 Hello and welcome to what are you saying hashtag ways where we talk about topics in the news as it affects us all. I am Uti Elu and on this special holiday episode I am joined by one amazing co-anchor and that's how we're doing it these days. The amazing Sanzee. No, let me call you Sandra Azee because one I don't call you. We said Sandra the other day and I was like, huh? Who's that? Are you serious? Sanzee folks. Yes. Hello Lisee. The whole name is Sandra Azee. Now I remembered. Yeah. Bravo. Hello lady. First time on set in a year. In a while. Yes. A bit of traveling. Yes. Back and forth. But life has been good. I mean, end of the year, December. I'm just grateful. Thank you Lord. It's been that kind of year. Yeah. I know. Incredibly thankful to be alive. And I think I saw a meme saying, in fact, it was my boss that sent it to me. Says we don't need to, you know, finish strong. Let's just finish. Like 2023. Yeah, let's just get to January 5th, 2024. I think I can follow my dear and kind of have that vibe. It's just, it's okay. Just, even if you're crawling, just pass the line. Yeah. You don't have to race through it. Well, it's certainly great to have you back on set. It's great to have you back in Lake. I know. I love like, officially back in Lake. It's like moving back and forth. She yanks the carpet out from underneath us and says she was going to a Wuja. Oh no. But, you know, God is a powerful. Are you guys praying you back? It's all powerful. So he heard our prayers and yes, it's great to have you back. Yeah. Thank you. So let's get into this show. Here's what we found as today's quote. You cannot leave Africa, Africa said. It is always with you there inside your head. Our rivers run in currents in the swell of your thumbprints, our drum beats counting out your pulse and our coastline, the silhouette of your soul. Bridget Dore, whoever you are, you're a very wise woman. Totally, totally agree. I completely agree. It's like, you can never take home out of here. Africa strong, Africa pride. The mannerisms, the love for drums. It's like the easiest way to tell an African that outside of the immediate African continent is, when you hear the sound of drums, somehow they're moving their leg or the head. It's just something that says Africa and just gives you away. It's very powerful, I think. And we're also unique. And I guess the world is full of diversity, but we're uniquely so even more, I think, in Africa. I think there's a thread that runs through other continents where they're, you know, but here we can be totally different. And I'm not even talking continent. I'm talking like within Nigeria. Like tribes are like chalk and cheese. I know people say, no, we're never one country. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not that conversation today. Thank you. But it is, you know, very, very powerful to be African and it goes right down to our DNA, our culture, history, the very essence of who we are. But to the topic of today, December is here again. And this is the time of travels for Africans across the world, as long as you can afford to travel, to be with families this period. The holiday season is already absolutely in full bloom in Nigeria. Decorations have popped up. Work has started to wind down and different forms of festivities have been lined up for the rest of the month. Today we'll be discussing the influence of Dirty December, yes, on Africans in the diaspora space with Abigail Opia, but watching ways. So thanks for staying with us. As I said, we were discussing or we are discussing Dirty December, the origins of Dirty December, the festive period in Nigeria, marked by extravagant celebrations and partying remain a point of debate. While some attribute its rise to the record breaking December celebrations in Lagos in 2019, others trace its roots back to the Kalaba carnivals inauguration in 2004. Adding fuel to the fire, musician Mr. Easy claimed to have invented the term in a 2022 interview pointing to his 2016 song, Dirty Assef, as evidence. Regardless of its precise origin, Dirty December has become a deeply ingrained cultural phenomenon in Nigeria and beyond. So today we are asking, what is the influence of Dirty December on Africans in the diaspora? Please let's hear what you have to say. Remember you can join the conversation, send us an SMS or WhatsApp to 0818-038-4663. How are you, Dirty December? I'm working a lot. Is that your variant of Dirty December, just my own version? For me personally, I just want to play it safe because the last time we were so loud about Dirty December, 2020 gave us COVID. Because people had spent vivaciously in 2019 and then COVID is like, hello! And then you know what happened during COVID. Dirty December, I'm not that much into it. I mean, I'm going to miss traveling home because I'm always going home every single Christmas. It's like a habit, it's a routine. But this year I'm not traveling. I'm going to be in town working all through. Yeah, that's kind of my consensus. Oh yeah, traveling. I'm traveling. I'm doing the whole east kind of Christmas. Yeah, so my Dirty