CONFESSIONS OF A CITY CRAWLER- 10 THINGS

10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT ABUJA

1. The Road Network
2.  Secuirity
3. The people
4.  MI, jesse jags, yoye, sazze, lindsey, storyteller, styl plus, silver saddih etc
5. The fact that i can drive from home to work in 5 minutes flat
6. The fact that i can drive home alone at 3am
7. Abacha barracks Fish
8. The unrowdiness
9. Its still a blue ocean,so ideas can thrive here
10.  Its very Neat

10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT LAGOS

1. The ginger
2. all the multinational are there
3. you can get good pizza at 2am
4. lagos people know how to enjoy/party
5. yaba market(ive never been there though)
6. dress sense-people put in more effort
7. the events - theres always something going on in lagos
8. they dont take things/themselves too seriously
9 .they hear all the good music in their clubs and lounges
10. they have all the celebs

10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT OBAMA

1. the way he coins phrases
2. the way he treats family 
3. he loves his wife
4.the way he talks
5.the way he walks
6.the way his suit fits
7.his amazing campaign
8.the way he made them give him the nobel peace prize without really doing anything
9.the fact that he is the first black president of america ,the very first
10. because he is obama

10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HIP-HOP

1.Hit a rapper with consignment, let him know it's at stake
Put his ass in the studio, let him cook up a cake- JAY Z(RAP GAME/CRACK GAME)

2.So this is dedicated to the memory of the Notorious One, the glorious one-NOTORIOUS BIG(IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE)

3.Now hear ye hear ye want to see Thee more clearly
I know he hear me when my feet get weary - KANYE WEST(JESUS WALKS)

4.thank God when i bless the mic, you finally get to hear the shit that you like -ICE CUBE(GANGSTER RAP MADE ME DO IT)

5.Trust is a motherfuckin loco, shit and so is temptation, and I don't know what I'ma do-SNOOP DOGG(TRUST ME)

6.Any rap that is this fly can only be done by another M I(M I ABAGA)

7.I'll be there with a whole list full of new insults I been dope, suspenseful with a pencil ever since Prince turned himself into a symbol- EMINEM(WITHOUT ME)

8. paparazzi shot dont kill they aide me-(YOYE)

9. Could you love me in a Bentley?
Could you love me on a bus?
I'll ask 21 questions, and they all about us-50 CENTS (21 QUESTIONS)

10. PUT your hands up dont you cry,u can make it if you try,s'ara giri oomo ekun, a dara- SASHA

10 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY JOB

1. DIscovering new things/places
2. Meeting new people
3. having celebs as friends
4. getting paid for doing what i love
5. the attention
6. the satisfaction of know you have performed a much needed service
7. the time
8. its fun
9. the freebies
10. cos i was born to do this

More 10 things coming soon....
ijeoma okeagu
white rabbit concept nig

CONFESSIONS OF A CITY CRAWLER - ABUJA'S BEST KEPT SECRETS

occasionally, a PR Executive's life takes me to places that are sometimes wierd and sometimes wonderful. i come across things that the general public does not, possibly becos i am always on the look out. in recent days,i have been off the desk and more on the streets, building the brand and keeping up the hustle. i made a few discoveries and as is my way,im gonna share.....
ABUJA'S BEST KEPT SECRETS

JB'S BAR AND GRILL
its funny this place has been in existence for more than a year, but i only just went by on saturday when i attended a ' tea party ' for the fashion house ICONOLA. the decor is cool and fun, the ambience is comfortable and warm and you can just sit and relax, its a very unpretentious place. if u r one of those people who likes to have a quiet drink after work or have a me and u time with your pathner,then this is the place for u. but if u are a see and be seen type, pls stick with british council.

CELEBRATIONS(WHITE HOUSE)
i love creativity, love it love it. so when i have to give a card for a birthday or to say goodbye or sorry or.... i like to be able to say what i want to say and how i want to say it. thats why i loooove this store, they have the best cards in abuja, as a matter of fact, they have cards my dad use to give my mom in the past(i know becos one of the ones i gave her brought tears to her eyes). they have other cool stuff but their cards are totally awesome.

CHOCOLATE PLACE(DUNES)
ok i dont have a sweet tooth. ive had 4 of my teeth removed and i believe my sweet tooth was taken out .even when i go to watch a movie,i order plain or salty popcorn, i hate candy, i hate icecream and bisciuts annoy the hell out of me, but but but, when u taste this choc which luckily u can buy in grams and measures, then my friends, need i say more...

