From the moment she started her magazine Lost In Lagos, Tannaz Bahnam had a clear vision of what she wanted; to sell Lagos to the rest of the world and attract investors to the city she now calls home.
At a special event held recently in Lagos to celebrate the magazine’s fifth anniversary, the Founder restated her commitment to promoting the city of Lagos and it’s tourism potentials.
Bahnam recounted her first experience on the journey and what made her fall in love with the city where she met her soul mate and ended up staying to start a new life as a Lagosian.
Speaking on the idea behind Lost In Lagos, she said: “When I moved to Lagos in 2008, I felt lost. I found it difficult to find places to go to or places to buy things. Slowly, I started discovering that there is a lot of hidden gems and decided to put all my finds into a website, as I found out that many other people weren’t aware of how much you could actually find in Lagos. I had to find my way around and I felt there must be other people who have felt like that too. Lagos is such a big city and one can easily get lost.”
On her first experience when she arrived 14 years ago, she recalled, “It was daunting, but it didn’t take me long to find my way, and to realise that it’s such an incredible city, with such an energy that makes you fall in love with it. You can’t help but fall in love with Lagos.”
She continued: “Lagos is now my home, it is my city; I just got a tattoo of Africa on my neck, because it’s so important to me. This country, city and the continent are where I see the future. The city has transformed in the past five years; the city has completely changed from the moment we started the magazine till now, it has improved so much, because the people see the potential of the city and are investing in it.
To her, Lagos story is multifaceted. “There are so many sides to it and every person has a different experience of Lagos. There is the art world, music world, entertainment, retail fashion, food world and others. People fall in love with the city, because they can make it on their own and there is so much to discover; the options are endless.”
Speaking on her shocking discovery about Lagos, she said: “I think my initial shock and as continued to be a beautiful surprise for me is the people. One of the reasons I fell in love with the city is the people, no matter where you are in the city, if you need help, someone is there to help you; they greet you. It’s a really beautiful culture and I identify with it. My car once broke down in Eko Atlantic and I had 10 people pushing it. This is a gesture you don’t see in other places and I think it is such a vibrant aspect of the city.
“I am originally from Iran and I grew up in the United Kingdom (UK), but I have lived in Nigeria the longest, and my husband just became a Nigerian. I think what is missing from the other places like the US and the UK is the deep-rooted culture here, like the history; a culture that has gone on for thousands of years that have sustained itself.”
As for the part she dislikes, she said, “I don’t like the fact that the city is not well-taken care of. Trash litters the streets and people don’t appreciate what they have; they don’t value it as their own. I think if people have a sense of ownership of the city, they will take care of it and the city will prosper more. But people live in the now, they don’t look at the future and I feel like if they look at the long term benefit of what they do, the city will also benefit from it.”
Speaking on Nigeria’s tourism sector, Bahnam is of the pinion that there’s need for more investment in the sector.
“International investors need to look at Lagos as a destination to invest in and they need to have that confidence of coming here. The government and private sectors need to push the initiative to give the people confidence, give them a reason to want to invest here, give them the benefit of investing in Nigeria,” she concludes.
