🇳🇬Nigeria Through My Eyes – Lagos

Nigeria has taught me patience, perspective, and gratitude. It's a country where life is never black and white. In this article, I'll take you on a journey through Lagos and into everyday Nigerian life - just as we've been experiencing it with my family for many years. 

(Or why I keep returning.)

When I first got interested in Nigeria, I did exactly what most Czechs - or at least most twenty-year-olds would do.
I opened Google Maps.

I found a country big enough to fit the Czech Republic about twelve times, but with 220 million people. That's 220 times our population. Not the whole of Africa is overcrowded. Just Nigeria is.

And all of that squeezed into a space where life pulses day and night, where people live outside, where the streets are never empty, and where you never feel alone.

Okay, so theoretically we're prepared.

But reality?

Reality always surprises you - sometimes it charms you, sometimes it scares you, and sometimes it makes you laugh so hard you have to lean on your suitcase.

My First Time in Lagos: When Your Jeans Stick to You in the Jet Bridge 

My first impression of Nigeria was… well, how do I say it politely? Hot, humid, dense - like being wrapped in a heavy blanket.

Our first trip was in December 2009.

Back then, Lagos Airport felt more like an old train station in the middle of nowhere. Not much aesthetics, announcements crackling from speakers, chaos, and occasional power outages.

And then came the legendary moment:

Still in the jet bridge, our jeans glued themselves to our legs.

My husband, who had been living in the Czech Republic for five years by then, just looked around and said:
"Wow… I forgot how humid it is here."

And then came the suitcase story. Our flight was delayed. Someone from the staff shouted something incomprehensible. And suddenly people started jumping over the barriers and running back toward the plane because they thought their luggage was about to take off without them.

I just stood there, holding my bag and three-year-old John, completely unsure whether this was an emergency, a movie scene, or just local folklore.

Thankfully, things have improved a lot since then.

Today, the airport is modern, clean, organized. But that first experience? I'll never forget it.

And the scent that will forever remind me of Nigeria?

Gasoline + fried plantain.
A classic Lagos "parfum".

From the Airport Into the City: Times Square × 50

Lagos is a cultural shock.

Not "scary" shock - more like your brain suddenly can't process the amount of stimuli.

What do you see first?

• people - everywhere
  Like Prague's Wenceslas Square on New Year's Eve… but all day, every day.

• red dust in the air

• the smell of petrol, fried food, and the lagoon

• fishermen by the water and endless slums in the distance as you cross Lagos bridges

• roadside stalls selling everything from SIM cards to fresh cashews

• children in school uniforms

• luxurious villas, fancy cars, and political convoys in black SUVs with sirens
  👉 and just a few kilometers away - poverty that squeezes your throat

Nigeria is contrast.

A mosaic held together only by the incredible spirit of its people.

In Lekki - the wealthy part of Lagos - you won't see kekenapepe (tuk-tuks) or motorbikes. To enter this district, you pass a checkpoint that feels like a border crossing.
Lekki is clean, organized, and offers everything you're used to at home.

Yet just before that VIP gate, a three-year-old child might run up to your car selling small plastic bags of drinking water.

It's a different world. And still, something about it keeps pulling you in.

Children Who Have Less… and Yet Somehow More

Nigerian children taught me one big lesson:
The fewer toys they have, the more they actually play.

A ball, a stick, something they found on the road, and they're happy. Laughing, climbing everywhere, curious, rarely shy.

And when there's little at home, and money is tight?
They help even more. Cleaning, cooking, or selling goods by the roadside.

It's a paradox that first hurts you, then inspires you, and finally makes you rethink half your life.

Food: A Love You Either Grow Into… or Don't

Do you know what I love most?

Fried plantains with tomato scrambled eggs.
The best breakfast - it takes time to prepare, but it tastes like heaven.

But meat?

That I don't eat there. Not for a whole month.

It's different - tougher, stronger-flavored, often goat or fish, and my Czech taste buds simply say, "No, thank you."

Fruit and vegetables, though?
Unbeatable. Mango, papaya, pineapple… as if someone grew them just for you.

Antimalarials and Other Joys

The first year, we took antimalarials diligently.
And the first year, we were convinced we had malaria - because of the side effects.

We stopped taking them after that, and so far (knocking on wood), we haven't caught it. Local medicines are said to work quickly, so we trust that would apply to us too.

You need a bit of perspective… and a bit of faith.

How to Travel Through Nigeria Without Losing Your Mind

Nigeria isn't the kind of place you travel to with a backpack and say, "We'll figure it out somehow."

There are three rules:

⭐ 1. Have a local guide

Not a random person from the airport - someone verified.
And if you're traveling far outside Lagos, ideally armed.

You need someone who knows where you can go and where you absolutely shouldn't.
You should travel only in a sturdy vehicle, you can lock from the inside.

Cities I personally consider "walkable" and relatively safe are:
Lagos - Lekki, Calabar, and Abuja (the capital).

Nigeria is huge, and I've by no means seen all of it.
But in these places, I know I don't need someone by my side every second.

The north?
I would avoid it. Not because there aren't great people - northern Muslims are known for their business sense and kindness - but Boko Haram operates there, and I'm just a mom from the Czech Republic, not a thrill-seeker.

⭐ 2. Avoid certain parts of the country

Just like there are streets in Prague you don't walk alone at night.

It's not fear - it's respect for reality.

⭐ 3. Lagos is the best starting point

Vibrant, dense, chaotic, fascinating.

And if you want to experience Lagos safely and comfortably, just let me know.
I'm happy to help you settle in - even in our verified, guarded Airbnb in Lagos, our second home.

We offer:

• a safe, secure neighborhood

• a verified driver

• clean, modern accommodation

• Wi-Fi and 24/7 electricity

• and most importantly - peace, which in Lagos is priceless

What Nigeria Has Taught Me

Nigeria gives you more than you expect and takes entirely different things than you imagined.

It has given me:

• patience

• perspective

• gratitude for things we take for granted

• the ability to see beauty in chaos

• a smile even in moments when a Czech would complain

• a new relationship with things, time, and people
  
  Nigeria really took only one thing from me: the naïve belief that people everywhere in the world have the same opportunities. 

And when I'm there - somewhere between the Lagos lagoon, the dusty streets, and the mix of music and noise, I always think about how grateful I am for ordinary everyday things back home: running electricity, drinkable tap water, money arriving on time, not seeing hungry children on the streets.

And maybe that's why I keep going back.

But this is just Lagos.
Next time, I plan to take you to smaller towns - and especially into the villages. ;)