JESSE JAGS
uuuuhhhh 'baby let me serenade u with effizi". if he wasnt so young i would be chasing this talented swaggerlicious abuja sensation with a bunch of pink roses from celebration stores and chocolate from choc place. but he already has enough chocolate, he has got the choc boys behind him and we know, yes we know that jesse jags is the next big thing coming out of abuja. jesse jay today, babay u too fine oh, boy u blow our mindz ohhh...

No.5 CHICKEN WINGS
im a chicken lover. i can eat chicken for breakfast lunch and dinner, 5 days a week. its that bad, ive had all types of chicken, all, ok maybe except raw chicken(thAt will be wierd). well if you appreciate good food and u are a chicken addict like me, then i sure reccomend.

EDEN V.I.P
if i say too much people will say ehen ij is marketing, but make no mistake, i only talk about cool places and honestly Eden VIP, coooooooollllll..

SOUNDCITY 327 ON DSTV
even now as i write this post im watching one of the hottest songs rite now on the channel. what i like most about this channel is that it can rival any channel on dstv, both music and otherwise, and i love the way they promote the nigerian music/entertainment industry. kudos to the chief executive officer of soundcity, his vision, insight, drive and discipline has paid off and we all are reaping the fruits of this forward thinking young sir.

TECHNOLOGY ADVISORS
ok the most i know about law, ive learnt from boston legal, but a law firm that is not called OBI OLUNI & CO is new to me. they specialize in technology law and i discovered them when i decided to take white rabbit concept on line. people are doing fantastic things in this country albiet quietly and we have to recognise, encourage and support them.

UTAKO/JABI
we pay a premium to live in abuja. every one want to live in wuse but 'iji kwe EGO"? as my friend will say..... maitama and asokoro have lovely houses, clean straight streets, but im sorry to break it to you, asokoro is saturated and has narrow streets and maitama is so 2000&late. if u drive through utako and jabi, the lovely houses that have sprung up in that area will put those 1990 architecture houses in maitama and asokoro to shame. there is even a plot of land by jabi lake im eyeing and i will be accepting contributions at this time to purchase it and build my dream house, offers any one????


P.S - there are a couple of other places and things i have discovered but as is my way, im writing this post by 1am and my brain is shutting down for the night, will update as i remember.
if by any chance you would like to check out any of this places or need more info, feel free to call, txt,tweet or email me.
i am the white rabbit.........
lifestyle,hospitality,Events,PR

PATRICK Too...

AWWW Patrick Swayze. i remember you. from when i was a child in kano, sneaking with my siblings to watch dirty dancing and uhhhhh ghost. you introduced me to the gorgeous DEMI MOORE and fantastic WHOOPI GOLDBERG. i learnt about betrayal from ghost and rebelliousness( and summer fling) from dirty dancing, that is still one of the sexiest movies i have ever watched. you were handsome patrick, oh yes you were... i remember back in unical when my girls (nkiru, kate.gilda,effiowan,preye etc) and 1 use to have horror movie nights, we picked Ghost as a scary movie but spent the whole night staring at your sexiness and wishing we could have love like the one btw u and demi moOre, some horror movie,lol.

i heard about your fight with cancer, a while ago, didnt take much noticE then, the mistake we always make till we hear that the person is gone. im sorry it took you so early, but i reckon you are in a better place, no pain, no grieF, dining with ppul who went there before you.

im impressed by your Bio, nobody makes a big deal about marriages in hollywood that last long, but you were married to your wife for 30 years, and your father was at your side when you died - such a close family unit, but ITS unfortunate he has to bury you, God grant him and your dear mom fortitude.

Micheal jackson died, farrah died, even my hero Gani died and i did not write about it, but i know there wont be a media frenzy about your death, even face book and twitter is still silent about it, but i am moved because its you patrick, iM moved because even as a child i watched your movies and took something away. REST IN PEACE, PATRICK.

P.S - LOS ANGELES, California- Patrick Swayze, whose good looks and sympathetic performances in films such as "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" made him a romantic idol to millions, died Monday. He was 57. Swayze died of pancreatic cancer, his publicist, Annett Wolf, told CNN.
the place we all know

CONFESSIONS OF A CITY CRAWLER - For The Ladies..

