The Changing Face of Ikoyi

For the most part, I grew-up in Ikoyi. Although my family spent some early years in Surulere, Ikoyi is where I grew-up and although we don't live there anymore, it still feels like home. I remember telling my BFF (yes, we grown women still have them) that I plan on moving to Ikoyi when I get married. She thought that was so cute.

Now, there's a question of whether I will actually be able to afford to. Ikoyi is rapidly changing from the place I grew-up in. A lot of property is being bought-up, knocked down and converted into stylish condominiums. Great if you live in one, as many are gorgeous to look at and have luxuries like pools and gyms. In a discussion we had a few months ago, my brother expressed concerns that Ikoyi will over time become over-congested, since condos and luxury apartments means more people and consequently more stress on public amenities. This also means more traffic. Ikoyi, for now, is one of the few places where you can (for the most part) sail down the roads unencumbered by traffic. With more people and more cars, it's fairly certain that this will not last forever. I have heard some depressing predictions that Ikoyi will eventually degenerate into a slum area. With the prohibitively-high real estate costs, I seriously doubt that (and with my desire still to move there, I really hope not).

There seems to be little point in yearning for how things used to be, so it is important to think about the long term consequences of today's decisions and plan for them.