Great Dispatch from Lagos

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Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

Slate.com has a writer sending daily dispatches from Lagos. Right now he's on Day 3.

Most telling part so far:

Quote:

There is crime in Lagos. Bank robberies, muggings, and con schemes are common. Religious violence is relatively unknown here, however. People of every conceivable religion and ethnicity, from every corner of West Africa, come to work in Lagos. So why don't they bring their ethnic and religious baggage with them?

One possibility is that Christians and Muslims often intermarry in Lagos, a rare event in most other regions of the country.

Rotimi Farawe is a court official and a devout Muslim. I met him at the central mosque, where he prays daily.

"I'm an Alhaji," he said, referring to his pilgrimage to Mecca. "I married a Catholic woman who goes to church every Sunday, and she's still in my house. She goes to church; I go to mosque. It works out."

Their five children have attended a Methodist school and a Quranic school.
Another reason may be government intervention and a strong inter-religious council. Lagos state forbids two religious buildings from being built side-by-side. When a conflict arose recently over a church's desire to expand on a plot next to a mosque, the issue was quickly taken to the council and settled amicably.

But the real reason may also be the simplest: Lagosians are too busy.

In the search for work, money, and advancement, there seems to be no time for religious violence in Lagos. Churches and mosques espouse a healthy desire for wealth in most of the country, but Lagos is the physical embodiment of that desire, and people have far too much to do.

I asked one of the religious leaders at Lagos' central mosque why Lagos remained peaceful.

"We're too busy," he said.

I asked a banker friend why Lagos didn't experience the same troubles as other cities.

"We're too busy trying to make money," he said.

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:37 am

^^^ Now that is funny Laughing

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:23 am

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:17 pm

Well, filling out all those WU security forms takes time!!!! Laughing

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:15 am

yes, the cybercafes are busy Smile

lots of lads working on the EmTeeCeeEn Seec00re forms Smile

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 1:28 am

Quote:

Churches and mosques espouse a healthy desire for wealth in most of the country, but Lagos is the physical embodiment of that desire

Interesting.... I've read that many lads see no conflict whatsoever between scamming and attending religious services.

Lad translation of two commandments must be:

Thou shalt steal steadfastly
Thou shalt not rest on the Scammath Day
Rolling Eyes

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 3:07 am

^^

Actually

"Thou shalt not steal from thy broda (from everyone else is OK)"

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