So the letter finally arrived in the post. We are off to Nigeria for at least a year. No more Virgin flights every month. No more 'chilling' in the lounges. No more microwave foods. No more tears down the phone (from me obviously. You think those people miss me when I am gone?).
We are off to Lagos. The home of the brave and the land of the er braver. Everything had been going so well. Iyawo and the smaller kids had come around last week to have a look at the school and I had shown them around the house that we will be living in, in Lekki, etc etc. We were very nicely getting into the groove of "living in Lagos" whilst safely ensconced in the Eko Hotel(lol). Then yesterday I had a meeting with a lovely lady whose child has autism to enquire about care for our daughter (more on autism care in Lagos later) and she not only bust my bubble she practically blew it apart.
This is how it goes. I meet up with her in her very swish place in Lekki and we are gabbing away about autism and the facilities available in Lagos etc etc when she casually mentions that they are selling their house and moving to VGC as the husband is prepared to spend every penny available for the treatment of his son. She had recently come back from a treatment centre in SA and that whole trip had cost over N2m (ouch). Anyway I then mentioned that we had found a home just a few streets down from her and there was this silence (which for her was unusual) followed by "are you sure you want to live in Lekki?" I explained that it was based on
the fact that the kids would all be in schools within a mile radius of the house. She was then glancing back and forth at her sister -in-law like should I tell him or should I leave him in peace.
Finally, she blurts out, "what about the armed robbers?". I tell her that I am not sure where they go to school. She does not see the humour in this (but I hope you do dear reader). She then proceeds to give me a litany of the things she has been through including but not limited to:
- snatching of her brand new X5 at gunpoint at her gate after she came back from collecting her child's birthday cake (they did not even have the courtesy to let her take the cake out of the car first)
-attempted snatching of her Jeep at gunpoint as she drove to church with her kids in the car
-attempted break in to her property
-several attempted robberies on her street
-robbery of UBA bank on Admiralty way etc etc
- lack of police presence during any of the above although the alarm centre (private security firm) could mostly be counted on to respond
This was all very sobering and brought me back down to earth with a bang. reading about armed robberies in the paper and actually sitting a foot away from a victim are two totally different things. So I asked her for the name of her agent to go and see some places inVGC! I rang the agent and had a long chat about the pros and cons of living in VGC. Yes it is a beautiful tranquil and safe environment. Yes they have their own transformer so NEPA is not an issue. Yes there is a park and a sports centre and the kids can ride their bikes on the roads. All good and dandy. Then the kicker. Casually she says "of course you will have to leave home at 6am to get your kids to school on time!"
So it looks like it will be yours truly and the armed robbers fighting it out for supremacy in Lekki where you can sleep till 7am and still get your kids to school on time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
19 comments:
Tricky decisions. My friends mother was robbed at gunpoint outside their house yet he still went back to Lagos to live on his own - crazy or brave??
Pray, what and where is VGC?
Well, I can very well empathise with that lady. After armed robbers literally turfed us out of our house at 3:00AM, made our neighbourhood a pirate's paradise and stole cars and property with abandon - I had enough.
That was 1988, 19 years on, security and safety still rank the probably highest requirement of the well-off.
I wish you the best in this endeavour, I probably would not know my way around Nigeria any more - 1990 ...
My sincerest advice: go to VGC.
Well IMO, go to VGC, you really want to try and reduce the risk to your family as much as possible, as an added bonus you can actually walk around VGC at night, let the kids go out on their own, etc, while I kind of understand your decision, it's basically 3 hrs of everybodys life (extra time on the road) unless you can breeze into your office at 10.30, remember growing up in the 70's (yes I'm that age) when there were no 20 ft fences, everyone played outside their houses, etc. a little bit of that is retained at VGC and some of the other gated communities like Co-operative Villas.
As a slight aside which schools have you been looking at?
Oh and by the way, if you don't blog at least once a week, I will send the boys round ;-) you know they are cheap in Gidi
Akin, Victoria Garden City is a large gated estate further down the Lekki road, just after 3rd roundabout (where Cheveron is based) the problem is that because there is only one road feeding the whole of Lekki it gets rather overcrowded during the rush hours (understatement, I once spent 7 hours there during Lekki sunsplash, good days)
As you know T, when we first moved to Gidi we lived in Very Good Criminals. I call it that because as we soon found out, quite a few successful 419'ers live there, as well as those who have made it big in armed robbery.
Once, armed robbers tried to get into VGC. Because there is only one entrance, they chickened out after a tiny gunfight at the entrance. So they decided to chase a Fire for Fire police car down the road instead (the police, having limited weaponry, fled the car. In the morning it was covered in bullets).
Another time, armed robbers who live in VGC went out on a mission late at night, only to be stopped at the gate by security. The armed robbers simply called for additional back-up within VGC. Some money exchanged hands, and they were on their way.
