WHAT I MISS ABOUT LIVING IN THE UK… & WHAT I LOVE ABOUT LIVING IN LAGOS!

So I have been getting so many questions since I moved back: “Sisi Yemmie what is it like in Nigeria”… ” Should I move back to Nigeria?”, “How easy is it to get a job in Nigeria”…”Is it tough to run a business in Nigeria“? I cannot answer all these questions at once but I will take them one post/video at a time. Today I will be telling you what I miss about that obodo oyinbo life and what I love about living in Lagos! You can choose to watch the videos HERE or read the post below. The videos are embedded.

I miss fish chips and curry! I was addicted to that, I love chips and currry! I should make that for myself sometime.

I miss those 5 pounds Chinese Buffets in Birmingham, you know I love buffets and I love Chinese. On some day’s I think about how much I miss it and I feel sad, but I always console myself with Pounded Yam.

I miss 24/7 power supply! We dey suffer for this 9ja sha oh, everyday generator, fuel and diesel no cheap at all. The noise , the pollution! Oh I miss constant power supply!

I miss constant water supply too! The house I moved to now is better than where I was living last year, there was always no water. Immediately we start pumping water with the generator you can hear my neighbours scrambling to fetch everything in drums, gallons, basins. The bad thing was, I was the one always pumping and water never gets to my flat until it has gone through the pother flats. Sometimes I pump water for more than an hour and I don’t see nutting running through my tap. Na this water one dey pain me pass. I resorted to taking my bath with CWAY water etc.

I miss the structure that is present in the UK: almost everything is organised. People are always on time, no naija time. If you miss your 8:00 clock appointment, o ti miss e ni yen. Nothing like Oga Abeg.

I miss easy and cheap access to the internet. Back in the UK I watch unlimited videos on YouTube and I basically live on the internet, now I screen what videos get watched, is it worth my data? LOL.

I miss that people mind their business. You can be on the tube and nobody will say hi to you. You can walk down the street 10 times a day, no body send you. It has it advantages and disadvantages. In Nigeria so many people are in your business and they feel like they have shares in your life…it can be annoying when people don’t respect those invincible boundaries.

I miss shopping!!! I used to be a shopaholic, that habit died a cruel death in Lagos. How can one tiny top be 25000 naira? and they will put ONLY there, dress wey I know say na from New Look. I need to applaud myself because the only clothes I have bought are Ankara materials. I am no longer a shopaholic. I miss just window shopping, playing with makeup in places like Boots, Debenhams…spraying perfumes in the mall before going to work. LOL.

I think most of all I miss my friends from school, church, colleagues and neighbors…

…WHAT I LOVE ABOUT LAGOS!

Prior to moving back home I’ve never lived in Lagos: I visited, maybe stayed a week or two. I was living in Warri. There was a time I even said I would never ever ever live in Lagos because of the fast and stressful life but all that changed. I enjoy Lagos (without traffic and danfo drivers). Let me tell you what I love about Lagos…

The first thing has to be the variety of Nigerian food! You know my love affair with good food is never ending. I enjoy eating out and having easy access to great food!

I love Praise and Worship in Lagos Churches! There is nothing as amazing as praising God in your mother-tongue. I remember the Nigerian Churches I atttended in the UK would convert all the ibo, yoruba songs to English. Imagine singing “Kabyesi Oh” in English…it’s not the same.

I love that you can have a better standard of living in Nigeria as compared to living in the UK. An average family in Nigeria that perhaps relocated from obodo can afford to live in a nice house, have one or two cars, perhaps has a house help or driver. Life can be easier. I would rather live better life in Nigeria…that UK is not easy. Some people leave their well paying jobs in Nigeria and go all the way to obodo oyinbo to work as a teller/cleaner.

I love that Lagos is a land of opportunity: there are many businesses thriving here and that’s why some people are making the move back home. It’s easier to start a business in Nigeria: that is my belief.