My summer in Nigeria so far

 

Hey y’all!! So I’ve been in Nigeria for a couple of weeks now and I’m very content so far 🙂

My first week was plagued with jet lag of life but I wasn’t too bothered about that. My days have generally been easy, sleep, go to driving school, visit a friend or run an errand or two, nothing too exhausting and it feels great! All those all-nighters of last year have melted off and I feel well-rested and happy. This happens every time I come back…an air of absolute chill that I never noticed before overcomes me. Well a good 60% of that chill is cause I’m being fed round the clock. Speaking of food, can we just take a second to appreciate the absolute delight that is my mum’s food? Living with a food blogger is -pass out with glee after every meal- amazing.

With every amazing point however,  there are a few things that still shock/annoy/confuse me.

1) Peeing men.  This is something that I shocks me every single time! I always wonder if I just never noticed before or if more men are just choosing to pee on the side of the road. This is how the scenario plays out most times for me;

me: *sitting in traffic and staring blankly out the window*

Mr pees-a-lot: *strolls to the most public place possible, and starts to pee

me :*notices Mr pees-a-lot and looks away for his dignity’s sake

Mr pees-a-lot: *possibly even carrying on a conversation at this point zips up and walks away like nothing ever happened.

WHY??? I suppose when nature calls and all that good stuff but WHY??? why on the side of the road where everybody can see you? Why aren’t you more discreet sir?

2) Nigerian road users. I say road users because whether they’re in a Jeep, on an Okada (bike) or a pedestrian, Nigerian road users are a truly reckless group. Firstly, what is a lane? A lane is simply a suggestion on Nigerian roads, some people would much rather stay smack in the middle of the road and then abuse you for trying to overtake them. Secondly, crossing an expressway? not dangerous at all :). Go on, run across a four lane road with your entire family cause…why not? Finally Okada drivers and your Keke Maruwa (Three wheeled thingybobs) cousins, the road belongs to you, because if it doesn’t I don’t understand your need to threaten everybody else’s existence.

3). Customer Service. Okay this one annoys me and confuses me at the same time. I call the customer service line to resolve an issue I’m having  and somehow I end up being yelled at. Or the cheerful waitress who found it just as funny as we did that half the things on the menu were not available. Or of course the delightful sales girls who are eternally irritated at the presence of customers in the store, especially customers who ask questions about the product.

Despite my many grievances and frustrations with this country, something about it still makes me happy. Maybe its cause this is where my family is and so it will always feel like home, or maybe it’s because as much as these things annoy you they make you laugh even just a little bit. Whatever it is, Nigeria has a texture to it that makes me feel something that is pretty difficult to explain. There is so much content in this country that is just sitting there waiting to inspire you. *Speaking of inspiration I need ideas for a play so if you think of something please leave it in the comments.* It took me leaving the country to see its potential because when you live in Nigeria  its too easy to get caught up in the redundancy of your daily hustle. Sitting in pointless traffic for 3hrs would suck the zeal out of anybody. Anyhow I’m excited for my next few weeks :D…just taking each day as it comes and trying to enjoy every minute of my stay.

I’d also like to know some of your grievances with where you live 😀 so feel free to leave a comment.

 

Picture by Willyverse