day 5 in nigeria - in the house of my father
A few years before he died, my dad bought some land in nigeria, in an area called alagbado - a few hours' drive north of ikorodu, where my mum's family is based. i don't know why he chose this area, not somewhere closer to the city, or at least closer to where his family is here. but he did. he intended to build a home for us out here, but wasn't able to before he died 6½ years ago. one thing i learnt, growing up first generation in london, with parents with both feet still firmly planted in nigeria - they always want to go back home, but doing it remotely takes an age, especially as other things take over. so along with other things, my mum inherited my dad's dream, to build a family house out here for all of us - partly for us to have somewhere of our own to stay when we visit, but partly in that eternal hope that one day at least one of us (me and my siblings) will want to move 'back home'. today i came to the house for the first time in almost 6 ...