Welcome to Lagos

von Chibundu Onuzo

Shortlisted for the RSL Encore Award 2018Five runaways ride the bus from Bayelsa to a better life in a megacity.

They are unlikely allies -- a private, a housewife, an officer, a militant and a young girl. They share a need for escape and a dream for the future.

Soon, they will also share a burden none of them expected, but for now, the five sit quietly with their hopes, as the billboards fly past and shout: Welcome to Lagos.