AND THEN THERE WERE TWO.....

So where did I stop…..

Oh yeah the part when I received the text from Virgin informing me that as all commercial flights from Nigeria were to be suspended from 23 April, my return flight to UK has been cancelled. My reaction was relatively calm as I had only just lost my dad so everything else kind of paled in significance, nothing seemed that important COVID-19 lock down included.

The priority was for our families and friends back home to know we were ok after all it's not if we were stranded in a war torn country. We assured them at ‘some point’ airspace would open and we’d both be home. The other priority was for 2 of my siblings, Akeem and Tawa to return to their respective places of abode immediately, new tickets were bought and they left before Nigeria’s airspace closed the next day. Then there were 2…..myself and Ahmed! 

That’s how we started counting Lagos lock down. House was already stocked with food as the services of a caterer had been engaged to provide food when we first arrived in Nigeria. A variety of food was delivered, packed in takeaway plastics and stacked in the freezer, a further order was placed the day before lock down started, we had so much to eat! Eventually we did work our way through the food packs at which point a large pot of beans, jollof and stew were cooked and stacked in the now empty freezer. We also had left over drinks from Dad’s 8th day prayers ceremony, I drank ‘mineraz’ till I was Fanta’d out, I am now reaping the fruits of my labour!

No Place Like Home.

Local Akara & Ogi Joint (True Story!)

Electricity was relatively stable during lockdown, we put this down to local commercial businesses being shut thereby reducing overhead load. Ikeja Electricity (IE) did quite well and the light barely blinked. (I've been warned to stop referring to electricity suppliers as NEPA as I'm showing my age as that is so yesterday, Naija has moved on, we now have regional suppliers each with their own trade name).  

We spent the first few days of lock down sorting out ‘domestics’ paperwork, sifting through old photographs and stuff. For me this took the edge off the loss of Dad. 

Now the rules of lock down varied from area to area, no one size fits all approach. Everyone’s story was different. One person could leave house to buy water and get stooped  at a police check point and upon explanation be allowed to continue on his merry way. 

Another could leave house and their story would be very different while some people did not even venture out of their homes at all. A number of folk are of the opinion that application of lock down rules in Lagos are dependant on what side of the bridge one lives on (‘The Bridge’ divide in Lagos is a blog post for another day). 

Our fav Shoprite was one of the stores with a licence to open during lockdown, social distancing observed with long queues caused by the spacing. A few fast food restaurants also opened but with no option to eat-in, only takeaway though delivery service available in some places. A few local Markets places were open at night as well.  

The General Vibe 

Anyways the days rolled by and waistline was on the increase. That special one, tight knit of friend’s and family constantly kept one busy with phone calls, video calls, audio notes, memes and forwards. I listened to a lot of music as well, Afro beats to be precise…if you know you know. I'm a proud card carrying Marlian!

Those Whatsapp chat groups though….. oh my days conspiracy theorists, 5G network included, everybody has turned into an analyst I read all sorts till my eyes watered. 

Ahmed on the other hand went the other way and had a social media detox… he read 7 ‘deep’ books during lock down 🤓and kept strictly to phone calls. 

There is a slight problem with this though…when you cut off from social media, how do you know about important stuff that goes on in the world that may effect you 🤔😐. E.g. for example, like (tautology, I know)……. drum roll wait for it; What if the British High Commission happened to ask you to register your interest to return to U.K.? How would you know if not for Twitter, Gov.UK updates🤔? 

Moving on swiftly one day I receive an email, ‘Dear Ola thank you for registering your interest in return flights to the U.K. with the Deputy British High commission in Lagos….blah blah blah (ati be be lo) We are pleased to announce that we have now arranged flights to enable short term visitors to return to the UK’…. The first fights will depart on 18 and 20 April you will be told your flight date and time when/ if your booking is confirmed. 

In the final countdown another email received COVID -19 REPATRIATION -Repatriation Flight From Lagos to Return To The UK:

"Dear Ola, please accept this email as confirmation of your repatriation flight back to the UK……blah blah blah again. A seat has been reserved for you….Carrier: British airways…

Please find COVID sticker UK enclosed – this is your “travel permit”.  This needs to be displayed on your car dashboard to secure passage through Lagos State road blocks...."

Oh yeah, for the record repatriation flights are NOT free (well not this one anyway, though it was subsidized partially by British Government). I'm quite sure that 'aunty' who was rescued from a tree in the aftermath of a natural disaster in that country many years ago would not have paid for the service. Pathetic example I know, she was actually rescued by a helicopter no cause for comparison at all!  

We were also relieved and thankful to find we were social distanced on flight, the plane was not full and we were ‘scattered’ and spaced out except household members who could choose to sit together.  

So that's how we ‘gbe bodi’ carried our load, aka luggage and climbed on plane 🇳🇬 ✈️ 🇬🇧 

Thanks for all the love, kind words and prayers particularly regarding Dad’s passing. 

14 days Self Isolation here we come. 😷

Let's trust God and continue to wash our hands.  

Stay safe.

💅🏾