I had not cried in years, but on December 20, 2025, I cried. I cried like a child, with my heart broken in ways I did not know I still had in me. It is these tears and consequent helplessness that has driven me to the screens of your phone, tablet or computers today. Let me tell you all that led me here.
I returned to Nigeria early December, after some months chasing other dreams elsewhere around the world. I was excited to be home. I am one of those people who feel alive here, having spent over 20 years of my life in Lagos and Ibadan. I was happy; I will be seeing family and friends, eating the food that fed my childhood and doing the things that effortlessly spark joy.
When my friends return from the US, UK, Canada, and wherever else they think the grass is greener, I am that friend who is quick to tell them, “your experience will be different in Naija, don’t compare, just enjoy our way of life”. I will particularly go out of my way to say “don’t complain — you will be tempted to, but don’t do it”. It often works. Or at least, they complain with caveats and context.
Arriving at the airport, the airport was better than I left it; but some things don’t change. After lining up to get checked by DSS, you will join a similarly long queue to get checked by immigration, before facing customs and NDLEA. I wonder why we have to duplicate these checks, but no wahala — at least they are not asking me for money.
Anyways, I am back home in Lagos, so let’s start ticking the box on the things that spark joy. One of them is watching Funke Akindele’s December movies. Year in, year out. This brings us to Maryland Mall.
WHO WILL SAVE MARYLAND MALL
I drove to Maryland Mall in Lagos. Upon entry, the security at the mall asked to check my car trunk, which is normal, I obliged. Then I was waved off to go in, and I did. To my surprise, no one gave me a ticket to signal when I came in, so I could know how much to pay — for parking — on my way out. I drove into the mall and parked. I asked around and was informed that the mall no longer takes payment for parking.
For many Nigerians, this will be good news, but for me, it was a taste of things to come. I thought to myself, so this mall no longer makes any revenue from people coming and parking. I did the maths, based on how much I paid the last time I was there, I concluded that they would be losing anywhere between N36.5m to N100m in parking revenue per annum. Maybe it’s small money in the grand scheme of things.
Problem II: No ticket, no tally means your car can be stolen and driven out of the mall and no one will stop the thief. But I said I was just overthinking it, besides, who wants to steal my 21-year-old car. Don’t worry, my car was not stolen.
I went into the mall, the elevators and escalators were not working, so I had to go up three flights of stairs to get to the cinema floor of the building. As a young man, this was not much of a problem, but all the while I was thinking about people living with disabilities who will not be able to see a movie in this mall for this reason.
It was time to pay for the ticket, there was a young girl at the till, by my judgement — which could be wrong — she was under 18. This is a recurring decimal, I have been to many other places, especially private restaurants, in Lagos where the stewards are secondary school students under 18, some as young as 14/15. One of them, who I engaged with told me she was being paid N55,000 to work 12 hours and 6 days a week. She was not complaining, she was grateful. But this is a breach of the minimum wage act, but who will prosecute this matter, when these kids are happy to be making money to support themselves and their families?
I pay for my ticket and join a long queue to get into the screening room. We go in, and the place is so hot. Historically, when coming to this cinema, we bring a blanket or a jacket to deal with the cold. So this was strange. I made excuses in my head. Some minutes into the movie it got hotter, I texted and called their complaint line to flag the situation, but nothing changed.
For context, we were over 200 people in a cinema room with no fan, no AC, in a state where temperature was 32 degrees celsius. After we physically went out to complain, we were told that the generating set that was in use cannot power the AC for the cinema hall.
So, it was not an accident. It was the plan. The plan was to have us all stuffed in a cinema hall with no ventilation. During the covid era, we all could have left the hall with different strains of the virus, but thank God it was 2025, the best we could contract was a flu. An hour into the movie, almost everyone in the cinema hall was fanning themselves with popcorn packs flattened into hand fans. But somehow, we stayed and watched the movie, dripping in sweat.
It was at this point I started to think, and perhaps overthink. My mind left the movie and went back to June 2016, when I was invited as a business journalist to cover the launch of the brand new Maryland Mall, which would boast of the largest LED screen in west Africa. Akinwunmi Ambode, then Governor of Lagos state and Atedo Peterside, Chairman of Stanbic IBTC, were to be in attendance.
I attended and still remember Sola David-Borha’s speech praising the Nigerian spirit of entrepreneurship which led to the successful execution of the mall. Tosin Osinowo, the architect who designed the “black box” as it was fondly called, also beamed with joy for what she had achieved on the project. Remembering all of these great visions for the mall and what I was experiencing heightened the level of unease I was feeling and in that moment, I burst into uncontrollable tears.
It was not just for Maryland Mall, it was for businesses in Nigeria and the business of Nigeria; the chronic inability to maintain the founding standards or rise to the height of our ambitions.
It was for the road that journeys from one pot hole at the start of the year to a thousand by year end. It’s for the manhole that exists in the middle of a major road but drivers have developed muscle memory to dodge it.
It’s for the University of Ibadan hostels that looked pristine 10 years ago but look like Police Barracks in 2025. It’s also for the Police Barracks that perpetually looks the way it does.
I could go on and on, but for now, who will save Maryland Mall? AXA Mansard, Purple Capital, Stanbic IBTC, Lagos State Government? Anyone?
You can reach ‘Mayowa on X @OluwamayowaTJ.
Source: The Cable