'there is no right or wrong only opinion'. this is strictly the opinion of the city crawler, and FYI i did not get paid to do this so its unbaised, and i consider it a service to my blogdom.
ENJOY and i hope you find it helpful.

BEST PLACES FOR;
1.fix nails ; styles- 411 plaza
2.get original brazilian weave; sydneys -omega center
3. fix hair: efe- styles salon
4. braid hair: strands
5. get a goog hair cut: famaks
6: get good quality cosmetics: cyreene makeup lounge and perfect trust cosmetics
7.nice jeans: silky boutique
8.shoes: beautiful shoes
9. assesories: for gold- wuse market, for eclectic- eyza 08059162914
10. bodycare products- perfect trust
11. afterwork drinks- BC
12. ladies night out: let your hair down go crazy and not be disturbed or harrassed-
13. ladies lunch- salamanda 
14. bags and cluches- several places but try 
15. sew traditional- ogordo, if u have plenty money atampa(i dont know how they always get it spot on)
16. buy fresh produce- market or farmers market @ maitama
17. lingerie- shop @ ceddi
18. chocolate- dunes
19. perfume- asg plaza,upstairs,, ive forgotten the name
20. gift for him- mode element store
21. gyneacologist- limi hospital
22. spa and beauty treatement- opposite mtn office, iv forgotten the name, its 4am jo
23.fashion magazine with wearable clothes and nice articles- INSTYLE
23.magazine for getting latest ankara atyles- city people fashion and style
24. most woman friendly gym- peniel apartment gym
25. most woman friendly club- hmmmmmm, btw aristotle and play
26. most woman friendly condom- popular opinion(gold circle condom,NAFDAC)
27.get nice dresses(all occasions)- 1001 ideas
28. office clothes- everyone says ashers but i just pick pieces around
29. cool flat shoes and slippers: walking faith
30. shop and lunch: grand square
31. sunday after church- hilton buffet or suhjuiced
32. boring saturday- go swimming or bowling or play nitendo wii @ the dome
33. for your kids- wonderland, MAP or ceddi plaza
34. cool date- chez victor or vanilla resturant (quiet)
35. where not to go alone at night(esp if you are not a natural crawler)- area 11, zone 4, hilton


P.S feel free to agree or disagree and also add your best places, the info will be helpful and will spice this up.



Updated about a month ago

LEST WE FORGET

I went to bed early last night for two reasons. 1. I had the grandfather of all headaches 2. So I could wake up early enough for morning mass. I woke up late, with the headache still throbbing and to discover that the car had been blocked by canopies but up by one of my neighbours for some kind of celebration which I knew nothing about. I decided, since I was up early, let me do some real cleaning up around the house starting from the living room. The party had started downstairs and they were playing very loud Yoruba music so I tuned my home theatre to kiss fm and raised it to the loudest volume ready to listen to some good music.

Nothing prepares you for the encounter I had.

I have been so busy chasing my dream, building my company, making friends and expanding my network, facebooking, websurfing, developing concepts, selling products and services and products, hanging out etc that I completely forgot the one who made it possible in the first place. For five minutes I listened to the most gut-wrenching testimony I have ever heard in my entire life and instantly I asked God to forgive my neglect and self-centeredness.
I didn’t even catch the name of the singer who gave the testimony but I guess the reason It touch me so much was because somehow I could relate and I felt a form of empathy. In a nutshell, ‘her grandma taught her about God and the bible and told her one Day God will use her. When she was 11 her family moved to LA leaving her grand ma behind. By 13 she was in the clubs, by 16 she was a single parent. At 14 she had her first hit single and stated touring the US with music greats. She was introduced to drugs, alcohol, promiscuity and all the ill associated with the world of entertainment. She craved the fame and lived off the bright lights and cocaine was her best and only friend and her live-in lover was a dealer. One day she walked straight into a wall, hit her head and started sliding down and her mind told her this was it. At this point the talking ended and she started singing, but one thing she kept saying throughout the testimony was ‘grandma never stopped praying’.

