Greetings
How far?
how FAR
Nigerian Pidgin for 'how's it going?' — the default greeting between people who know each other. Answer 'I dey' (I'm fine).
Ẹ káàrọ̀
eh KAA-raw
Good morning in Yoruba. Yoruba greetings are time-specific and using the right one lands well; Lagos is a Yoruba city under all the English.
Social
Wetin dey happen?
WEH-tin day HAP-pen
'What's happening?' — Pidgin. Nigerian Pidgin is the real lingua franca of Lagos across every ethnic group and class.
Abeg
a-BEG
'Please' — but also 'come on' or 'give me a break', depending entirely on tone. You will hear it fifty times a day.
Daily life
Go-slow
go-SLOW
A traffic jam. Lagosians do not say 'traffic is bad', they say 'there's go-slow on Third Mainland' — and it changes the plan.
Danfo
DAN-fo
The yellow minibuses that carry most of the city. Cheap, chaotic, and the reason 'BRT' and 'Blue Line' are pitched as an upgrade.
NEPA don take light
NEH-pa don take LIGHT
'The power has gone off.' NEPA has not existed as an entity for twenty years and everybody still says it.
I pass my neighbour
I pass my NAY-bor
The nickname for the small petrol generator — because it makes you better off than the neighbour who has none. Ask what generator a flat has before you ask about the kitchen.
Agbero
ag-BEH-ro
The touts who collect informal levies at motor parks and junctions. Not something you engage with; something your driver handles.
Culture
Owambe
o-WAM-beh
A big Yoruba party — Saturday weddings with matching aso-ebi fabric, live juju or fuji music and a great deal of food. Being invited is a real social milestone.
Emergency
112 / 767
—
112 is Nigeria's national emergency number; 767 is the Lagos State toll-free emergency line, both routed to LASEMA's response centre.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.