Wo bin Ich zu Hause - Meine heimat für Fremde

I know most of you may have heard of Lagos. The Mega city. A city where people come to in search of their dreams, of opportunities and or their destiny. I like many Nigerians, I am no different. In 2001 I came Lagos, I came to Eko with the hope of realizing my dream. Umm but why Eko? You see I am Igbo and like may tribes in Nigeria or dare I say Africa, the fate and future of a woman is dependent on her male counterpart. With this I mean first her father, then brothers, uncles, her husband or any other male counter part for that matter. Well let’s just say I wanted to be able to decide for myself. I wanted to be in a place where accepting decisions and guidance wasn’t about gender but competence. A place where my voice and my opinion would count. From the tales I had heard Eko sounded like such a place. A gateway to opportunities, a melting pot of desires, of creativity, of sheer will and tenacity – I wanted in. Of course I would later learn that in reality, the story do...

If you have made it past all the negative press and terrifying stories you hear about Nigeria and still decide to come over then perhaps there are a few things I can share with you about traveling through Nigeria based on my own experience. Nigeria is not one of the usual tourist destinations in Africa. There are obviously other countries in Africa with more developed tourist industries and longer service history in the sector Safaris which most people associate with the whole of Africa are not available in Nigeria the closest you will come to that is a visit to one of our national parks and forest reserve like Yankari Game Reserve. If you are looking for a place where everything is predefined, where you find all necessary and updated information online including packaged tours – then you are also shopping in a market where this is still under development What then can you expect from a trip to Nigeria? Ibadan,Benin,Enugu,Idanre,Kano,Akwa Ibom The beauty of Niger...

Hostels in Nigeria? Personally, when I travel, I look for trendy hostels, I could stay in. You see Hostels are great for Solo travelers, it’s a perfect place and way to meet other travelers that are like-minded to explore with. They are also more affordable than hotels. At first, I stayed in Dormitories and after a few years I started staying in single rooms in Hostels. In the years I have been coming back to Nigeria I never heard of hostels, so I choose to look for budget hotels.  I budgeted maximum 20 euros per night. My Budget - I choose a 20 euros budget because in Mexico and Brazil I was able to find good hostels with dormitory beds for 9 to 15 euro a night or a single room for 20 to 35 euros a night.  The cheapest I dared to stay in Obudu and Kachia cost 5500 a night - the service level differ greatly. When you book a double room, most find it hard to give you two towels but some property owners understand that it's about HOSPITALITY To identify hotels, I us...

What can you expect of Oyo? Oyo is in the south west geopolitical region in Nigeria. It has a population of over 5 million people predominately of the Yoruba tribe. The landmass is over 28,000 square kilometers. The landscape is made up of lots of hard formed rocks and semi shaped dome hills. Taking a drive through the old parts of Ibadan allows you see firsthand how hilly the city is and how houses are built around rocks.  I think the first thing that comes to mind for me when I think of Oyo is the University of Ibadan. Maybe it’s because two of my siblings studied in UI as it is fondly called. Or perhaps because it is one of the oldest and most prestigious institution of education in Nigeria. University of Ibadan was founded in 1948 as a college of the university of London. It became an autonomous institution in 1962. When I learnt I would visit this institution during one of its convocation ceremonies, my excitement doubled because it meant I would also experien...

Let’s talk about Museums in Nigeria. Museums in Nigeria are managed by the National Commission of Museums and Monuments. Personally, I like visiting museum when I am in a new place because it gives me insight into the people, their history, their culture and to some degree insight into their current affairs. The NCMM (National Commission of Museums and Monuments) manages over 50 outlets across Nigeria according to their website ( http://ncmm.gov.ng/about-us/ ) . You can find all the museums listed on the website unfortunately not all of them can be found via google maps.  Alongside the national museums the NCMM also cares for 65 recognized monuments and two UNESCO world heritage sites – Osun Osogbo Grove and Sukur Landscape Adamawa On my trip through Nigeria I visited about 14 institutions, some of them are privately owned. M y review of each museum is linked to the listings.  Museums listed in order of personal preference   Olusegun Obasanjo Presid...

Ah money makes the world go round they say. So I decided against opening a Nigerian bank account cos I would lose money when I started exchanging for the other countries currencies that were on my travel list.  Withdrawing from the ATM gives me a much better rate and it would be a more authentic experience for someone with a foreign card . Over the years I have watched the Cash availability situation in Nigeria whilst using my regular master or visa card. I can’t tell if the withdrawal fee for each transaction has always been 1400 Naira but definitely over Easter and now that what it is. 3.5€ for every transaction?!? Here is even the crazier part of it the ATM limits you to a transaction of 20,000 Naira. So I would have to pay 3.5€ for roughly every time I withdraw 50€. I needed a way around this and I found one. The large sum ATM dispenser and a credit card that allows fee less transactions worldwide. 2016 I had a similar dilemma that the ATMs weren’t even accepting m...