The hustle, chaos, humour, ambition, traffic, dreams, and everyday experiences that make Lagos unforgettable.
One of the more surprising discoveries of adulthood is that people continue caring about you even after you’ve made a deliberate effort to become difficult to reach. I spent most of my second day in hospital attempting to convince everyone that I was perfectly fine. This was complicated by the fact that I was in
Dear Reader,Since you’ve somehow found your way here, introductions are probably in order. My name is Rahima Ifunanya Adekunle. Most people call me Ria.It’s shorter, easier, and saves me from turning every introduction into a discussion about Nigerian geography. I am a Nigerian woman with too many thoughts and a diary patient enough to listen
I have always believed in rules. Not because I am a lawyer. Well, maybe partly because I am a lawyer. But mostly because rules are the only thing standing between civilization and what I can only describe as a highly organized form of madness. And nowhere is this more obvious than a BRT queue in
People think journalism is glamorous.It isn’t. Nobody tells you that most investigative reporting involves sitting in uncomfortable places for unreasonable amounts of time while questioning your life choices. For instance: At the moment I am writing this, it is 2:17 a.m. Mosquitoes have declared war on my existence. My back hurts. My phone battery is
Dear Diary, Apparently there are several hours missing from my day. I find this unacceptable. Not because I particularly wanted those hours. But because they belonged to me. And I have always been uncomfortable with losing access to things that belong to me. Time. Information. Control. Particularly control. The last thing I remember is standing in a boardroom
Dear Diary, I have always believed that most crises are avoidable.Not all. Just most. The problem is that people confuse preparation with pessimism. When you ask difficult questions before something goes wrong, people call you negative. When the thing eventually goes wrong, those same people schedule emergency meetings and suddenly discover the value of planning.
If you met me at work, you’d probably describe me as composed.Strategic.Intimidating, if we’re being honest. I manage scandals, reputation disasters, corporate meltdowns, and public relations nightmares for some of the most powerful people in Lagos. I am the person companies call when everything is on fire. And somehow, that felt easier than dealing with