Untold Stories of Ibadan (Part 2)

Of course, there are things that could be better about the city but there are a few wrong perceptions about the city and a lot of them are not true. Let me share with you why I enjoy living in Ibadan. In contrast to Lagos, Ibadan isn't prone to traffic congestion. You do not have to leave home 5am to get to resume work at 8am. There may be traffic at some places at various times, but generally, Ibadan is not known for traffic congestion. Yeah, rent in Ibadan is fairly alright. It isn’t as cheap as we normally thought but it’s also not as bad as Lagos. Rent in Ibadan depends on where you wanna live and what your tastes are. Oh yeah, transportation is the cheapest thing in Ibadan. You can still take a keke napep for 30 bucks and some taxis for 50 bucks. . . lol (totally depends on your destination). Also the serenity in Ibadan; you can't compare the breeze/fresh air you get in Ibadan with the polluted air you'll inhale in Lagos. In Ibadan, you live longer and you stay healthier because it is a peaceful place.

Looking at it from another perspective, I must state that Ibadan is the center of the Yoruba culture a land rich in culture and traditions so there is much to learn. Moreover, Ibadan is called the “the ancient city”. This ancient city has for long held on to its cultural heritage, and this makes it an interesting place to visit in Nigeria. When you go into Ibadan town you would see many brown, rusty roofs and a lot of old looking buildings, some even abandoned. But, in some other parts of Ibadan you would see that the older buildings have been renovated and modern facilities have been installed around the city, the city now has a profound combination of the modern and conservative architectural interpretation. There are malls with escalators, ultra-modern shopping complexes, cinemas, high-end hotels and restaurants, local ‘bukas’ etc.  The truth however is, while Ibadan might be an ancient town, there are a lot of things to do and ways to entertain yourself and it all depends on what you want. Events, shows and tournaments are held on a regular basis. Ibadan might be an old city, but not all of its inhabitants have an archaic or boring orientation. There are currently 3 tertiary institutions in the city with students from around the country. So we have lots of young lively folks in Ibadan. Lots of companies (both local and International) are commencing operations in Ibadan.

A lot of people think that the people who live in Ibadan are not trendy. A number of times you see pictures of people looking weird and it being attributed to Ibadan with comments like: “Ibadan girls be like…” or “you can only see this in Ibadan”. Whereas some might consider it entertaining or even hilarious, it fosters a huge misconception. While it is impossible for everyone who lives in Ibadan, as in any town, to be trendy and up-to-date as regards fashion, tech and living in general, most of the inhabitants of the city are quite modish in their appearance and behavior. You should see the very few friends and acquaintances I have in Ibadan. Oh yeah, they are so on point and they are all based in Ibadan. A few weeks after I got to Ibadan I told my closest friend, “I like Ibadan and I would love to stay but I have no one here so how do I cope outside work”. My friend responded “If you decide to stay in Ibadan I promise I would always be there for you, all you have to do is just ask.” That just gave me more peace and joy. I was fine with the life in Ibadan and now I have a friend I could count on. Also I already had a bound with my team in the office and I was too emotionally attached to leave them. They made me find purpose and fulfillment on my job so I couldn’t just leave.

After 3 months of seeing that life in Ibadan was not as bad as I thought, I told my office I would love to stay a little longer in Ibadan. A year later I made the decision not to go back to Lagos because I love my life in Ibadan now. Yeah a lot of times I still do not like or accept some things in Ibadan and I still need to do some adjusting, moreover I miss Lagos and Abuja sometimes, I miss my family and friends especially when it gets so lonely but I have peace in Ibadan.

Many of my colleagues call me “Iya Ibadan” and sometimes ask if I would return to Lagos. I just tell them “NO” because I love Ibadan and I have peace of mind. The best aspect of living in Ibadan is about her relatively peaceful nature.

Lazedon thanks for the graphics. 

Untold Story of Ibadan (Part 1)

Recently, I had been struggling with putting pen to paper. I start writing something then I get distracted and I do not get to finish it and I move on to something else. Surprisingly the insight on what to write came in an amusing way and immediately I got my laptop and I started to compose this piece.

A chat with my in-law made me see what I should write. Jokingly he had asked what I was up to and if I had any plans for the day. I had not responded when he asked “is there a cinema in Ibadan?” I laughed so really hard without responding, I just kept laughing so hard. I laughed so much because that was the exact question I had asked around 3 years ago when my office in Lagos requested my colleague and I to open a branch of the Legal Department in Ibadan, I was to be in Ibadan for a period of 3 months before returning. My immediate answer was “NO” because I thought they were sending me to a “dead town”. I had once attended a camp meeting when I was 10 years old, the vivid picture of Ibadan displayed in my head was that of a very big town with lots of brown dirty roofs, old looking houses, lots of hawkers and mad men living on the streets, and all that.  My colleague was willing to explore and try something new but I didn’t want to, so my answer was still NO.

After much contemplation, I said to myself, “Ibadan might be as local and boring as I pictured but all I really need is a nice hotel to lodge or a good service apartment, a good church, somewhere like a mall to get stuff I need and I guess movies”. So I decided to Google “is there a cinema in Ibadan”, “are there malls in Ibadan”, “is there shoprite in Ibadan” “best place to live in Ibadan” “hotels in Ibadan” “pictures of Ibadan” . . . and a lot more. . . how so hilarious. When I eventually accepted to come to Ibadan I told some of my friends and they also had lots of questions like I did and it always ended with “how will you cope or survive in that town”, “would you come to Lagos for weekends?”, “how will you have fun?” “I hope you would not come back acting like those local people?” and it goes on and on.

As we drove to Ibadan to resume work I kept trying to talk myself into accepting what my new life might be for the next 3 months. Later in the week, we hooked up with an old friend who took us to the movies at Ventura and I was flabbergasted that Ibadan had something of such interest and excitement. In the course of the week, we visited a few other places and drove around a bit. Ibadan has 3 malls with cinemas, bowling section, Chinese restaurants, lounges, cold stone ice cream, perfumery, lovely shops and much more. So I had to take back all the not so pleasant things I had said about Ibadan. Ibadan is not what I thought it was. Now let me tell you the untold story of Ibadan . . . To be continued