By 
The Lagos sun wasn’t just hot; it felt like fire pressing on Abike’s head as she waited at the bus stop, watching the endless stream of yellow danfos. The air was filled with Lagos noise horns blaring, conductors shouting “Owa o!”, generators humming, and people talking all at once.
Her chest tightened. She knew this feeling too well: Lagos-induced stress.
Abike, a mental health advocate, had seen it all. She’d watched a man nearly fight a conductor over ₦50 change. She’d seen a woman cry after spending three hours in traffic for a journey that should’ve taken thirty minutes.
“Lagos will test you,” she always told her followers, “but it can also teach you how to be stronger.”
And today, she needed her own advice.
Tip 1: Embrace the Detour
On her way home, the main road was blocked, so the bus swerved into a dusty backstreet. People groaned, “Ah! Another go-slow!”
But Abike didn’t complain. She put on a podcast about mindfulness and decided to enjoy it. Instead of fighting traffic, she used it as time for herself. She got home 45 minutes late, but her mind was calm, not scattered.
Tip 2: Find Your Oases
The next day, she had a meeting in Lekki. Everyone knows what Lekki traffic means by evening pure madness. Instead of stressing, she made a plan. She stopped at a small café, ordered a chilled zobo, and just relaxed for an hour. She didn’t check emails. She didn’t rush. She simply rested. When she finally hit the traffic, it didn’t bother her. Her patience was already recharged.
Tip 3: Use a Simple Mantra
Her biggest secret weapon? A simple phrase she repeated in her mind:
“This is Lagos. I am stronger than this.”
Whenever okadas brushed too close, or market noise became too much, she whispered it to herself. One evening, as she was entering a danfo, a stressed passenger shouted, “Can’t you see where you’re going?!” Normally, Abike would snap back. But this time, she smiled, said nothing, and repeated her mantra.
Surprised, the man muttered an apology. Just like that, tension dissolved.
That week, Abike wrote on her blog:
“Lagos will always be Lagos. The traffic won’t vanish, the noise won’t stop. But peace of mind is something you can choose to protect. Strength is not about fighting everything, it’s about keeping your calm in the middle of the madness.”
Lagos won’t change, but you can protect your sanity!