— LORDBANKS

How Many Hours Do You Spend In [Lagos] Traffic?

No, seriously, how many? I’ve been commuting between Sango Ota (Ogun State) and Victoria Island for the past few weeks now, and I can tell you first hand, it’s totally insane. On a good traffic day, if I leave the house before 6am, I can make it to the Island by 9am. But like every Lagosian knows, there’s very little margin for error…leaving ten minutes behind schedule usually means getting stuck in traffic for another hour more than you’re usually in it. Coming back, I leave by 4pm so I can beat the Island traffic, only so I can get stuck all the way from Oshodi to Sango. On average, I do about 8 hours in traffic, more or less. Everyday for five days. I don’t use expletives, but if you do, feel free to insert yours here________.

By now I’ve concluded that this certainly can’t be the way to live. But somehow I’m already living that way, like millions of other Lagosians who have to leave their homes as early as 5am, some earlier, to get to work at a location that is far flung from where they live. I see them everyday, tired men dozing in the Danfos, bleary eyed market women jostling to get in the bus and snatch another 30 minutes of precious sleep, corporate execs in the backseats of their jeeps, swiping away at their iPads, hoping to pass the time productively, children fully clothed in school gear, firmly seat-belted, eating their micro-waved breakfasts in slow-motion, while mummy battles the traffic…on and on and on. In the morning in the evening, car owners and pedestrians alike, all part of that surging, swarming, sweaty mass of humanity moving in pursuit of their livelihoods… This, dear people, is NOT the life.

So how many hours do you spend in traffic? I did a little math, and it turns out that if you spend just 6 hours out a 5-day work week in traffic over the next forty years, you’ll have spent 7.11856409 years of your life on the road to and from work. Don’t forget, this doesn’t take non-work related commutes into account. Think about it.

As far as this dude is concerned, this can’t continue for much longer, seriously looking out for a temporary hook-up that’s closer to the Island pending when I can make permanent living arrangements. Wanting to see the sunlight around where you live cannot be a crime now, can it? And by the way, might you want to hazard a guess at where I’m at while I’m posting this? Yup, you’re absolutely right. The hustle continues.

UPDATE: Never fear motorists, Google’s self driving cars are almost here! That way you can browse and surf Google while your car takes you to work. Maybe I’ll have a look at that sometime.

You might also like::

1. What Do You Do When Your Car Breaks Down In Lagos?
2. Hurry, Hustle, Lagos – Pictures From CMS, Lagos
3. Molue Meditations – The Law Of Expectation
4. But Why Do I Feel Like I’m In A War Zone?
5. Horsing Around In Lagos