December is taking also a different turn. But I'm open to events in Lagos. I would maybe try out one or two, even though I'd rather just be home and watch Christmas movies. Yeah, so that's me, right? Spending most of, technically now it's not really more of my life in the UK than I did in Lagos. But enough of it where the Christmas sort of tradition that I identify with is a quiet Christmas. It's being home with family, lots of food. So the context of Nigeria where, I mean, before we won't talk about December Christmas day itself, like the entire UK shuts down. There's no public transport. Like if you don't have a car, you're not going nowhere. I mean, tax is extremely expensive. So the concept when I got to Nigeria people are like, ah, somebody has thrown a party on Christmas day. Eh, why? Like it's such, my brain can't really wrap itself around like I struggle. So like if I'm home, if I'm in Lagos on Christmas, I'm always home on Christmas day. Like I don't, like people, why would I get out of my pajamas on Christmas day? It doesn't make any sense to me. I mean, the only thing I used to do was like cook, you do a whole turkey and all of that. But in Nigeria, you just order food, plenty and just put it on the dining table. Everybody dig in. That's my own version of Lagos Christmas. But so it's quite weird, but let's talk about, you know, the run-up because I think in Nigeria, I think Dirty December now has even sort of shifted into the later part of November. The events, if you sort of are watching that trajectory and we have all these different entertainment calendars, you know, people that are determined to help you plan your Dirty December. And I think this year I didn't really get into it because one of the events that for me kind of categorizes my Dirty December is like there's a series of concerts I think by Flytime. And it's a store what he does every year. And it's always so good because they bring in like this wonderful mix of huge, you know, Nigerian artists. And then they bring in like maybe like an old school, like a boys to men or, you know, like a Nio or something like that. But I think this year, Nio was here. No, he was here. Oh, no, no, no. He was? Yeah, Flytime brought him 22 years ago. Yeah, 2021 actually. So, yeah, see, see where you should be, Lagos. But I think this year, the lineup just, over the years, I think I've seen all the Nigerian artists that he had. So it kind of put a dampener for me because that's the thing that really tells me December is like, yeah, you know, and they think about all the other events. But it was sort of a twist to it. So I because that happened, I didn't pay attention to all of the other big concerts. And I don't think that we've had as much marketing, like really, because you typically Lagos everywhere is plastered like, so now I think if you're not really going past certain parts of VI, you don't really see the posters. I mean, even some of the transverse buses are still carrying last December's posters from like the Whiskit concerts and things like that. I think this year has been a little bit, perhaps maybe the marketing spend is not as high. So it's been odd. But then as we're getting closer also to the like the actual Christmas end of the month, we're now seeing more events and exercise to see event calendars. And even though I'm seeing it feels like not as much is happening this December, I kid you not, there's like three to four events every single day. I'm not talking Friday Saturday Sunday, I'm talking Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. When I saw this particular calendar, I'm like, which Lagos are you people in? Because clearly I'm in the wrong place. But I'm looking forward to hearing what our guest has to say about the work that she's doing around the events and the happenings of Dirty December. So Abigail Opia is a London based journalist and documentary filmmaker with over seven years of experience freelancing as well as writing for tech publications in the UK, US and Canada. She's currently working on a documentary titled IJGV Lagos in December, the Dirtiest Time of the Year, which is set to highlight the best bits of Nigeria, her country of origin. Thank you for joining us, Abigail. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful to be here. You ladies are so lovely. Thank you. Thank you. You're just as lovely yourself. You know, for me, I love what you're doing. I'll start off by saying, I mean, I absolutely love Nigeria. Like you, you know, London girl back here, my entire family's still in the UK thinks I'm not for being here. But hey, Lagos is home and it's so special to me. And given the amount of negativity that is out there in the media, in the world in general, right, whatever medium it is about Nigeria, I'm always ecstatic to see somebody telling positive stories about Nigeria because we need them. We need to sort of paint the right narratives for people to understand that I think we've come away from, you know, those days when people thought I mean, when I was at uni, someone asked me if we lived in houses, but we've come away