Lagos.Cool Editorial
Maryland to Ikeja is a short, entirely mainland hop — no bridges, no Island gridlock, just the everyday churn of Lagos's commercial capital. The two are barely 8-10km apart along Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way and Ikorodu Road, and off-peak the drive is a comfortable 15-25 minutes. The catch is that both ends sit on some of the mainland's busiest corridors: the Maryland interchange and Ikeja's Allen Avenue and Awolowo Way axis both clog hard at rush hour, and a 20-minute trip can stretch past an hour between 7-9 AM and 5-7 PM.
Danfo is the workhorse here — cheap, frequent and direct, with buses marked for Ikeja and Ojota running the route all day for a few hundred naira. There is no dedicated BRT lane on this stretch, so the red buses are not a realistic option for the direct trip; most commuters take danfo, or a ride-hailing car for comfort. Bolt and Uber are affordable given the short distance, usually a few thousand naira, though surge pricing bites during the evening rush and when it rains. Ke ke (tricycle) covers the shorter inner links around Maryland and Onipanu for the last mile.
For anyone working in Ikeja GRA, the secretariat, or the Computer Village area, Maryland is one of the more sensible mainland bases: close, well connected, and free of the Third Mainland Bridge lottery that defines Island commutes. The smart play is timing rather than mode — leave before the interchange fills and the same journey that costs you an hour at 8 AM barely registers at 7 AM.