Since the lockdown began, we have been consistently advised to reach out to our friends and loved ones, check up on them, and make them feel less alone. I never fully understood the import of that until I called to check up on a friend who resides in Lagos, last Wednesday. That call reminded me how we can not fully grasp the full story by viewing snippets on social media.

It was meant to be a routine call and I hadn’t planned on spending more than 10 minutes, but when I asked how are you doing and heard the sigh from the other end of the receiver, I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. Spoiler Alert, the call ended up being a 1hour 30-minute rant.

As a young single lady, living in Lagos, my friend was worried about her safety. She expressed how she found it difficult sleeping at nights because of the growing rates of robberies on the mainland. Thankfully, she lives on the Island but how much longer before the unrest arrives at her doorsteps.

What can she do? She said to me, “I am afraid, every time I go online and see what’s happening on the mainland, I am afraid because it’s real. Everyone here now takes precautions because you don’t want to draw unwanted attention to yourself. As I speak to you, I am sweating in the heat, there is no light and I can’t even on the generator because its past 10 pm and having your gen on past 10 pm means you are well off now, drawing attention to you.”

As I sat at the other end of the call listening to my friend express her fears, I couldn’t help but understand how privileged I was to be having family to isolate with even though they are starting to get on my nerves, she lives alone.

Written by Max.