from that. But we're not still where we need to be, right, when it comes to telling the right stories about Africa and Nigeria in particular. So tell us how this journey began. So obviously, you're a journalist, but how did you zoom in on 30 December? Very, really long story, but I'll keep it very brief. So in 2020, I came to Nigeria as an adult for the first time without my parents. So it was like, it was like free for all that came in December. So we, me and my friends decided to do a live podcast just on a whim, because we're just like, I was post COVID, let's elevate our platform. So we came here and it was just like, I was only here for seven days. I could do not only book the seven day flight and I was this close to changing my flight. So it's like, there's no way that this is the legos that my mom had told me about. Like I'd been with my mom in the past and it wasn't this vibe. It was just mental. And this was the COVID that you were 2020. This was 2020. And I still had a vibe. So I was like, there's no way I'm not going to come back when lockdown and Boris Johnson and all the other people saying we're allowed to come back. So I then came back officially in 2022, no, 2021, sorry. And I did a death of December, but it was a brief one. And then 2022 was literally my ultimate death of December. And the catalyst for me filming this documentary was because as I was posting, I was just posting like everything I was doing every day, but I did a straight month. So I was the people that came in November, because I was like, I want to experience it from the start to the end. And I left in January. And I did not kid you not did not have a day where I was in the apartment for more than 20 minutes. Are you serious? Promise you five hours sleep was the max I had for a month. And I remember when I came back, I was really ill, but it was worth it. We were using bullets, the black bullet to sustain us going forward. And I just remember thinking like, you know, this is absolutely fantastic. But it was when I got back to London and the people on Instagram were like, Where are you? I was like, I mean, look, nobody could believe I was in Lagos. So that was quite disappointing in my opinion, because I'm all for like, you know, making sure that I'm number I'm the number one Nigerian in my friendship group. I'm the number one Nigerian in London in general. No one can tell me that I'm not Nigerian. And I've never once been embarrassed of it or I've never once been because there's been a culture of like people, you know, trying to pretend that they're not because of stickiness and stuff. But when I came back and I saw the feedback from people saying to me, I can't believe this is Lagos. Oh, Lagos has, you know, you can make her a perfume in Lagos. Oh, they have archery in Lagos. The fact that they were so shocked, I was like, there's no way that the world won't be able to know that my country of origin has all these amazing things plus more. Because the culture is so much more. I'm going to get into that definitely. But just just divide the nightlife vibe of like, we'll see it. I'll be on the table and there's Azul coming pouring in and then we're going to hot my goodness you had a lot of fun. There's nothing I didn't do. Flytime I did club. I cleared all the clubs. Wow. W bar. I cleared. I cleared. There's nothing I cleared on the island. I even went to the mainland because I was like, okay, we've done the island. Well, yeah, so it was quite disappointing that when I got back, so many people were so surprised and so shocked that this was Lagos and the luxury style of it. The apartments we stayed in was really, really beautiful. Like most beautiful things I've ever seen. So I was like, I have to do something goodbye. So I was like, do you know what? I'm going to save up my money and I'm going to film a documentary. Wow. What can know? Well done. And now you're doing it. I mean, it's really great to hear. And like I said, we need those positive stories. It really does hurt to experience it and then have people not believe that it is Lagos. We're still really fighting that sort of single story narrative about what people think Lagos is. I mean, one of like my aunt wanted to come back this year, but she was so worried about security. She's like, oh, I'm hearing all those things in the news about security and people could, you know, pick me up or just kidnap me or something. And I'm like, I mean, bad things happen in every country. There are bad reports. So you're here. You're coming from the UK and stuff. So were you not worried about security and, you know, stuff? Do you know, I've noticed the running theme of whenever you're traveling to Lagos, every time I've gone to do two times a year, I have aunties telling me, ah, they're kidnapping people in this. If I listened to them, I would have never come. And what I'm trying to do now is like last year, I brought over a set of cousins that had never been to Nigeria before. This year I'm doing the same. They're pulling up next week. Baby sister, who was, she wasn't really like a Lagos girl. She was very