I N T R O D U C T I O N

When I tell you that I Just Got Back for the Suya and The Chapman, I mean I literally just got back for the suya and the chapman with zero expectations about what a few weeks would be like in Lagos.

It took many years of saying no, of going to other places, of putting it off, of learning to do without. I went back to Lagos with a deep reluctance, once again, looking for an excuse to put off something I firmly believed should be a fundamental part of who I am, even in the transient comfort of American life.

These are essays on some of my observations, and insight into social relationships with the people, and the experiences I found myself thrown into in Nigeria. I learned one fundamental lesson- There is no paradise anywhere. Nigeria, despite her numerous problems, her corrupt leadership and lack of fundamental infrastructure, her jubilant and often forgetful people, were still my home and my people. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I want to reiterate that I am, and will continually remain aware of Nigeria’s complexities in her relation to self and the international world. It is hard to capture Nigeria in one piece, this story, our story, could be told a thousand times over, and still, it might not be enough.

I don’t want to say that everything was rosy on this trip, because it was not. It was just as joyful as it was sobering, and I only wished I could have been there longer to truly connect the dots 0n how I really feel. Perhaps this feeling is temporary, and the option of American citizenship, proof of a possibility to remain hinged in both worlds is my privilege as both observer and participator. Common knowledge about Christmas dictates that it is an inaccurate time period to measure Nigeria on. I agree.

The pieces will be released intermittently, because I am trying to write without feeling the constraint of developing content for the sake of content. I have so much to say, but there is so little space, and so little attention span these days to read. I hope you can understand.

Thanks,

Sheba