So, VGC is a good option. There's little chance of being attacked by robbers inside the community, with so much weaponry, and so many robbers/crims already living there.
The only problem is the road there. Apart from the traffic, there are also armed robbers operating on the road regularly. We got stopped directly outside Chevron once (ok it was quite late at night). If you are driving home after 10, better to do it in convoy at high speed.
Gosh, some tough decision! Lekki is, well, sorta STILL isolated! VGC is kinda a better option. Sad but true, what Jeremy said. There's less likelihood of getting pwnd while living amidst them than when u r on the other side of the board.
I trust you'd do what's good for you and the family.
God bless us, everyone...
hmmm... im guessing Ikeja never crossed anyone's mind... cuz i dont hear stories like this from that end...
anyways... talk about rock and a hard place...
Aaa Ah!!..Eh jo go vgc...it's muuuch safer...i've have a huge fear of da armed robbers.. frm stories i've heard frm family members
Havent had any horror stories from Lekki in a while, but my mum lives in VGC and I can testify abt all its goodnesss . If you have a young family, will mostly be resident on the island, ie no mainland missiosn, want a park, a club, a restuarant, there even a market next dooor.. choose VGC. sure the kids have to wake up at 6, but they will easily adjust, afterall we all did it when we where younger, no visible scars, and kids dont mind anyways, the problem is likely to be with you and wifey, who will have toget up 15 minutes or half an ahour early. or do it the posh way and get a nanny who will get up wwith them, if you cant be arsed.. always lots of love anonym.
Mr T na wa o. Its finding the balance that is key really and I sincerely pray that you find it.I have lived in Aguda/Surulere the so called den of robbers for about 6 years now and i have not had any experince with robbers in any way.some will say i'm lucky others blessed. But we shouldnt take for granted that these issues are real.I properly wont drive an X5 in my neighbourhood or come back home from the club at 3.30am.Generally i try to play 'safe'.If u ask me VGC might be better if u work on the Island but there are a couple of 'good' schools in VGC so u might just go school shopping and see if u can get the children in. that way they can even walk to school.
Ikeja GRA will be my idea place to live but logistic with working on the Island will be a serious issue. I wish you the best but for more stay in Eko Hotel for as long as you possibly can
I must admit that is one fear I used to have, but when you think about it,there are so many people who have lived there without any 'agro'.
My advice would be to trust God. He will surely take care of you and your family.
oga abeg go VGC ooo, we all did the wake up early when we were younger. I stayed at Surulere, went to schl in Apapa, it was the norm.
Abeg this one that the lady who lives by your new place has complained like this, whats the point of taking the risk. Abi na to jam armed robbers every week or so you want?
Kai naija sef, can we go back to the Lagos of the 80s when popsie used to drive us from VI to Apapa to Surulere at midnight sef...sigh
I was just telling my wife that if I want to settle in Lagos I'll buy myself a gun...ofcos she disagrees
my advice to you.........buy one, and teach your wife how to use it too.
Armed robbers are everywhere in Lagos, if you base your decision solely on them, you'll never live in the city. so ill say you should look at the big picture, go to VGC, and pray for the best.
Lived in VGC for 3 years and would recommend it especially for a family with young children. It was like another world outside Lagos. There is such serenity and calm within VGC, you forget the troubles of Lagos till you drive out again.
The story about Nepa not being a problem is not true though. In 2000/2001, there was a 5 month blackout which was not fixed promptly because they knew everyone had personal gens. Before I left in 2004, there were also frequent blackouts with many nights spent inhaling CO from the neighbour's gen.
Despite this, my vote still goes to VGC.
Wow. Where are asll the residents of Lekki? DO they not have internet access there? So far all votes have been for VGC which by the way would appear to be cheaper rent wise. After long discussion with Iyawo we have decided to stick with what we have. It is a lovely home, has great vibes and I am sure that Allah will look after us. (Along with the 10 MOPOL men I am planning to hire.)
VGC is v nice and all - I'm sure esp if you have young children but I would suggest Lekki. I don't know where your office will be but Lekki is far closer to Victoria Island and the mainland than VGC (abeg, who was that who said that Lekki was somewhat isolated?).
The traffic along that Lekki-Epe expressway is hell esp in the mornings and yes, you will have to be out of the house by 6am (by the very latest) to get to your kids to school on time. At least, when you live in Lekki you have less of the traffic to contend with.
My family has lived in Lekki for about 10 years and only been robbed once. LOL! Okay, it was not funny at all but I think Lagos is Lagos and Lekki is still considered fairly safe as far as things go.
If you have a lovely place, then please go with that and trust that God will look after you.
Lagos Wahala. Make una try on our behalf. Best Wishes to you, Iyawo and the kids, Toksie.
You know your kids can go to school from VGC by boat?! There\'s a \"school boat\" that takes kiddies from the waterfront, hehehe.
Oh and I think I know this lady! Does her name start with M? Hehehe
Post a Comment