Here’s What Went Down at the TEDxLagos Adventure 2021

Is it just me or does Lagos feel different when you’re driving through on a holiday or on Saturday around 11 am? It’s super different! Dry roads, sparkly stores, sweet sounds, everything in its place. I even somehow find the inner peace to smile at rogue drivers.

That was the mood at this year’s TEDxLagos Adventure. It was like stepping into my happy place. A totally different perception of Lagos and whole new level of appreciation for this megacity.

TEDxLagos had transported a couple of us on one of those exclusive trips you only hear or read about. Leisure isn’t only a luxury, let me tell you. It’s knowing the right places to be!

The trip was threefold: first to an unconventional made-in-Nigeria footwear brand, next to the longest canopy walk in Africa, then a sip-and-paint finale. After being fried all week, the adventure was spot on for me.

First stop: Maliko. That one word embodied a socially responsible footwear brand, an advocate of sustainable fashion and a zero-waste policy. All pieces were gently handcrafted. You could literally see the soul of Maliko on every footwear. Not your everyday fashion. Right here in Lagos. Who knew?!

Have you been to the Lekki Conservation Centre? 78 hectares of amazing nature in Nigeria. An abundance of animals and plants on every side. There were cheeky monkeys hanging around, waiting for an opportunity to grab something. We held on tight to our things. This was not the place to let my wig flap. Hmm! I survived the monkeys and the next challenge: a 401-metre long canopy walkway.

They say painting is silent poetry and very much therapeutic. We poured our inner artists onto the canvases before us at the sip-and-paint.

Behind the initiative of TEDxLagos Adventure is Mercy Akamo, convener of the TEDxLagos since 2018 in Nigeria and a TEDx Ambassador in Africa. She is a communications specialist with years of experience in the media and experiential industry.

“It’s easy to live in Lagos and not experience the beautiful city. TEDxLagos Adventure is one of the ways we highlight the people and places that make the Lagos community so dynamic,” Mercy shared.

Mercy Akamo

At the end of that sweet blissful day, the TEDxLagos Adventure was really what I needed to love and appreciate Lagos even more.

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