A public service I really value is the local public library in my part of Lagos. It's run by the state government, and although the building is quite old, it's well looked after and the staff are wonderful. I'm a final-year accounting student, and I'd say I use it four or five times a week, especially in the months before exams.
It's open from morning until early evening, and there's a quiet reading room upstairs plus a section with computers and decent internet. Membership is free for residents, so all I needed was a form and a passport photo. The librarians run reading sessions for children on Saturdays as well, which my younger sister goes to.
The reason it matters so much to me is quite practical. At home there are six of us in a small flat, and with the noise and power cuts it's almost impossible to concentrate. The library gives me a calm, cool space with reliable electricity, and that's made a huge difference to my grades. I don't think I'd have passed my professional exams without it, to be honest.
Beyond my own situation, I value it because it treats everyone equally. You see retired men reading newspapers, mothers with toddlers, job seekers printing CVs, and students like me, all in one room. Nobody has to pay or prove anything. In a city where so much depends on money and connections, that feels quite rare. So whenever people say libraries are old-fashioned, I always disagree, because for many of us it's a lifeline.