I am alot of things to alot of people. Daughter, sister, bestfriend, friend, colleague, CEO, white rabbit, PR exec, partner, associate etc and I see the glamour associated with the business and I see the bright light that blind, approaching, but as Cobham’s raps ‘this is not about me’.
I am no preacher; I am not even in a place spiritually where I can give any kind of advice but I have this to say today,’ do not forget God in anything you do’. He makes everything possible, and most especially he keeps you safe. If you have a friend or brother or colleague that you see is going astray, please don’t stop putting him in your prayers, it might be you keeping him safe, not luck nor fluke. And please put me in your prayers too.

Dear lord,
As you build up WR CONCEPT LTD with your knowing hands, bring with all the wealth and fame, humility. Help me to never forget that this is not about me, but to your honour and glory. Amen

08 08 - DETAILS IN WORDS

people are still asking how we did it, only two weeks to plan and we pulled off an amazing priemier event. it wasnt only WR concept premiering that evening, LOTANNA- an abuja based designer, presented her line for the first time on stage and the clothes were fantastic, she took the red carpet by storm at the begining and the models were flaming on the runway.Lotanna,whose line comprises fashion forward ready to wear contemporary african designs , plans to move to Couture and more.

the 08 08 event red carpet started at exactly 6.30pm with teeming paparaazi (abuja top 25, spice tv, nta and our own photographe) were all there to take photographs of fashionistas and fashionistas sure did turn up.evry one was looking beautiful. it was a positive event for the abuja out going crowd that brought a lot of great people and groups together, and for us that coming together is what white rabbit concept is all about.

Elnathan had the 15 lovely models walking and struting to his poetry,which had a fusion of gothic and african to create lovely melody, performances from yoye and young uno-the numero uno recieved a huge amount of appreciation from the crowd which had built up from the start of the event. and also performing that evening was dj zeez of the oforcasibe (didnt spell that rite did i?)fame, abuja loved him and he totalled loved the crowd appreciation. at this point i must confess that i indulged a secret fantasy when we invited chocolate citys jesse jags as headliner for the night and he got every one squealing with delight. he even made alot of guest including a member of the internation community get up on their feet to party like its 1999. thanks jags, you made our nite...

white rabbit concept exist as a PR firm and we always look for new ways to create mileage for our clients and our teeming assiociates. every establishment that was involved in the event was able to showcase their goods and services to a crowd of abuja people that didnt know they even existed but were happy with the information. all our designers went home with orders, inspector gadget stors will definately be getting visitors and c&c collection will be clothing abujas finest for years and years to come.

i missed alot of the performances, since i was back stage, but fortunately for me i had watched the storyteller perform before, but he is new everytime he gets on stage, a guest exclaimed'where did they find this people'. story teller just goes to emphasis the point that we have great talent in this country,he was wonderful. he performed along side bem sar, whose guiter strumming was sooooooooooo koooooooool. BOI came all the was from lagos to showcase his glamour line and the models were excited to look so glamourous.

special thanks to Gang(our compere for the evening),lotanna,kejie of cyreene makeup lounge,alhassan mohammed,sam of BOI,dooshima of inspector gadget store,emeka of c&c collections,adegbe ogbeh of 1number,ulabi agba,bill uko,alkasim abulkadir,leslie emegbuonye and the entire white rabbit concept team.
(backstage report and details in pictures next up)

08 08 - DETAILS IN WORDS

people are still asking how we did it, only two weeks to plan and we pulled off an amazing priemier event. it wasnt only WR concept premiering that evening, LOTANNA- an abuja based designer, presented her line for the first time on stage and the clothes were fantastic, she took the red carpet by storm at the begining and the models were flaming on the runway.Lotanna,whose line comprises fashion forward ready to wear contemporary african designs , plans to move to Couture and more.

the 08 08 event red carpet started at exactly 6.30pm with teeming paparaazi (abuja top 25, spice tv, nta and our own photographe) were all there to take photographs of fashionistas and fashionistas sure did turn up.evry one was looking beautiful. it was a positive event for the abuja out going crowd that brought a lot of great people and groups together, and for us that coming together is what white rabbit concept is all about.

