EPISODE 35 – Lagos Be Machine
Lagos does not rest. I was beginning to understand that this city is like a giant machine — always moving, always grinding. People push, people struggle, people survive. Some rise. Some fall. Many get crushed. You either learn how to move with the machine, or it swallows you whole.
My days started before sunrise now. A small catering job in the morning. Errands in the afternoon. Then checking on the younger girl — we started calling her Ada. Life had become a routine of survival, and Lagos respected only those who kept moving.
As I navigated the streets, I watched the city closely. Hawkers shouting prices with tired voices. Buses blaring horns like warnings. Keke riders cutting through traffic like warriors who knew there was no second chance. Everyone carried something heavy — dreams, hunger, responsibility. Lagos no dey forgive fear.
Desperation lived everywhere. I saw it in the eyes of girls my age, hustling without direction, without protection. I saw it in men who promised heaven but delivered cages. That was when I fully understood why I hadn’t run fast enough the first time. Lagos does not trap you in one day. It presses you slowly until escape feels impossible.
I began teaching Ada the small things no one teaches you. How to avoid unnecessary attention. How to read people’s intentions. How to earn small money without owing anyone your freedom. I warned her as much as I could, but I also knew Lagos would still teach her lessons she was not ready for. This city has its own syllabus.
Still, amid the chaos, growth was happening. I was learning how to manage fear instead of letting it control me. How to plan small victories. How to balance freedom with caution. Every honest naira earned, every safe night, every problem solved was a lesson preparing me for something bigger.
Lagos was a machine — loud, rough, relentless.
But for the first time, I felt like I understood my place inside it.
I could not stop the machine.
But I could decide how I moved within it.
Episode 36 Coming Soon
Just as Nkiru begins to feel in control, signs emerge that someone from her past may be watching. In Lagos, independence attracts attention — not all of it good.
Is the city finally releasing her… or setting another trap?
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