Understand

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Originally, the city was a Yoruba Settlement, known then as Eko, ruled by kings, which were conquered by neighbouring Benin - the city of Benin is not to be confused with the country of same name. After this, the Portuguese and British colonies successively made puppets of these locally revered leaders, to further their trading needs.

Lagos was famous for being the trading hub of many spices and metals. For a long period, it functioned as a slave trading post too, although it's hard to find remnants of this history in contemporary Lagos.

Currently, Lagos is the major business centre in Nigeria, although it is no longer the capital city. This is because the new 1994 civilian government found the mix of vibrant commerce and governace a little too chaotic and decided to start afresh in Abuja. 10 years later, it looked like Abuja was going the same way, but the interventions of its no -nonsense mayor, Nasir el Rufai has helped to remodel the city in line with its original masterplan.

Lagos still serves as the main area of activity because of its convenient location as a seaport, accessway to other West African countries, and its bubbly cosmopolitan culture. Most of the business is located on the islands(Lagos and Victoria)although the majority of the popluation live on the mainland.

Lagos is best traveled at dusk, in evening or at weekends and public holidays when traffic is low. However,as would be expected in such a sprawling cosmopolis, please exercise caution in certain neighbourhoods in the night- should you decide to go for a walk as armed robbery and mugging could happen. Do also keep an eye out for "Area Boys," as the local thugs, or street urchins are called.
However,many residential neighbourhoods have gates constructed on their main street entrances to keep away the unwanted. Such gates, manned by neighbourhood guards, often require a gatepass issued by your host, before you are allowed exit after dark.

Eat

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Ikoyi also has a lot of good places to grab a bite such as Double 4 and Albasha. (no longer there)
On VI (Victoria Island) you will find a clean and nice lebanese restaurant - Lamia. Also on VI, in Picolo Mondo, is the only thing in Lagos that reminds a real espresso coffee.

Make sure not to miss the nigerian traditional "Pepper Soup" - the strongest can be found in Da Grotto bar, on VI.

Il Sirriso is great for Italian and Saipan is the best Chinese, plus has a great nightclub. Both are on VI.

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