Current Time in Ikeja, Nigeria

Ikeja lies on the mainland of Lagos, in south-western Nigeria, about fifteen kilometres north of the lagoon and the older island districts. It is the capital of Lagos State, the most populous and economically powerful state in the country, and although it forms part of the vast Lagos conurbation it has a distinct identity of its own, with wide avenues, government complexes, industrial estates and busy commercial streets.

Several hundred thousand people live within the local government area, while millions pass through it every week. Ikeja's importance is out of all proportion to its size, because it contains Murtala Muhammed International Airport, the principal gateway to Nigeria, as well as the seat of the state government at Alausa and one of the largest markets for electronics and mobile technology anywhere in Africa.

The settlement began as a farming community of the Awori, a Yoruba subgroup, and remained rural well into the colonial period. British administrators laid out a Government Reserved Area of leafy streets and detached houses in the early twentieth century, and the arrival of the railway and later the airport transformed the district. An industrial estate established in the 1950s attracted manufacturing, and in 1976, when Lagos State needed a capital separate from the federal capital functions on Lagos Island, Ikeja was chosen. Government offices moved to purpose-built complexes at Alausa, and the district's growth accelerated.

Computer Village, in the Otigba area, is the district's most remarkable sight: a dense warren of stalls, shops and workshops where traders sell, repair and refurbish phones, laptops and components, serving customers from across West Africa and turning over enormous sums each year. Allen Avenue is the commercial and nightlife spine, lined with restaurants, bars and offices, while Ikeja City Mall and the newer shopping centres attract families. The Ikeja GRA remains one of the most desirable residential areas in Lagos.

Music is central to the district's fame. The New Afrika Shrine, run by the family of Fela Kuti, keeps Afrobeat alive with regular live performances, and the Kalakuta Museum, the house where Fela lived, is preserved as a memorial to a musician who became a national symbol. Nigerian film and music industries maintain studios and offices nearby, and the Lagos food scene, from roadside suya to contemporary restaurants, is at its liveliest here.

Transport dominates daily life. The airport handles both international and domestic terminals, expressways link the district to Ikorodu, Apapa and the islands, and the new Lagos Red Line urban railway passes through Ikeja, offering an alternative to the notorious traffic. Bus rapid transit corridors and the ubiquitous yellow minibuses fill in the gaps.

Several colleges, teaching hospitals and campuses operate in and around the district, and Lagos State University and the University of Lagos are within reach.

Ikeja is the working, governing and connecting heart of Lagos, and for most visitors it is the first and last part of Nigeria they see.