British. But she's so interested in coming now just because I'm using myself as a case study. If I can go there with my absolute British accent, I can't even do the Nigerian accent, sadly, or the Pigeon English or stuff. And I've managed to go two times a year and never gotten kidnapped before. I promise you you're fine. Like you're fine. There's certain rows that you, you know, you may have to like, set your phone once in a while, but it's part of the experience. It's fun, traffic. You know how to use your sense. And honestly, I wish people would stop putting fear into other people, especially younger girls or younger guys in the diaspora. I wish I would just stop putting fear into them about things like that, about safety. Because Nigeria, it happens everywhere, like you said, but Nigeria is actually pretty safe. I've been here since November. Have I been kidnapped? No, you're here. I mean, and I love the fact that you talk about common sense because it's the same, right? You, you could get month walking down the street in the UK, you could get shot going shopping in America. So really and truly, your spot on like it makes no sense. But these are the narratives that we have to fight. This is why documentaries like yours that really spotlight the fact that look, you're a young person. And why your story is so powerful for me is you came here as an adult for the first time, and you saw a completely different picture, even from what you had experienced, because you were seeing it through the eyes of your mom and her experiences and the things that she would let you do. But then the moment you had the opportunity to sort of build or craft your own journey, it's like it opened up like a flower, you're like, ah, and it's so great to hear that you're then sort of paying that forward and bringing more young people because more people need to do that. You know, you see people particularly sort of like African Americans, they're doing the journey back to Africa, but then in Nigeria. That's the motherland. That's the word. But in Nigeria, that should actually be the other way. Everybody wants to get out. Everybody wants to get out. And I'm like, look, people make it seem like this place is literally like, you know, hell on earth. And it's not, you know, bad things happen. I'm not saying that they don't. I'm not saying that Nigeria doesn't have issues, but is it in truth really that bad? And the fact is more people want to come home in December. Everybody wants to eat small chops. Everybody wants to eat suya. Everybody wants to, you know, you know, you want to move. And I mean, the clubbing experience in Lagos, I was talking about anywhere you go in the world, if you haven't clubbed in Lagos, you haven't started like it's a completely different experience. We're not buying shots. We're buying bottles. Bottles. So it's great to hear. So talk to us about your documentary. How sort of what is that person's like? What is it? Are you interviewing people? Are you going to be sort of going to live events? What's that all about? Yeah. So originally we started off in June. So I had this idea in February when I came back and did last year, December. And then I called my cousin and I was like, listen, I need to do something quickly. I've saved up this X amount of money. And she was like, just come. So I was like, okay, I booked the flight in June. And I'm done this by next year. And so I know how to rally people and convince them to talk to me on camera. So I did like, I just found like the top stuff that I did last year, reached out to people that own like beach houses and reached out to DJs. Like, so we had DJ OB, who's like, we've had Elijah Poppin, who does like the mainland block party. We've had DJ Tobad as a clinic doing stuff for like, David O and all that good stuff. And then we've also had like, just every day people that are making it work. So we've had like, people like this lady called a conlupsy. She's a PR agency. We've had people like Titi working at Empire, just making the music scene like rock and stuff and just doing fantastic things. And then my main focus is because it's called IDDB, we've got the IDDBs, which I've convinced to come to Nigeria. So when they land on the 19th, we're now going to film everything. But after we've spoken to all these people that are making it happen, they're the ones putting it all together. And then when the IDDBs come, we're going to use their viewpoint to navigate Lagos. So everywhere they want from when they land, I'm going to film them from the airport, and then navigate every single, you know, buy every single concert, every single beach house that they hit. And we're going to show, just basically show Lagos as an amazing play. So we've done, so we've got schedules, interviews are almost finished. The last interview I'm doing is tomorrow at LAX, because it's nice to do like a homecoming. So he agreed to be on the documentary, which is fantastic. But then after LAX, we're doing no more one-to-one interviews, and then we're going to go straight into b-rolls. We're going to just film literally every as