A visit to the Queen

I am sure you wondering who the Queen I visited was. Actually, I visited the National Theatre in Lagos. It is listed as one of our national monuments. I think it is better we just call it a national relic. A once in the distant past monument of pride.

I took my nephews and nieces for a trip not sure what to expect. I don't recollect visiting that place in decades. It is definitely no more a theatre. It looks more like a huge piece of something occupying a prime area of real estate. We had planned to visit "The place of no return" in Badagry. We changed at the last minute due to logistics, time and probably a budget constraint. I wouldn't dwell on that but that was the slave port for shipping us to the new world for a part of a horse and never to return. I hear 16 slaves are exchanged for one horse.

The entrance prides a huge portrait of queen Amina of Zaria. Not sure of her achievements right now but I recall war was a part of it. She is portrayed mostly on horse back so she is probably a horse lover or history was rewritten for sensationalism.

From Left: Ayobami, Olaife, Ayomikun, Ayotunde and Oreofe (The Queen in the background)

I wouldn't have titled it a visit to the queen but I noticed on departure that there is a statue of her welcoming us to the theatre. I don't know how I missed it. I guess her welcome was not as dramatic as the sculptures assumed or my expectations for the visit made me miss such a master piece.

I am guessing now that the theatre was themed around the queen. Beyond that, I can't say much. I expected the visit to be uneventful but I noticed the kids had fun all the same. Kids tend to make the best of every opportunity. Wish we could all be like that again. I am trying to.

My sister thought they would be a handful. I don't know why such worries. The trip to the theatre was just what I expected it to be. The trip. The kids stared for a while, argued for another part and pretty much were deep asleep by the time we arrived.

The boys fearlessly on their horses

I will just talk about our experience and how we had fun. Sadly, the theatre had nothing much to offer. I even feel opening it as an entertainment relic would be better than the state we met it. I wonder why our government is so wasteful, unimaginative and mostly disorganized. The only hall meant for stage plays was unavailable due to the hall being rented out for what I suspect was a private event. I guess this is an unintended outcome of privatization. Our journey to the theatre was almost completed before we started.

Oreofe not-so fearless mount

Thanks to the horse riders who had their malnourished horses out for rent. The boys Ayotunde and Ayomikun were excited and had a good ride. The girls were scared to their pants literally. I noticed a loud fart from Olaife at some point while crying and protesting against getting near the animals. I thought she went beyond a fart but thankfully, she was well behaved. Beyond that, they sure had fun. Surprisingly, Oreofe wanted to play soccer ball. That is what she called it. Surprised she knew the word soccer at the age of 3 years. I guess watching Nikelodeon or 61 as she fondly calls it has not been a total waste of time.

I would mention in passing that we did have lunch. We went to the food court as I have no better way to describe it. We stopped in court x (thanks to the lady who was all over us the moment we got to the theatre) and managed to have a couple of stuff. None was memorable so I really would pass on the experience. I don't even have any pictures from the tasteless experience. I don't know what the other courts might have offered us though. I replaced the court number with x as an after thought. It is not my intention to de-market any business. It just might be a better experience for you.

The journey home was less eventful as we were on our way to familiar grounds. The kids were a bit cranky and we had a few fights in the car. I realized this was normal as they made up without jus as they started. We stopped at another relic on the way home. The national stadium. They were 7 minutes apart according to google maps. i think it was more like 10 minutes. Probably due to LASTMA stopping us for jumping a light and also the google lady missing the estimated time. Yes, I did jump a light. In my defence, the kids distracted me and we had to settle another fight. We appealed to the wardens and I guess arresting me with 5 noisy children didn't seem like an offer they wanted.

We spent a few minutes in the national stadium. The kids were curious and didn't mind it was a relic from my point of view. I wonder if everything with the word "National" in it is more of a relic than a monument. Play a game in your mind. Think of any National sites or functions and decide if it is a relic or a monument.

I would say every journey and experience is worth it. We have lost history and assume these old monuments (relics) are not worth showing our kids. I have no idea what this experience would teach them. However, they are good at reflections. They come up with the smartest ideas. It was definitely better than staying at home and Olaife seemed to have a new bounce when she got home. I almost missed showing you are departure picture when leaving home. She didn't forget to grab her bag. She already knows an outing requires a hand bag. Thankfully, the bag wasn't a relic. Amazing.

I forgot to take a picture of the Queen statue on a horse. Like I said, she must have not been that obvious or I just didn't expect to meet her there. You be the judge.

Queen Amina at the entrance