Fake life: a way of life on the streets of Lagos.

I had a conversation with a friend living on the Islands of Lagos two days ago and this is how it went:

Me: How far? Why is it noisy there?

Him: I'm at a car dealer shop. 

Me: Ahh you're buying a new car in this Tinubu regime!       Wow, I tap from your grace ooo.

Him: New car Ke, I'm just here to rent a car.

Me: Why would you do that???

Him: I have a deal I'm trying to get, you know. I can do this well but these people used to profile people; they give contracts to people based on how they look and the car they use so I gats baff up ooo.

Me: you don't mean it.

Him: ohh you're in Lagos and you don't know? This is how they do here. It's a normal thing.

Whether he landed the deal or not is something you'll find out as you walk with me. Though the conversation was short-lived, it kept me thinking.

Is fake life really a way to make it?

Lagos is one of the places where you'll see the biggest fake lifestyles you have ever seen. I mean, let's admit it, everyone fakes something about their lives once in a while,  but Lagos? That is the high point of everything!  The reason is that we're all attracted to everything we see without questioning their authenticity. Social Media has made it more glaring to us that a vast majority of people are living better lives than we are but is that the genesis of this pandemic?

I remember back in high school whenever I brought back my results I got asked by my parents questions like

Who and who got higher than you? Do they have two heads? Are they not your age mate? (I’m sure some of us can relate to this, right?)

So this subtle not-so-subtle comparison right from when we were little (that I know most Nigerian-born and bred adults can relate to) has made us grow with the mentality that we live in competition with others around us.

Your friend buys a new car, and instead of you to celebrate, you think wow I need to change my car even if you know your account balance is screaming for help.

Why then is Lagos fake life so glaring? After pondering on these questions for a while I have concluded that this is because Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria. Lagos is ranked as the most populated city in Africa as of 2024, with an estimated population of roughly nine million inhabitants living in the city.

The map of Nigeria showing its population by state shows that even though Lagos is one of the smallest states in Nigeria it is the most populated.

But Lagos earned its name as the most populous city in Africa due to the rise in fake life.

People from other parts of the country leave their homes and smuggle their way to Lagos to start anew.

Even if they're doing menial jobs in Lagos, they'll lie to their families that they're doing fine and working big jobs and have managed to build a mansion while they're squatting with a friend in a ‘face me I slap you’.

This is similar to the type of fake life my friend was involved in he did it because he needed to impress investors and just like clockwork he got the deal.

If someone else more competent than him had applied for the contract and had shown up looking like his problems he would have been declined.

I call this a fake life to survive.

This is the type practiced by most of the inhabitants of Lagos. Some other people write things on their resume. Lies about jobs they never did just to land a dream job. At least this type of fake life is justifiable to some extent sha.

But In this same Lagos, some people live fake lives for a living and I say this because their entire personally is funded by fake life. For them, a fake life is an investment with a very high ROI.

You can find this breed of Lagosians on the island and Even those that live on the mainland do so without anyone knowing. They believe in the popular mantra: fake it till you make it; so they go as far as borrowing cars, bags, shoes, clothes, and wigs to take photos and videos of them in places they cannot afford to buy a plate of food.

I remember eating at a chill location when four ladies walked in. They ordered four bottles of water took a sip for about two minutes and disappeared.

They came from what I guess was the restroom in new outfits and before I knew it they were everywhere. Bending and posing at every corner of the restaurant taking photos with every aesthetically pleasing artwork.

It took them about thirty minutes and four changes of Clothes to be done after which they left with their bottled water.

These photos would probably be posted on their social media handles with beautiful Captions like lunch was good, I had a meal and realized I was the meal, stepped out today, date night with the girls, etc.  Andre Gide once said; ???????? ???????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????? ????????????. You must understand that it’s okay to be broke or imperfect. In other words, it is better to be yourself imperfectly, than it is to pretend to be something you are not perfectly.

But wetin concern Instagram baddies concern Andre Gide?

Authenticity takes courage, and courage is the mother of all virtues. I believe that nothing is better than who you are and fake life has a way of stealing your personality from you. My father always told me that no matter who you lie to you must always make sure that you never lie to yourself as self-deceit is the worst form of deceit.

But hey! Who am I to judge? 

Now let's hear from you:

Do you believe fake life is an important way of surviving in Lagos?