After a three year stint in a foreign country, I am now back to home country. My holiday is officially over and I now have to face simple realities like owning a generator and viewing every artisan with a high level of suspicion. It’s yet another new beginning for me except in an old country. It’s a new home (finding it is an entire story) and a somewhat new beginning (in Fashola’s Lagos).
So here I was feeling like a cowboy a few weeks back. I had heard all the stories about how tough it is to find accommodation in Lagos. I knew they were true but I put it down to mainly cash. I figured with what I was looking for and my budget it shouldn’t be a problem. It didn’t seem so at first. Within two weeks of my reconnaissance trip I had found a nice pad. The negotiations were practically done with so I took a trip back to Ghana feeling like a superstar. In just two weeks, I had found apartment in Lagos, paid for it and ready to plan moving the rest of my stuff back.
Then the gist started. First the landlord doesn’t cash the cheque, and can’t produce an agreement because their lawyer had an accident and was unavailable. Then the lawyer was available but for some reason, they still won’t cash the cheque but offered alternative accommodation at the same price. Then the landlord returns the cheque and then I am back to square one. I tried to analyze what the problem could have been; did they want more money or what? Well in such cases answers are not usually forth coming. I spoke to a friend who assured me it was normal. He once paid for a house and on meeting the landlord and the man discovering he was from a certain tribe the offer was withdrawn and his money returned. It was consoling to know the universe wasn’t against me. This meant another reconnaissance trip but this time I wasn’t going to move an inch until I was safely installed in an apartment.
Within a week of arrival another accommodation was being negotiated yet again about two houses from the previous one. This time, I wasn’t feeling like a cowboy. I was suspicious all the way. The assurances of the agent fell on deaf ears (he had congratulated me on the first one). Payment was made, the money was withdrawn then the keys to a main gate took a while to materialize. I had the keys to the inner sections of the house but none to get me into the compound. Two agents working together who didn’t quite trust each other were now playing Russian roulette with providing the key. The key finally arrived and I move in and it’s a whole new set of challenges. The holiday is indeed over!
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