Hello, my darling!
Indeed, it has been some time since you received a letter from me. I am doing okay and did not forget to write to you. I spent most of December trying to recover from whatever 2022 was. I was burnt out and sad. I needed rest, to be away from Lagos and to receive love so I travelled to the East with my family. It was rejuvenating.
Side note: Leave Lagos often. It is good for your mental health. It will help to reduce your feelings of anxiety and broaden your perspective on what else being a Nigerian could mean apart from what Lagos offers to you. A comfortable day trip to Ibadan using the train will cost you N25,000. Plan, save and leave. You don’t have to be travelling for work or a long weekend; for school or for an event to have a reason to leave the city. Sometimes, you need a break from it all and a day trip out of town can be a breath of fresh air.
Once January started, I had to organise, plan and set up the businesses that pay me for the new year of work. Shout out to Kennedy Ekezie for the goal-setting session that we had at the beginning of the year. It helped me establish the path and tone that I wanted to create for myself and my team for the rest of the new year, and it helped me get into work mode gently. I am forever grateful for that and I recommend it to you, my dear. It does not have to be Kennedy’s; you can start one of your own with your friends at the beginning of the year or make it a monthly event.
Now, I am settled and ready to begin writing and recording again! This year, I will be releasing a new podcast episode and sending a new letter every Sunday. I am practising recording and writing in batches so I can focus on sharing each new content. I did ask myself a question when this year started, I said:
“I wonder how my life would change if dedicated time and effort into writing and recording consistently for a year”
And I am looking forward to seeing the result at the end of this year.
As I write this letter to you, we have just completed our Presidential and House of Assembly general elections and it has been messy. INEC is not the prepared, bad bitch that she told us that she was and party representatives are walking out of the collation centre in Abuja. Talks of protests are in the air and some people’s tribalism is showing irrespective of their party. I do not want us to sink into darkness because we are already living on the edge. Protests could easily turn violent and with tribal and political tension in the air, it could turn into a tribal war and we slide back into military rule or we become heavily policed. Pessimistic? Maybe. When Nigeria gets violent, everyone is fair game.
With things looking like they will not be in the favour of the party I voted for, I have begun to accept my fate and begun to adjust to what I think my new reality might look like. I am still angry because this was not a free and fair election but it was not as violent as past elections have been, and the willingness of Nigerians to participate when it came to exercising their right to vote and our show of resilience even in the face of violence was a triumph. I never thought that I would live to see such a day. My hope is that our participation in politics does not stop here.
That we:
find and register with our LG/LCDA
get to know what ward we live in and who our ward councillor is
attend our LG/LCDA meetings
become active members of a political party because we align with their ideology and practice
vote during the local government elections and maybe, begin to encourage capable individuals in our party or among our social groups to vie for political positions
I must depart now and I will write to you soon.
Until then, stay peaceful and kind to yourself.
With love,
Amanda
Welcome back!🤗