Encomium
The Hip Hop World publisher paints the town red in this C-Class. But he can’t stand those bottle-neck Lagos hold-ups!
Where do you live in Lagos?
I live in Ogba, somewhere behind Excellence Hotel, around Retail Market. I live there because I love the area.
What’s your earliest Lagos experience?
You learn a lot of tricks. We have street knowledge in Lagos. When I first got to Lagos it was just a small boy that taught me sense. I was going to Lagos Island and he was going to Iyana Ipaja and I asked how I can get to Lagos Island from him, and he said I should follow him knowing that I will pay his transport fare. He took me to Iyana Ipaja and said I should ask someone there that they will show me the street. So in Lagos, you learn a lot of things and you should be very careful and conscious of yourself so that they won’t steal you.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Ilorin, Kwara State even though my dad is from Lagos. There I spent the first 17 years of my life. Before I moved to Kaduna and then back to Lagos.
What do you like most about Lagos?
Lagos is very interesting, you can never be bored in Lagos. If an okada man is not making noise beside you, another bus conductor will be showing you something. Lagos is fast and for some people, they can’t live anywhere aside Lagos. I’ve travelled far and wide and every time I am out of Lagos, I always want to come back because everywhere else is boring. You see people passionate about their business and you see useless people as well.
What do you hate most about Lagos?
Hold up. With no doubt, I hate the hold-up and miss a lot of appointments and people see you as unserious.
What’s your favourite hangout in Lagos?
I don’t have a favourite hangout because of the nature of my job. I don’t drink, I only go to where I meet my colleagues. We share ideas and all that.
Who is your Lagos favourite celebrity?
Chief Dele Momodu.
Where do you shop in Lagos?
I don’t shop in Lagos. Because I don’t know where to shop. Not that there are no places in Lagos but the two places I shopped in the past, they cheated me. The margin is so much but when I travel I get all the things I need. Even though I don’t travel every week but when I see any of my friends travelling, I send them things I need urgently. But when you talk about local stuff, I do them here.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
Hip Hop World Awards, it’s going to be big. And we are likely to have Hip Hop World exclusive party in Ghana and outside Lagos, especially in the East. We don’t walk on ten things at the same time. Hip Hop World Award we have to focus on it and by the grace of God, it’s going to be big. We want to complement what people that are there before us are doing. And then some other things are in the pipeline that I don’t want to mention now because it’s too early.
(First published in 2005)
