IMAX'S CORNER

 Are you crazy? Are you unhinged? Congratulations, you’re halfway to surviving Lagos. If you ask me about Lagos, I'll probably say it's a crazy place. But if you buy me a hot plate of abula from the iyalamala across the street, washed down with a “mortuary standard” Pepsi,  I'll tell you how unreal a place it is. One of the things that makes Lagos so unpredictable is that every outing is an adventure.  As someone who doesn’t go out much, every time I step outside, Lagos greets me with something unexpected.   Lagos houses some of  the biggest markets in Africa, so market madness is inevitable. Take the day in October when I went to the market. It seemed like a normal day—until I saw a whole family of five: father, mother, two sons, and a daughter, in a full-blown wrestling match with a vendor. Or the first time I went to Lagos Island market alone and experienced the infamous 'marriage by change'.  The danfo driver gave me and another passenger a si...

 Dearest gentle reader, Newsletters from my favorite people have become one of my new favorite things. In Adekunle Gold’s latest “love letter” (as I like to call them), he asked where my mind was at. His exact words were, "So Immaculata, how's your mind?" You can call this my open response to AG Baby’s love letter.   It took me some time to reflect on AG's question because we’re so used to the typical, “How are you?” and let’s be honest, the response, “I’m fine,” has become almost robotic—rarely requiring any deep reflection. "How is your mind?" was more thought-provoking for me. It felt personal, deliberate, and demanding of thought. I honestly don't think I have all the answers yet, but here it goes.   I’d like to believe that, in its entirety, my mind is calm yet hungry. It’s been everywhere lately—hungry yet grateful, appreciative yet unsatisfied. It wants more out of life than I can articulate, but I’m learning to balance these desires with gratitud...

I witnessed one of the most horrific scenes  some weeks ago that made me feel so helpless. I saw a man who had just been electrocuted by a transformer; his skull was practically visible, his skin was peeling, his blood was everywhere on the tarred road, and I could tell he was in so much pain because he kept rolling on the floor as if trying to quench an internal fire. At that moment, I knew he wished he had just died from the electrocution, and I secretly wished the same because it would have saved him from his present agony. However, what made this scene even more horrifying were the things happening around him. The number of people just standing and watching, including very young children, some laughing; LASTMA officials (traffic wardens) going about their business as if everything was normal; cars driving by, simply avoiding him. There was no sense of urgency to save the victim or attempt to shield the young children from witnessing such horror. People just stood and did nothin...

BODY DYSMORPHIA DID NOT FALL FROM THE SKY!!!! Today, a lot of people are quick to judge others who undergo cosmetic surgeries, especially in Africa, but are not quick to remember the snide remarks made to such individuals in the past about their bodies. Rome wasn't built in a day; decisions like these are most likely the result of negative comments they have heard over the years. Many of our parents try to understand where our insecurities stem from, forgetting they were the first to make "harmless" jokes or comments about our bodies or looks as children. Sadly, some of our first bullies were the adults in our lives—parents, teachers, and others who were entrusted to build our confidence. Growing up skinny in Nigeria was practically character development for me. I grew up skinny and very aware because people pointed it out a lot, directly or indirectly. If I didn't know I wasn't Yoruba, I would have been sure that "lepa shandi" was my middle name. Commen...

 "Drop one Banger and ghost off, hehehehe".  Maybe this isn’t the best way to make a comeback, but I’ve been experiencing what I’ll call a "little writer’s block." For two months now, I’ve been trying to write, but I haven’t been able to produce a coherent paragraph. I haven’t been able to tell stories the way I like, or maybe I’ve just been striving for a certain level of perfection. Today feels a little different. I don’t really care how incoherent or imperfect my paragraphs are. I just want to tell my story and enjoy writing, as I’ve always done. So there’s no subject here—just random thoughts, more like a diary entry. I’ve struggled with inconsistency and procrastination for some time. One of my greatest idols, Chimamanda, says that "procrastination is the outcome of fear." For the longest time, I thought it was my drive for perfection that led to procrastination, but what Chimamanda said feels like the perfect explanation for "my problem." M...

 Dear reader, It's okay to outgrow friendships.  I was listening to my favourite podcast a few days ago, and they discussed a friendship dilemma that brought back a recent heartbreak: which is the fact that I might have lost one of my longest friendships. I have been too afraid to admit this to myself for the longest time because that person had to be the friend I knew when I first became conscious of what friendship was—my first BF, my BFF, the person I wanted to start a fashion brand with at age seven. I could go on and on listing memories, but then we would be here all day.  Friendship heartbreaks are the worst, and they are not spoken about enough. How do you explain that you don't remember the last time you spoke to someone whom you used to speak with every day? How do you explain that your "for lifer" only texts you once a year now, with a meagre "Happy Birthday"? How do you explain that the only thing you have in common with your one-time best friend ...

 LET'S TALK? Because I have to be sure that I am not the only one Nigeria is happening to or are you people enjoying and you are not sharing update?? This is truly a "God will help us in Nigeria "season because I don't know anybody else that will bring us out of what BAT has put us into. Before, I thought age was the only thing that went up and wouldn't come down but Dollar seems to be catching on fast, now cost of living wants to unalive the living, the future leaders of Nigeria are running away not only that, our economy keeps on dancing "konko below" and all our dear BAT can think to do is change the national anthem. When I first heard that the national anthem was changed, I thought it was one of those social media pranks because I know the Nigerian government to be unserious but I didn't think it will ever get to this, there are meant to be levels to this skit thing but our leaders are "clowning out of hand". Because I've learnt to ...