Ẹ ku abọ: Yoruba Welcome to Lagos, Nigeria West Africa

I am so impressed with Lagos, Nigeria that I considered moving there to live as an expat. My warm reception Ẹ ku abọ (Yoruba for welcome) began before I reached the continent.  My friend +Lola Akinmade Åkerström of GeoTraveler's Niche who is an award-winning photographer, writer and fellow traveler introduced me to her sister +tope akinmade on facebook. Thank you for making sure that I entered the Nigerian High Life properly.



 I am grateful to my new Nigerian friends who also advised and assisted with my journey to Lagos. Thank you to +Luvvie A  for helping me get my visa, +Folarin Kolawole of +Naija Treks and +Pelu Awofeso of waka-about for helping to create the our successful event at Social Media Week Lagos. 
Thanks to the Blowfish Hotel for hosting our Official Google Hangout.

Once A Time Storytelling In Social Media #smwVisitNaija

Many thanks to +Roxanne Scott for starting the +BTB Black Travel Bloggers project to be part of Social Media Week Lagos. I am grateful for the ideas and contributions of those who did not  make the journey to Lagos: +Greg Gross +Patricia Patton +Kiratiana Freelon +Heather Greenwood Davis +Christen Rochon .

Money Exchange from dollars to Naira

My new sister +tope akinmade who is more than a brilliant financial analyst met me at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and safely transported me to the Eko Hotels & Suites to change $100 dollar bills into Naira which local Nigerian currency. Next we stopped a Nigerian fast food restaurant where she bought me dinner.

Money Changers give best rates on newer minted U.S. currency

 Then as we drove to her home, +tope akinmade told me that she had hired a driver for me for the week. I protested and said that i didn't need that. However, +tope akinmade knew the Lagos traffic. I am so happy that she did hire Mustapha for me. +tope akinmade also gave me a blackberry phone with a local Nigerian phone number, the keys to her home and my room. I was pleasantly surprised by the Ẹ ku abọ, Nigerian welcome. It was beyond my wildest expectations. I was also welcomed to the family by +tope akinmade and +Lola Akinmade Åkerström 's mother Mrs. Remi Akinmade who also greeted me with a warm Ẹ ku abọ. Mrs. Remi Akinmade is the benevolent founder of an orphanage of 350 children and a charity the Community Health Information Education Forum (CHIEF). I am forever grateful to these three Nigerian women and the Akinmade Family.

Lagos, Nigeria is an island bordered by Lagos Lagoon and Atlantic Ocean

I went to Lagos, Nigeria to help celebrate the inaugural Social Media Week on the continent of Africa. Lagos, Nigeria is a fitting place for me to began my travels to Africa.

Social Media Week Lagos Open & Connected

According to African Ancestry DNA database 70% of 4,000 African Americans who have taken the test have Nigerian roots. Callabar, Nigeria was know as the slave coast in the 1800's during the Portuguese Slave trade. 

Lagos Lagoon and Harbour (Map credit FAO.org)

Lagos is an island which was only reachable by boats before the building of the bridge and cars connected it to the mainland.  Lagos is border by the lagoon on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the island. A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated by a larger body of water by islands of Lagos, Victoria Island, and Lekki.

Lekki is a lagoon which lies to the east of Lagos lagoon. Lekki is named after Mr. Lequi the Portuguese Slave trader who had a camp there. 

Nigeria's greatest asset is its people with a population of 150 million people. Lagos is Nigeria's most populous city with a population of 21 million people. Lagos ranks as the world's 7th largest  fastest growing city. 

Traditional Boats used to get to Lagos before cars

Nigeria is a great and old civilization which reminds me of another great civilization, Constantinople or Istanbul.  I lived in Istanbul for two years with my ex-husband and children during his international basketball career.  It is from this experience that I draw my observations. 

The old civilization of Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos is a great and mighty nation of men similar to Istanbul. Men are everywhere. One does see women but men dominate the landscape. There is a juxtaposition of an old city with a new modern city emerging from the dust.  Lagos and Istanbul are both crossroads cities with the populations increasing from the search for economic opportunity, wars or natural disasters. Nigeria and Turkey both have been unfairly represented in the American media.

Students at the E-Learning Center visiting Social Media Week Lagos

During Social Media Week Lagos, I listened to American business leaders from New York, Atlanta, and Philadelphia state that they loved Lagos and planning to open up business there. i am not the only American who fell in love with Lagos during Social Media Week Lagos. Top executives who spoke during the Billboard Music Conference mentioned how welcomed they felt in Lagos. I f my memory serves me correctly Briant Biggs, Director of Mobile Strategies for Roc Nation said he was going back home to America to put the word out about how great is Lagos. 

Lagos is a modern bustling city emerging from an old civilization

At the Porsche Center, I spoke to Michael, the Brand Manager of Porsche who is a native South African. He shared with me that he loved Nigeria and Lagos in particular because there is no racism. I found it strange to have a conversation with a White South African  about the racism he experienced after apartheid. He was unable to find work there due to affirmative action. He told me that was a large community of South Africans who lived in Lagos because of the opportunity for jobs and excellent education for their children. 

Porsche Centre

As a matter of fact, I noticed that there is an international community of  families, workers, and businessmen in Lagos. It has a thriving multicultural community.

Modern Building in Lagos, Nigeria

Does Lagos and Nigeria have problems? Of course all countries have some type of problems. There is no perfect society. Nigeria is experiencing economic growth at this time. It is a nation rich in natural resources. There is construction boom everywhere in Lagos, Victoria Island, and Lekki. As one American  businessman from Atlanta pointed out that Nigeria has lots of problems. He loves problems because that means their is money to be made in providing solutions to those problems.

Social Media Week is a simultaneous  event which occurs in various cities around the world including New York City and Washington, D.C. The fact that over two dozen Americans chose to come to Lagos, Nigeria instead of the 5 year anniversary event in New York City or the Washington, D.C. event speaks volume for the allure that Nigeria has for us in the African American community.

The Nigerians have opened their arms to the world through Social Media Week Lagos, more and more stories of the real Lagos, Nigeria will continue arise to the world. Thank you to Obi Aski and Ngozi Odita for the outstanding job of organizing Social Media Week Lagos. Many thanks to +Claudine Moore and the member of the Nomandness Travel Tribe who were employed to do the social media work.

Ngozi Odita, Exec. Dir. SMWLagos & Obsi Asika, Advisory Board Chairman  Social Media Week Lagos

I have heartfelt gratitude for my publicity manager Prince Adeyemi Asepen for introducing me to famous Nigerian celebrities, the photo ops, and radio interviews. 

Wanle Akinboboye Ambassador of Tourism for the Continent of Africa

Also thank you to Ola Wright for introducing me to Wanle Akinboboye Ambassador of Tourism for the Continent of Africa and for our stay at La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort,

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