Beyond the Glitz and Glamour of Lagos
Ferdinand Ekechukwu
The Supreme Being gave the world the care it required when He created it because He understood the need for balance. As a result, there is a man and a woman, good and evil, yin and yang, and even heaven and earth. Each of them complements the others for a different reason.
Following the widespread acclaim from Lola OJ’s international readership for her highly anticipated debut book Before You Move To Nigeria, launched in London on July 16th, 2022, this review shares a sneak preview of the book’s first chapter – Beyond the Glitz and Glamour of Lagos – which is also found on Youtube.
Lola OJ understood how vital balance is and from her informed experiences with varying phases of living in Nigeria, she thought to show you the ropes of managing your experiences with the turbulent times of the country and let you see beyond the buzz of enjoyment and fun Lagos is colourfully laced with.
The opening chapter of the 139 page book heralds you into the real-time experiences of the book’s main character, Titi, a returnee to Nigeria who mistook the glamorous nature of partying in Lagos at night for a general mode of operations in the city. However, the author tried to strike the needed balance between the night’s fun and the busyness of the day.
When the subject of Nigeria is brought up in the presence of Nigerians who were born outside of the country, particularly the Millenials and Generation Z, they immediately think back to their earliest, warlike, ghetto memories of Nigeria—a country with unruly citizens, irate military personnel, and a vengeful government.
Naturally, there are a number of biases and misconceptions regarding the motherland. Imagine leaving a place in pursuit of greener pastures, and after overcoming a significant portion of the desire for migration, discovering that the only people you were looking for were your children, who were either returning to the place you left or preparing to settle there.
This is the account of Titi’s parents, and as is to be expected of African, particularly Nigerian parents, they find the strangeness of these thoughts to be overwhelming and worrying. Interestingly, there is more to Nigeria than just the accounts of its hardships. However, many young adult Nigerians living overseas hold certain attitudes that have been reinforced by the traditional media.
As a result, these people are adamant about their perception of Nigeria, which is not their fault. Nonetheless, the country’s bright side was highlighted at the start of this book.
The balance you need to pursue as you consider moving to Nigeria, the right attitude toward living a fulfilling life back home, and the opportunity to learn from the author’s mistakes, that’s all you’ll find in this promising chapter and details beyond word-of-mouth.
But you won’t know how useful this advice and insights are until you read through the pages for yourself. The best way to do so is to get a copy of the 9 chapter book right away.