much as possible, every single vibe that's happening within this period. And then we wrap filming up. The last film will be at Obie's house, obviously, just because he had like fireworks. And then, yeah, and then, yeah, I'll come back, edit it and show it to the world. But I think the journey has been definitely an interesting one, because this is my first time ever deciding to take a gamble. I feel like it's something like my final gamble in my 20s. But just because it's for passion, my normal day job isn't about telling stories about Africa or anything like that. But I just feel like because I'm Nigerian, and this has been so dear to my heart, I don't mind spending money into it, because I know that I would definitely get a return in terms of how many people I bring back to the country, because this country doesn't need tourism. I think tourism will definitely help. If you're just tuned in, we're discussing the topic in France of Dettie December on Africans in the Diaspora. We're coming right back to the topic. So we stopped off just before we went on the break to talk about tourism. We just mentioned tourism. So did you want to ask a question? Yeah, I mean, I do appreciate the effort you're making to paint a better picture, because it's like, when we in Nigeria try to tell people outside that, listen, Nigeria is a beautiful place. Yes, the economy might not be so stable, but there is so much you can earn from tourism. And it's just, I just want to applaud you for doing that, because, I mean, it's a lot. It's a lot. Being that you're sponsoring yourself, and this is a sacrifice, and you're not just bringing yourself, you're encouraging others, supporting them to come and see, like, this is the real Nigeria. And while we have the real Nigeria in Lagos, there is also the other part of Nigeria. There are people who probably can't afford Dettie December, and I know you're viewing this documentary from the lenses of IGGV. So do you plan to like also show the other side of the other side of people who probably can't afford Dettie December? Because I feel like it would be a nice coverage if you could show, like, the super cool side, and also the other part of Nigeria. Honestly, no, I don't plan to show that, because when you Google, even if you go on YouTube and you just type in Nigerian documentary, there are so many people showing, oh, poverty, oh, traffic, oh, government corruption. I don't want to include that. Like, I feel like we've had enough stories like that, and now it hasn't worked, it's clearly doing us a disservice. So we need something else. We need to show other people that there is highlights to it. And, you know, I feel like the more people come in, the more the economy might get stable. Right. Amen. Amen. I believe in Jesus. But once the economy does get stable, it will benefit all the other people along the way. And speaking on that, I did have someone message me who had followed me from on Instagram, they were trying to follow my work and where I'm going. And it broke my heart when he was like, you know, I've never seen Legos like this. And I was just like, could you not? I'm sure you live in Legos, right? And he said, yeah, yeah, but you're just showing me how you can enjoy Legos when you have money. Absolutely broke my heart. But I use that as a tool, because if we can get more people, more foreign currency, more, you know, just just a stable economy in general. Right. I don't think me telling the side of the story of, you know, not everybody can afford it to December. Everyone knows that. I don't think it's going to benefit the story in any shape. Right. You already have the media houses doing that. Yeah. So well. We obviously need everybody. Yeah. You're really right. I mean, I get where Sansi is coming from in terms of saying, should we balance the equation? But you're actually the one who's trying to balance the equation. Because right now, there's all the negatives. So we're literally trying to tip the scale back to the side of the positive. And the reality of it is, I keep saying it, there's the Uber super rich everywhere you go. And I mean, you're coming from the UK, some people can't afford to heat their houses at the moment. It doesn't change the fact that some people still have tons and tons of money. So the bit for me, when you sort of talked about tourism, which I think is absolutely great. The entertainment sector is doing a lot for us because essentially the side that you're now looking at and the more sort of artists and people in that space, really just doing their thing is opening up opportunities and it's impacting the economy. Because if you have an event at certain hotels, everything and everywhere is sold out. So for me, I was just curious to say, wow, have you thought about turning the tourism side of it into a business? Because if you bring this set, they have a great time, they're going to go back and tell another set. So literally, it's like, what's that? What's the railroad? You're building a path back to Nigeria to have these amazing experiences. So might that be a nice side hustle that's