Elnathan had the 15 lovely models walking and struting to his poetry,which had a fusion of gothic and african to create lovely melody, performances from yoye and young uno-the numero uno recieved a huge amount of appreciation from the crowd which had built up from the start of the event. and also performing that evening was dj zeez of the oforcasibe (didnt spell that rite did i?)fame, abuja loved him and he totalled loved the crowd appreciation. at this point i must confess that i indulged a secret fantasy when we invited chocolate citys jesse jags as headliner for the night and he got every one squealing with delight. he even made alot of guest including a member of the internation community get up on their feet to party like its 1999. thanks jags, you made our nite...

white rabbit concept exist as a PR firm and we always look for new ways to create mileage for our clients and our teeming assiociates. every establishment that was involved in the event was able to showcase their goods and services to a crowd of abuja people that didnt know they even existed but were happy with the information. all our designers went home with orders, inspector gadget stors will definately be getting visitors and c&c collection will be clothing abujas finest for years and years to come.

i missed alot of the performances, since i was back stage, but fortunately for me i had watched the storyteller perform before, but he is new everytime he gets on stage, a guest exclaimed'where did they find this people'. story teller just goes to emphasis the point that we have great talent in this country,he was wonderful. he performed along side bem sar, whose guiter strumming was sooooooooooo koooooooool. BOI came all the was from lagos to showcase his glamour line and the models were excited to look so glamourous.

special thanks to Gang(our compere for the evening),lotanna,kejie of cyreene makeup lounge,alhassan mohammed,sam of BOI,dooshima of inspector gadget store,emeka of c&c collections,adegbe ogbeh of 1number,ulabi agba,bill uko,alkasim abulkadir,leslie emegbuonye and the entire white rabbit concept team.
(backstage report and details in pictures next up)

08 08 - DETAILS IN WORDS

people are still asking how we did it, only two weeks to plan and we pulled off an amazing priemier event. it wasnt only WR concept premiering that evening, LOTANNA- an abuja based designer, presented her line for the first time on stage and the clothes were fantastic, she took the red carpet by storm at the begining and the models were flaming on the runway.Lotanna,whose line comprises fashion forward ready to wear contemporary african designs , plans to move to Couture and more.

the 08 08 event red carpet started at exactly 6.30pm with teeming paparaazi (abuja top 25, spice tv, nta and our own photographe) were all there to take photographs of fashionistas and fashionistas sure did turn up.evry one was looking beautiful. it was a positive event for the abuja out going crowd that brought a lot of great people and groups together, and for us that coming together is what white rabbit concept is all about.

Elnathan had the 15 lovely models walking and struting to his poetry,which had a fusion of gothic and african to create lovely melody, performances from yoye and young uno-the numero uno recieved a huge amount of appreciation from the crowd which had built up from the start of the event. and also performing that evening was dj zeez of the oforcasibe (didnt spell that rite did i?)fame, abuja loved him and he totalled loved the crowd appreciation. at this point i must confess that i indulged a secret fantasy when we invited chocolate citys jesse jags as headliner for the night and he got every one squealing with delight. he even made alot of guest including a member of the internation community get up on their feet to party like its 1999. thanks jags, you made our nite...

white rabbit concept exist as a PR firm and we always look for new ways to create mileage for our clients and our teeming assiociates. every establishment that was involved in the event was able to showcase their goods and services to a crowd of abuja people that didnt know they even existed but were happy with the information. all our designers went home with orders, inspector gadget stors will definately be getting visitors and c&c collection will be clothing abujas finest for years and years to come.

i missed alot of the performances, since i was back stage, but fortunately for me i had watched the storyteller perform before, but he is new everytime he gets on stage, a guest exclaimed'where did they find this people'. story teller just goes to emphasis the point that we have great talent in this country,he was wonderful. he performed along side bem sar, whose guiter strumming was sooooooooooo koooooooool. BOI came all the was from lagos to showcase his glamour line and the models were excited to look so glamourous.

special thanks to Gang(our compere for the evening),lotanna,kejie of cyreene makeup lounge,alhassan mohammed,sam of BOI,dooshima of inspector gadget store,emeka of c&c collections,adegbe ogbeh of 1number,ulabi agba,bill uko,alkasim abulkadir,leslie emegbuonye and the entire white rabbit concept team.
(backstage report and details in pictures next up)

08 08 - whEre WOuLd uoy RATHEr be !?!

ok im at it again, this city crawler matter, but i assure you the last 2 weeks have been vigourously interesting for me, why, because White Rabbit Concept is premiering with an event 08 08 - FASHION POETRY SONG. Its the first of its kind(believe me, ive checked) and the WR team with me being the oga kpata kpata, is leaving no stone upturned to make this event one that will linger in the mine of abujanites for a long time to come.

