Finding Love in Lagos...

When I first moved back to Nigeria, people were convinced that there was a man that had wooed me, swept me off my feet,and got me to move back! Hahahahahahahahahaha.

I can tell you, that was so not the case. In fact, a man was definitely not on my mind when I was moving back. After so many years back in Nigeria, I find the dating scene soo interesting. When you're abroad, people say, it's harder to find love because Nigerians are not always readily available especially if "Nigerian" is your spec. They speculate that when you move back to Nigeria, within one year, you'd be walking down the aisle with the man of your dreams. Hahahahahahahahahahaha. LOL.

Don't believe any of it. First of all, I believe you can find love anywhere, usually when you least expect it.

So, let's talk about the dating scene. Well, without giving away too much about my personal experience (hehe) but rather writing from my observations, the dating scene is DRY! Don't get me wrong, people are finding love but the rate at which this is happening is alarming and not because they are finding it. LOL.

For some reason there are ALOT of single people - vibrant, successful, beautiful, Godly people. The ladies say the guys are slacking and the guys...what do the guys say? I can't rememeber or I don't know! Lol. It turns out that people are just not finding their spec. So what's happening is a lot of women, let me repeat ALOT of women are crossing 30 and are still single, very single. My theory is that once they cross 30, it gets even harder because the guys feel like ah, these women are independent and set in their ways and so they opt for younger girls. There are so many theories but who really knows what's going?

I think it's time people start doing unconventional things to find love! It's time to live on the edge jare. For example, a friend of mine started a Speed Dating service! Yup, in Nigeria. The reaction to it was amazing. Some people, particularly the women, said they couldn't imagine "paying" for love, others, the guys, said they didn't need help finding love! I attended and boy was it fun or what! (I attended because my friend gave me a free ticket and insisted that I come. To be honest, left to me, I probably wouldn't have gone cos I'm not that adventurous. LOL) I'm so glad I did though because it was fun. It was also very well organized. I would do it again! I think she's on to something.

Phew, lemme leave the dating scene alone for now. I'll come back with more on it shortly.

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Cheers!

Nigeria...

Ah, where do I start. Nigeria, my country...

So much has happened since my last post as you can imagine. This place is beyond interesting. One of my tweets today was "Living in Nigeria is for the strong-minded #nigeria #lagos" and I meant every word of it. There is no place like home they say but sometimes...nah, lemme not go there. Lol.

So, where do I start? Traffic. Traffic in Lagos "no get part two" as they say. Well, it's improved tremendously in recent times with the construction happening on various roads. I have to say the effect traffic can have on you is quite incredible. You find that you are perpetually tired. Most people find stuff to do after work to wait out traffic but that gets old after a while and sometimes you just want to go home and chill. Most times when I've done that, that is, go straight home after work, I regret it! Cos I'm more tired than I would have been had I just waited out the traffic. So, it is very important to find balance here.

People ask me how I'm enjoying Nigeria and I usually say it depends on what day you ask me. Some days I HATE it and want to run away! Other days, I'm ok with it. And other days, I'm loving it.

I am a changed woman. Nigeria WILL change you!

Hey, follow me on twitter @aderonkehiica

This was a quick one, gotta gather my thoughts and blog some more cos there's so much to say.

This is How we Do...

...charity!!! This is a Facebook group I'm part of. We basically visit charity homes in Naija as often as we can to help out in any way we can and we have so much fun!!! Our first visit was to SO-SAID, Society for the Safety of the Insane and Destitute. We recently visited Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice. Check out pics following this link ! Yeah and join us!

