BABATUNDE OLADEPO 
The ceiling in my room collapsed on a Sunday morning in January. Not dramatically. Not all at once. A chunk of POP about the size of a large pillow detached from the corner near the window and crashed onto my desk, scattering plaster dust across my laptop, my notes, and the mug of coffee I … Read more
My room smelled like generator exhaust, stale sweat, and last night’s onion stew. All at once. On a Tuesday afternoon in March. While I was on a video call with a client. She did not say anything. She could not smell it. But I could. And the awareness of it sat in my head the … Read more
I spent 3 hours and 47 minutes in a BRT bus from Yaba to Ajah on a Wednesday afternoon in February. Three hours. Forty-seven minutes. To travel roughly 28 kilometres. I know the exact time because I started a timer on my phone when I boarded and stopped it when I finally stepped off. I … Read more
My OPay balance read ₦4,217 on a Friday evening. Rent was due in six days. I had just sent ₦15,000 to my mum in Ilorin. And the petrol price increase had eaten through my budget like termites through plywood. I looked at my phone, looked at the ceiling, and made a decision. I was going … Read more
I ordered the inverter at 11:47 PM on a Tuesday night in February. I was lying in the dark, drenched in sweat, listening to my neighbour’s generator rumble outside my window while my phone sat at 8% battery. NEPA had been off since 2 PM. My rechargeable fan had died at 9 PM. And my … Read more
I was on a Zoom call with a client in London last month when my screen froze for the third time in six minutes. She stared at me through the pixelated video, waited patiently for about ten seconds, and then said: “Let us reschedule. Your connection is not great today.” That “not great” connection was … Read more
Forty-seven. That is the number of cold pitches I sent before I got my first reply as a freelancer. Forty-seven messages to business owners on Instagram and WhatsApp. All ignored. Not a single “no thanks.” Not even a “who is this?” Just silence. I was sitting at my desk in Yaba, Lagos, staring at my … Read more
My neighbour bought a brand new Sumec Firman 2.5KVA generator in January. He was so proud of it. “This one is quiet,” he told me over the compound fence, grinning like a man who had solved a problem. That night, when he cranked it on at 8 PM, I measured 74.2 dB at my bedroom window using … Read more
On the morning of February 15, I woke up at my desk. Not in my bed. At my desk. My laptop was still open with a half-written article on the screen. My neck felt like someone had bent it at a wrong angle for six hours. And my phone alarm, which I had set for … Read more
My phone died at 2:47 PM on a Tuesday. I was in the middle of a client voice note on WhatsApp, confirming a ₦75,000 invoice payment. The screen went black. No warning. No “5% remaining” notification. Just dead. NEPA had been off since morning. My power bank was already drained from keeping my laptop alive. … Read more