MY LAGOS STORY

 It was an unusual morning, unusual due to a lot of things; I woke up at 9:44am. I could hear kids screaming and parents admonishing. I could see few dozens of young boys playing football on the streets. Are we not supposed to be "socially distancing"? The police came and dispersed them.

The roads and expressways, markets, plazas, schools, churches are deserted. I never imagined my second 'Lagos Story" would be anything close to this.

We are plagued, we are indoors, with limited food and money. We are not sad or gloomy, some are bored. You might think we could at least be afraid, but we are not;at least my neighbors aren't. We do not know how long we have got to stay this way but we are expectant. We hope, sadly we find ourselves hoping on people we never trusted before; our government. We believe somehow they can do better this time. I once heard "Hope breeds eternal misery' don't ask me how true that is or who said it.

Oh please don't lose hope! For my sake, that is hardly my intent. But, it is fascinating to see the once bustling and buzzing city of Lagos sober and gloom. Oh you know me, I love the quiet but God forbid I love an effect of something so horrible, a plague some people call it. Don't worry, I won't call it by it's name, I hardly understand it.

When I started writing I wanted to repeat all the precautions, you know, be safe, wash your hands..You know them. I'm sure you have heard it so often it is glued to your brain. So what is my message, even I don't know but I do know that I grieve for Italy, for Spain, for China, for every country affected by the plague, for my country Nigeria. Oh I grieve but I fear!

I pass through the streets, I see people shake hands, hug, and say the plague is not for them. Yes you might say, that is the Nigerian spirit! "We die here". Oh how I hope our belief is formidable enough to withstand this but then " Hope breeds eternal misery" or so I heard. Pray beautiful ones to the only one we trust.