some examples are listed below. its cool man ,chill out paco u will enjoy the heart of africa I do not recommend it for summer vacation. - too hot.
I do not recommend it for winter vacation. - no snow.
Nevertheless, it is up to you to decide Paco.
Do whatever you think is fun! If you have friends to show you around and never have been to a big African city, go.
Don't go to Lagos hoping to see nature or anything like that, but you'll see some things that make you realize that things you take for granted in the western world is not to be taken for granted in Africa (at least not outside South Africa). And Lagos is a party town ! Make sure you go with your friends if you decide to go. You'll have lots of fun in lagos if you're friends know what to do. Follow your instincts while you're out there it's like an african new york city! Enjoy the food! Make sure you get good local food. Avoid drinking water not from a sealed pack or bottle. I love lagos! We all do! Are these friends you know from REAL LIFE (ie school work etc) than by all means go cautiously and have fun. If these are friends you know solely online, than DO NOT GO, you could be hurt,robbed or worse, visit www.internet-love-scams.org for help |