all the fashionistas and fashion forward blokes i have been running into anytime i go crawling, well what can i say, this is an opporunity for you to dress up, get your picture taken and appear in a major fashion and style magazine. the event has confirmed as guest some major celebrities, 2 of nigeria's finest performers and the creme of the radio, tv and print media are covering the event.

i cant even begin to emphasis how much we abuja people miss having classy events like this held here and luckily, this one is done by an abuja based PR and Events Design company.

just a sneak peak at a bit of what will be expected at the show: the venue is to die for, red carpet- yup we are going back to red, we have had yellow, blue, green, pink, Turquoise, but we choose red becos our guests will be grand and elite. photo-ops, paparazzi treatment etc. dress to impress, you dont want to find your self in the 'hit or miss section of any beauty magazine'. we have auditioned and selected 20 models from abuja and lagos to take on the catwalk. of course the clothes and jewelry and gadgets they will be wearing will be the focal point but i wonder, becos this girls are beautiful works of art (i commited self esteem suicide again when we auditioned them, what saved me this time was that i was the madam, he he). i swear i have given too much information, but theres still alot you dont know and i promise you finding out will be like drinking champagne for the first time or getting your first ping on your new blackberry.

guest expected will include, legislators, top government functionaries, enterpreneurs, captain of industries and the young upward mobile so i cant even stress enough the networking oppurtunities that will be avialable, but dont get any funny ideas oh, because the police will be prominently present. so so so, i am typing this blog on my phone(the beauty of a blackberry) at 4.47am on wednesday morning, what does that tell you? well it says one thing to me, when history is about to be made, you dont sleep...

i hope with this few points of mine i have been able to convince you and not confuse you(razz) that on the 08 08, 8th of August, need i say more???

08 08 - whEre WOuLd uoy RATHEr be !?!

bumping bumping- safe or irritating...

Hurray to the new speed bumps in Abuja. Although their emergence have been met with mixed feelings. Some love it and some absolutely detest it. I was talking with a friend this morning; she is one of those people who doesn’t understand the concept of having speed bumps on a highway or within some urban roads. sHe argues that the idea behind the speed bumps is lost when you put it on a highway where people are supposed to drive freely.

Another friend, who is well travelled points out that abroad and by this I mean America; speed bumps are put just before a toll gate to alert you that you are approaching it and drivers who tend to get sleepy are usually bumped awake (pun intended). But he also agrees with my cousin that putting them in some major streets takes away from the idea of speed bumps as it makes driving on a major road very uninteresting and it can even cause traffic to build which is something I actually noticed this morning at a junction in Maitama.

It’s easy enough to figure out why these speed bumps are necessary. Drivers in Abuja speed. Accidents in Abuja are always major and catastrophic and Nigerians usually need control. Despite all the FRSC safety campaigns, the traffic lights, the traffic wardens, the road signs etc accidents are still occurring, people are still getting hurt etc. maybe this is the governments way of taking control of the situation or are they just being misled?

Your opinions matter. Please leave a comment about these new barriers to speed on the Capital City roads, do you think they are going to do more harm than good or are loving them.

Oh by the way, an Abujanite who has three school kids, is happy about the development, as she is always worried that a speeding taxi will ram into her and hurt her kids. I have mixed feelings, I took a cab around Abuja and the driver was extra careful at junctions because of the bumps, it kindda felt safe. But when I drove myself around later in the night they became quite irritating because I didn’t know their exact locations so the bumps kept bumping up unexpectedly and annoyingly. This sounds contradictory, yes I know. Over to you people…

confessions of a city crawler- CITY CRAWLER=STREET CRAWLER=NIGHT CRAWLER???

When people see city crawler the first thing that comes to their mind is street crawler and therefore it is associated with negativity. Ok I understand, if you read Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Blink’, u will discover that people usually take about 2 seconds to associate a name they see with something they already have in their head, in this case, city crawler= street crawler=night crawler= need I say more.

Well, as the popular line goes, if city crawler is a crime, then I guess I have to terminate my friendship with the AGF (just kidding, don’t even know the man). Any ways, I’m not alone in this criminal behavior, as a matter of fact I have discovered a whole clan of clandestine people and I will expose them soon. I have always loved the great outdoors. Keep me in a house for more than a day and I will run amok, even if u put the largest screen TV, the 5 seasons of Boston legal, unending supply of Chinese food and vodka, and will I am singing to me and cuddling me, I will still have a great need to step out and see if there is anything interesting going on that I’m missing. I have never really been the most curious of people, but it will surprise you what interests me, story for another day.