going to come out of a business venture? You're the first person that's talking about actually to be fair. I actually interviewed a lady called Hannah Ajana. She works for the BBC and we filmed her in the Leckie Conservation Center. Absolutely amazing shoot. But what she does is she has this company where she brings diasporas to Nigeria. And I just thought of it because the amount of people that messaged me, I'm like, I've got friends at Jamaican that have no interest in Lagos. All of a sudden, they're coming this December. It's going to be nuts. Like I'm bringing back, it's going to be nuts. But I think definitely there's a business aspect of that. But my main focus is just telling the story. So I'm not trying to venture off and make more money. I'm not a greedy girl, you know. I just want to say that I can partner with you and this should be my twenty-three-four. Honestly, because I feel like she's having all the fun and I am here in Lagos and I just won't go out. I don't enjoy going out. I've got an agenda and you can definitely put up. Yeah, but in your journey so far with the documentary and all the people you're meeting, what is your most shocking discovery? Like I'm curious, do you have like most shocking discovery so far in this documentary process? I think what has shocked me the most is the fact that despite the people I've spoken to and their level in the game of making things happen and just their position and how they sit in the country versus people that are less fortunate, they still have so much negative things to say and I'm having to, not like, I'm not lying but I'm having to coach them that this is a positive documentary but I feel like they need to, maybe the idea of saying all the good bits of Lagos in their mind is dishonest. But you saying all the good things doesn't mean that you can omit the bad things and then it's a terrible thing. I just think for a certain project, if we're talking about just the good things, just the bad good things, like highlighting gratitude. But it just shows me that despite all the amazing stuff and all these people that are coming, using their £3,000 flights to come to Lagos for just a short period of time, there's still a long way to go and I'm not going to sugarcoat that. It's, I mean, I've been processing this business idea. You're the wrong one. Focus, focus, focus on the conversation. So let's talk about what post-production looks like and where we can expect to see the final edit of the documentary. So when I come back, we've got an editor in the UK that's going to work on this, scrubbing the cell, making it look vibrant and putting it all together. I can't edit myself but I refuse to do it because it's the biggest project I've ever put my hands on. I'm not going to do it myself. I've got meetings with Prime, Prime are the only ones interested at the moment but the aim is Netflix because Netflix pays more. But I'm actually teamed up with a company called Winter Studio. So they're the ones that are providing the camera equipment for this halt. They've done it since June and yeah, it's going to be amazing and they've been really, really supportive in the sense of, you know, just whenever I'm ready to film, I could like the LAX one tomorrow, it was just like a last minute thing, but they'll just like, yeah, we've got camera equipment for you, go and do your thing. So it's nice to see that other people are on board but the aim is Netflix but right now we've got Prime interested only. Why? They'll come along. Yeah, if you build it, they'll come. So I totally believe that. The quote that we had on the show today spoke about Africa, so not just Nigeria. And I don't know, I mean, in Africa, Nigerians rock if I say so myself. Nigerians are ill-list, like ill-list, that's a sin. Off the top of my head, I can't think of maybe South Africa, but even that, I don't think that there's any other African country off the top of my head, there's sort of parties that may be Dirties, December. Gambia is not bad, Ghana? I think Ghana is a lot more conservative than Nigerian. But I think you kind of get where I'm going with this, that could you, you know, move this train along and really take that narrative outside of Nigeria and show the sort of whether they have Dirties, December or you know, show this kind of positivity in other African countries. I mean, 100% definitely, but my love for Nigeria. Loyalty to Motherland. But if I was in Nigeria now, so I don't know whether I'd be the right person to take this like on an African tour, because I would always be comparing it to Legos, if it's in Legos now. If I was doing this in Legos, I just don't know if I'll be able to, but I think it's an absolutely fantastic idea. I think the more countries pick up on this, the more countries in the African continent decide to showcase the best of their best, I think that's going to change the absolute narrative. There's so much, we don't even know how important it is to tell our own stories. We don't. I feel like in general, we're lacking behind in that sense. So the more we do it, irrespective of who you are, because