Naija State of Mind!

With all the attention our dear country has been getting of late; the attempted Christmas day bombing, our MIA Presido, enough is enough rallys and protests, the high profile talks hinting at a failed state, my recent trip home and my resulting profiling at Newark International airport upon my return, Naija has been weighing heavily on my mind. I was on my way out of the house this morning when I was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of patriotism and went back upstairs to Naijarize my accessories so all should recognize that I’m also “Naija Outside”.

So I got into the car and started my early morning commute to work. The Alicia Keys CD I had bought just before I left for Naija was still in heavy rotation in my CD player. One of my favorite songs on the CD, “Empire State of Mind” came on and I was merrily singing along when I suddenly realized that there was something about the song that sounded so familiar. Could she be singing about… Lagos?

You self listen well…

Famous as a place of movie Nollywood scenes…

Noise is always loud, there are sirens all around and the streets are mean…

If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere that’s what they say…

Even if it ain’t all it seems I’ve got a pocket full of dreams, baby I’m from New York Lagos…

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do…

Now you are in New York Lagos… These streets will make you feel brand new, big no light will inspire you (Just ask someone how much they spend on diesel every month to run their generators and you’ll certainly be inspired!)…

Hear it for New York Lagos…

On the Avenue Sanusi Fafunwa, there ain’t never a curfew, ladies work so hard…

Hail an gypsy cab okada… takes me from Harlem Obalende to the Brooklyn Bridge Ebutte Meta.

Speaking of which… Where is Banky? I beg, come and “Ebutte metta” this one for us too! (I have since been informed that Banky did not disappoint and already has the Lagos remix in circulation. I beg, who get am?)

I’ve thought about this one hundred and one ways and there is no one I would rather be than a Nigerian. Being Naija is what makes it possible for me to speak big grammar in front of  executive management and also tear broken while negotiating with the dude selling bootleg CDs in Lagos traffic. (Ol boy, whish wan you dey naaa?). It is what allows me to travel from Lagos to Accra by PT (big up ABC Transport Company) and then check into one of the best hotels in Ghana for the night. It’s what taught me how to confidently rock a double Windsor at work and then totally rock some old school guinea brocade or Ankara at the owambe later that night. It is what makes me close my office door at lunch time so I can destroy my jollof rice, moin-moin, dodo and fowl with my hands in peace and then Kung-Fu some some sushi, sashimi and other mede mede at dinner time armed with a pair of bamboo chopsticks. It is what makes me… NaijaMan!

One hand in the air for the big city, streets lights, big dreams all looking pretty (In case you didn’t see the Christmas lights on Ajose Adeogun courtesy of Zenith bank), no place in the world that can compare… Put your lighters in the air everybody say yeah…