Ever taken a drive in torrential downpours? Everything is bleak, dull and blurry, what you’d call low visibility if you were flying. That’s what living in Nigeria feels like, ironically that’s exactly how it is because it’s pouring rain on random days now.
There is a darkness that shrouds our literature in Nigeria. It makes us distrustful of good things and steals the little pockets of joy we gather when the plot is positive. It gets even darker when we realise that the authors’ description of fiction is closer to our reality than we’d ever admit then we call it a story so the lump that forms in our throat deflates on its way to the pit of our stomach leaving us with a dry mouth.
We are no strangers to darkness, after all, we still can’t boast of uninterrupted power supply in over 60 years of independence. To say I’m disappointed will be me admitting that I had expectations of the country despite empirical evidence pointing to a completely different reality. I have no set feelings about the situation at hand aside that it’s pouring down and visibility is low.
Last week I talked myself out of an experience I might have enjoyed because I worried about the effort I had to put in to be selected. I assumed that the requirement said more about my self-worth than my desire to be in the experience. Finding out that a good number of the women who saw the process to its end didn’t show up was not in my bingo cards for this week! I was astonished!
The organisers, women I adore, who have a track record of giving the girls a good time were dismayed by the insouciance of the faves they propped up. There were reports of excess food and drinks being packed for the guests to take home and that’s how you know just how poor the turnout was🤧😒. Anyway, no more free shows for the Saidats IYKYK.
Yesterday I took the rest of my day to get pampered at the spa, 2 interesting things happened there. Some weeks back, a young lady posted a photo from a club’s bathroom and the lady behind her was scowling. I’m sure you’re wondering why this analogy matters, stick with me I’m going somewhere with it.
That photo went viral because someone said the lady behind had “bad mind”, X judges agreed and started piling on the poor stranger whose privacy was violated by the original poster. Somehow the tide turned in that conversation and the original poster got excited and shared another video where the other lady was trying to get out of the camera frame in the bathroom. Next thing, X judges were up in arms defending the lady behind and piling on the original poster. That exchange was odd to me because I’m very conscious of my environment when I create content in a public bathroom for the reason that lady was scowling… privacy.
Anyway, when my spa appointment ended I got in an elevator with a 30+-looking man and knew he’d try to make conversation (I was oiled up and glowing, of course, a Lagos man will try making conversation 🤭🤭). “Do you work here?” he said with a grimace that looked like a poor attempt at a smile, now under different circumstances I’d have let his indiscretion slide but nothing about my appearance gave any hint that I’d be a staff in that establishment. For context, the spa is situated at a huge 4-star hotel in an upscale area in Lagos, most of the staff have a uniform of some sort and I wore a pretty yellow dress without sleeves and carried a tote bag. Again, nothing about my appearance gave staff, so why did this doufus think that?
“Do you work here?” I asked right back, now he’s sweating. “Oh no, I came to use the gym” I blink “So why did you assume I was staff?” He stammered an inaudible response and the elevator door opens to let me out of that mess into another one😭.
Before I could process that exchange I got in a different elevator going into the basement car park and there was a lady in an interesting outfit with her phone camera up for content😒. I entered and moved all the way to the corner of the elevator mirror intentionally out of her camera frame, it was then the doorman noticed that someone was left in the elevator so he held the door and beckoned her to step out. She mumbled something about her bag being at the poolside. My guy sternly but politely asked her to step out a second time, I’m now getting warm in the face because the exchange was awkward as hell! He calmly told her that he asked her to step out for security reasons and she’s not allowed to make videos in the elevator for the same reason. She finally steps out embarrassed and I finally get some privacy before heading to my car.
While I’m aware that some Lagos establishments discriminate against women due to their appearance, this was not one of those situations. I had a privacy concern and the doorman did his job. Suddenly, my feelings about the viral post were validated.
2 Things…
Love is Blind Season 6 drama: You just need to check out the hashtag on X🤭🤭🤭 I need those sickos off my screen forever, please.
My mum’s best friend’s daughter got married today🎉🎉🎉: I took it as an excuse to get new photos of my dad and me… This one is important because the only photos of my mum and me were from when I was under 5. Every time I struggle to remember her face, it makes me sad that I have no media to fall back on.
Anywayyyyy, have a better week ahead my loverssss.
xx