I can't go home now and film a documentary about December in Britain, there is none. I don't count myself as British despite my accent. And I don't want to tell that story. But I'm sure all you people there would love to tell their own story, how to get it down, how to boogie. So good for you guys. However, if we all, if we all do it, have a collective thing, you're on to, you're on to the winner there, honestly. I'm two for two right now. Right? I already can't wait to watch this documentary. Hearing what you're saying and how you two have everything planned out and how you're so passionate about just telling a positive story about Nigerian, just using this because Nigerians can party, our events are just extra extra vegan, voluptuous, and it's just it's like the average Nigerian wants to have a wedding, they wait for December. We're going to talk about Ohanbe. I thought that was where Santi was going because I was going to ask you that, we've talked about all the clubs, events, Ohanbe. We've covered literally, we've covered everything. We have a guy whose name is Eniela John. He does like events and we speak to him and he's getting us into a wedding. We don't know in all this game right in December, but he does do weddings. So he's getting us into a wedding so we could showcase the gelets, the outfits, the breaking Kola nuts, every single thing. I think what the people want to see is just the colour, the vibrancy, the luxury because Nigerian weddings, we can get even if you want a small one, even if you want a budget. My sister, she got married in 2017 in the UK, but she did like the typical Nigerian wedding. She had two days across two weeks. She had 3,000 people come to her wedding, 3,000. She doesn't even know 3,000 people. You don't need to. Your mum calls her friends and then her friends call her, oh, she comes to this wedding and then she calls her sister and a brother. So it's just welcome. So yeah, the plan is to literally show everything, the best of the best, the tourism side, the party side, the Ohanbe side, the beach house side, the things for people that don't like to party, what they can do there, the fun side that just we've got it covered. Food! We spent it all by a me who was discussing the best places to eat. Listen, there's nothing we haven't covered. It's been a long run, but yeah, if we feel like there's anything girls, I should add in. I'm here till January. You're on the way so you've caught it. Like, everything, fashion, food, parties, nightlife, all of it. I think she has it pretty much covered. And she has ways too now, so she's completely... Yeah, intermutating. Yeah, wow. I appreciate it. I can't wait to see what I think. I think that, I mean, if your IJGBs, there's also like the beauty experience of getting their braids done. I'm sure when they come in, they want to get their braids done. The IJGB braids with the colour, they want to do all of that stuff. So probably, you know, want to put part of the beauty industry there because that's also a big thing for us. They guys, people like to look good. Yes, always. It's a thing for us. And there's quite a bit in that industry as well, but I mean, I've had such a, we've had such a fantastic conversation. Now that we sort of understand what you, the door that you've opened up, are there other, because this is very much your perspective. This is very much the UK, IJGB. I'm wondering if there are other sort of doors open. I know you talked about collaboration with the people who are helping you in the studio and all of that. What other kinds of collaborations do you see now that you've sort of been coming back here for a few years and you're now taking on this project that could potentially open doors to tell other positive stories about Nigeria? I think this one being one, because I remember speaking to the producer here, she was like, you know, she has a story about, she wants to work on another story about other sides of the traditional things that happen in Lagos, Nigeria, sorry. And I was like, yeah, that works. But I feel like in general, there is room to collaborate across the board. So government, they need to speak up a bit more, I think in terms of, every single person I've interviewed has not said the government in one of the questions that they've asked, even though we tried to stay away from it. Now we need to go and reach out to the government because it would be biased if we didn't. I think collaborations between music and tech and just everything in general, just to make things mesh a bit more infrastructure wise, we can collaborate on that in terms of making sure that we have certain things in place. The new airport that we've gotten, dished out and stuff, we need to do more, we need to make more of a hoopla, we need to shout more about it, because we deserve to shout more about it. And I don't want to hear things about maintenance, maintenance. If we collaborate well with other bodies, we wouldn't even have to complain about, oh, but can we maintain it? Yes we can, but collaboration is key. So let's weave a thread of positivity and that's