Heathrow to Murtala.
Hmmm, so I finally leave England. I leave England after 18 months of rigorous study, self searching and jaw-dropping adventures. 18 months in England- a journey which had its ups and downs but never for once did I rigidly gaze focus only on an end so as not to let lessons en-route this journey pass me by. Its hails and its woes, its friends made and foes generated, its knowledge gained and ignorance given…every moment, I have loved it all. From moments of endless intellectual arguments in class, leading to freezing nights at the bus stop to house parties and bar nights, leading to police interrogations and warnings….I have surrendered to love it all.
I leave England after 18 months with a Masters Degree, a Fellow of Chartered Public Relations Practitioners, a Resident Permit and endless abstract materials. These materials have formed opinions and I have concurred with myself, they are facts. Facts but yet so timid to squirt in words. To be modest, they have sprinkled on me a self aware individuality and enlightening self discovery. With these I evolve into Lagos; I evolve into the city I hold so dear, the city I was born, breed and brewed for twenty something years; to module experiences and knowledge gained from the West into improving my heartthrob- Lagos. If my character is noble and my choices attract formidable alliances, all I wish for and more for my heartthrob would be reality even more so, could also rub off on its sister states. In third world countries, local community development is paramount and backbone to birthing a formidable or emerging economy. Local councils need consecutive climaxed attention so as to facilitate adequate living structures. They need mostly to support informal sector participants in their vecinities and rely strictly on community participation/engagement for policy formation and implementation. If such measures are drilled into localities, hardly can other societal ills cripple economy transformation. I have not only read but witnessed repeatedly how consistent and strong relationships between local citizens and local council representatives have helped transform societies into better economies. Its not fiction and so for my Lagos and her sister states, it can be reality.
With rigid hope “primarily” for transformation, I fly into my heartthrob city. Then, I evolve to have a laugh at honking horns and curses in traffic…I evolve to feel goose pimples Iya Bose’s “Ewa Agoyin” gives me…I evolve to continuously act the fool for Lagos girls as that makes them loyally spread it open….I evolve, I evolve, I evolve. Eko Ile, mo tin bo….
Jide Alara.
