From Lasgidi to the City of Brown Roofs: Lagos to Ibadan by Rail

Lagos does not let you go easily. Even as the train pulls out of the station and the city's skyline begins to thin, the energy lingers — in the noise of the carriage, in the conversations of fellow passengers still buzzing from the metropolis. But slowly, mile by mile, Lagos gives way. The dense urban grid loosens into sprawl, then into open land, then into the rolling, red-earthed terrain that announces the approach to Ibadan. And when the city of brown roofs finally appears — thousands upon thousands of terracotta rooftops cascading across the hills like a living mosaic — you understand why people speak of Ibadan with such particular affection. Two cities, one rail line, and every kind of Nigeria in between.