really, really good. I think the government in Lagos State is, should be commended, I think, in terms of what they're doing for entertainment and that and that's your world. Yeah, that is my world. And yeah, there's a reason everybody wants to run to Lagos, because Lagos is like one of the major states that are just working so hard to meet up with the requirements in the global village of what an ideal developed society should be. So yes, Lagos State Government is doing a great job. I like Lagos, I hit the traffic, but I love Lagos. So yeah, absolutely. But yeah, so I think that we've, your IJGBs who are coming, what kinds of things have they shared with you in terms of, I mean, of course, they've lived lives vicariously through your experiences so far. Are there any things in particular that have stood out for them that they can't wait to experience or to see? I don't think for wives or husband and wife. Yeah, that's definitely to this camera. Listen, ladies that are coming from the UK, America, don't come here and be like, oh, I'm going to find myself an African King rubbish. Please hold your money so that you can ball out and be a boss woman by yourself. It's not that deep. You don't have to come here and look for a man to listen. That's not, have you read my jacket? Just it's not that vibe. Like if you're looking for a good time, minus like relationships and stuff, just get ready. I've literally prepped them, get ready, get your money up because we're not going to rely on men to pay for us when that's not what we're here for. Get your money up. Look, they're looking forward to the beach houses the most, the whole jet ski thing. And they're looking forward to, we found out that you could snorkel here under water. Yeah, there's a whole snorkel thing that they can do from Landmark Beach onwards and stuff. I'm sure it's Landmark Beach. I'll double check. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So beach. But yeah, there's like so many different aspects that they're looking forward to that. If you was to go to like the Maldives or whatever, you're paying an arm and leg, but you're coming to Lagos cheaper. They're looking forward to lashes, lashes here, so much more affordable. They use here and bleach my teeth before I came here. Literally, they're looking forward to all the little aspects and show them all the beach, the IV drips, all the like nice stuff. That's for the ladies anyway. My cousins that are males that are coming over, they're looking forward to just like being ballers. Obviously, the current houses. All their Legos is expensive, but they'll still feel like what they're trying to achieve. So yeah, but I think just in general, just going through the motion of not sleeping, partying as much as possible, just having a nice break. It's hot in London. My mom is crying about how cold it is. It's freezing. English weather. Yeah, it's just terrible. Whereas you're having a December, some of them it'll be their first. Warm December. Warm. Like it's going to be and say like Christmas Day, we're going to spend it at Obie's house. We're going to do like a little bit on the beach beforehand. I don't think anyone's ever had a beach Christmas Day in my family. So nice. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Literally changing lives. Yeah. Well, you know, I can't say this enough, but it's been so refreshing having you on the show. Thank you. The amount of positivity. I look for it all the time. I mean, I see it everywhere I look, but I know that my perspective is unique to me. So when I find other people who are shining the right kind of light, and I love the passion with which you said, I'm not doing the negative. And please let that run through when you're editing. But I can't personally wait. I can't wait. I will I will literally bug you. I will follow you until that documentary is out. Because we need to tell those stories, but we've loved having you on the show. And we wish you the very best with, you know, your death to December. Yeah. And, you know, keeping your your guests, your cousins, your family, you know, safe and everybody having fun. So I just love the positivity. It's contagious. You know, it's like I'm seeing my immediate environment fresh from her eyes. Like, she's doing all these things. I've been in this town. I can't wait to loud it. Thank you so much for doing that for us. And before we go, do ensure you listen to our podcast on Spotify and follow us on Instagram at We Show Africa. You can interact with us further, drop a comment. And most importantly, follow all our social media engagements. And remember to like, share, comment and invite your friends and family to watch us and follow us. If you missed today's quote, here it is again. You cannot leave Africa, Africa said it is always with you there inside your head. Our rivers running currents in the swell of your thumb prints, our drum beats counting out your pulse and our coastline the silhouette of your soul. And that was by Bridget Dore. So we'll see you tomorrow at eight PM as we bring another great conversation to your screen. Bye.