Copy & paste this link into your browser:

facebook.com/photo.php?pid=8100277&l=c92d5c5230&id=534720176

Underconstruction

Nigeria is UNDERCONSTRUCTION! Everywhere you go, it's buildings, buildings, buildings, underconstruction. It's exciting cos it means Nigeria is progressing. Lagos for example is undergoing some major changes! It has a long way to go though. For those of you who have been away for a while, you'll be amazed at how much has changed and what they are doing. Take Lekki for example. They are now building a toll gate cos the traffic from beyond Lekki to VI is MADD! When you have only one road leading to Ajah, a suburb, if you will, you can imagine the traffic (although there is a back road, that can turn into an adventure and if you don't own an SUV, don't even try it). Anyways, this toll gate is supposed to help the traffic situation.

Housing in Lagos is also developing. All kinds of residential apartment complexes springing up. Their prices are pretty high but when you consider the amenities that come with some of them, it's usually worth it in the end. The nicer apartments with all amenities included are called "service flats." Basically means you have constant electricity (if PHCN takes the light, a generator is turned on almost immediately, I think day or night), water, etc., etc. It's cool stuff. Most of them are paid for in dollars though!

You know, as much as I complain about Nigeria, I am realizing that it is a young country that needs time to grow and develop. I guess when you've lived somewhere else where pretty much everything works, you can't help but get frustrated in an environment like this. It's all good :)

The Land is Green!

The Land is very green in Naija o! Talk about abundant business opportunities. If you can think of the business opportunity, you can most likely do it successfully with the right plan and capital. Forget all those yankee runs for now o! This is the land of opportunity! Everyday when you look around, you see so many ways to improve or introduce products and services here. It's quite amazing and because this IS a developing country, now is a good time to be part of that development. There is an emerging middle-class. People want more, and can afford more things. Essentially, there is more money in more people's hands to be spent so if you're thinking about doing business in Naija right now, you are right on!!

Price Tags and Pricing

Ok, so, I love the fact that when I go to a store and I see a price tag of N500, that's exactly what I pay! Lol. Not like in Chicago where you think it's 9.99 (I love how they use the .99 to lure you. Lol. Although a grocery store here does that too!) and then you get to the counter and the price goes up cos of tax. Some stores say that VAT is included. I just like that feeling jare so I know exactly how much I'm paying.

Man, when I first starting taking cabs here it was quite hilarious in hindsight. I could not price o! (i.e. I couldn't negotiate/haggle the price well). They would say N2,000 and I'd be like N1,800. Lol. Well, I guess it was partly cos I didn't know what a good price was to pay for the distance. I tell you though, in these parts, you learn fast o! Now, They say N2,000, and I'd say like N1,000 or even N800!! LOL! JJC no more!

Electricity and Cell Phone Service

I can't understand how I left this country almost a decade ago, came back, and we are still have electricity issues! I guess a lot doesn't always happen in a long time. It's mind bloggling. This past weekend, NEPA, or should I say Power Holdings Company of Nigeria (LOL, how appropriate), only gave us light for about 2 hours!! I know! Crazy! Sometimes people leave their generators running for days. It just doesn't make sense. Like someone said, in this country, you are your own Local Government i.e. you pretty much supply your own electricity, water, etc. Even if you have a generator, you still don't want them to "take the light", as we say, cos it's just stressful. You have to buy gas or diesel to power the generator and the sound produced by the generators is unpleasant especially when they run all night. Oh and they contribute to the pollution. Ah, Nigeria!

Man, I miss my contract cell phone service! T-Mobile! Where art thou! Ok, so, you can get a contract phone here but it's pretty expensive. The way cell phones work here is you purchase a sim card and then you "buy credit" as necessary. Once your credit expires, you can't make any phone calls!! Now, that's pretty scary! I know I used to complain about the 40 cents per minute that T-Mobile used to charge once you've exhausted your minutes for the month but man! what I would do to have that kind of security. Think about it now, if you run out of credit and need to make an urgent phone call, you can't! That's why you always have to have "emergency credit" in your wallet. Also, sometimes, if the "network is bad", you might not be able to "load" your credit. Geez louise! Now I understand why people have two or more phones! I used to think it was funny but it's quite necessary!