Satisfying people can be seen as relatively difficult or relatively easy; forgive my repetition its for emphasis. Satisfying the Abuja citizen is relatively easy, why? All you need is a good idea, a good product or a good service. Reaching out to the Abuja citizenry is relatively easy, why? Because it’s a model city, well planned, easy access and duh we are only 1million or maybe a little more since people seem to be giving birth every hour. Another point is, Abuja crowd has what I call ‘fickle relationship’ issue. It goes like this GIRL meets BOY - PERSON discovers LOUNGE, GIRL spends all free time with BOY - PERSON spends all free time, after work, weekends, football season in LOUNGE, GIRL’s friend introduces her to HOT NEW GUY friend, PERSONS friend introduces him to another HOT LOUNGE that has major traffic and the whole ‘see and be seen’ factor, GIRL is unfaithful to BOY a few times, PERSON goes to LOUNGE a few times and finally GIRL leaves BOY for HOT NEW GUY - PERSON leaves LOUNGE for HOT NEW LOUNGE. (if u didn’t get this u are a SLOwie!!!).

I’m giving out trade secret, but I don’t mind because the idea behind CONFESSIONS OF A CITY CRAWLER is to expose to people resident and non- resident, the beauty and the fun that can be found here. There was a time when, being sent to Abuja spelt doom and despair for some people but now a lot of people are moving here because they know that they will have comfort, security and a conducive environment for business development (although you have to pay a premium for it all) but all the same. Abuja is no Lagos, but like I always say, they have 83 years on us and well we hope it will never get like Lagos – if u know what I mean. Stop complaining that Abuja is dry, or too expensive, or too slow, or too governmenty (yea that’s not a word, I know) just follow this blog and free of charge I will give you insight to the capital city. So if its mad fun or healthy fun you want for your friends, your colleagues or your family (children included) you will get information on how to get it here.

So far, about 500billion has been spent building up this model city since the capital was relocated here, you have a claim to that, you know?

P.S last Saturday, I decided to explore the city step by step and I found out many interesting things about how people spend a lazy Saturday. Details in words and pictures in my next blog.

confessions of a city crawler- WHO IS ADETOKUNBO ADEMOLA

I hate to name drop but it is absolutely necessary to this story.

I played kabu kabu to one of Naija’s finest young creatives/entrepreneur who happens to be a personal friend, Clarence peters, our destination was gwarinpa housing estate in Abuja and our mission was to find the residence of Charles oputa, popularly or fondly known as charly boy. Big deal u might say, but not so fast. My people, if u know gwarinpa well, good for u, but if u don’t you will find yourself missing road because it is a contradiction of streets, avenues and crescents and you fit loss. I was beginning to get irritable when Clarence a typical Lagos boy who did not have the address of the house, looked at me incredulously when I said I did not know where charly boys house was. I parked by the side of the road so I could vent properly, when he politely asked a passerby, ‘excuse me, do u know the way to charly boys house? ’ to my surprise, the guy, without missing a beat or pausing to think, gave us a concise description of where the house was. I was a bit surprised but not as surprised as when having a bit of difficulty (due to my slowie nature with directions) we had to enquire several times about directions, everyone knew exactly where the house was, I was not only pleasantly surprised but thrilled.

I am in no way fit to write about charly boy, I have perused and perused his website, I have read through old articles on him and his work both in music (PMAN) and with the community(Area fada, Bikers, coalition for change) and I can boldly say that we do not appreciate talent in this country. I have never had the pleasure of meeting this enigma but since it was announced that we were having him as a guest at GAP I decided to read a little about him and the work he is doing and I was very impressed. A lot of people are quick to dismiss him because of his defiant personality but before you do that, did u know that he went to Harvard? Ah hah now I got your attention. He is a pioneer amongst us young people. Long before artiste and young people as a whole were allowed to express themselves freely in language and dress sense or follow their dreams, charley boy broke all the rules and is still breaking them, rare and odd seeing that he was born to an illustrious father justice oputa (of the oputa panel fame- whatever happened with the reports I wonder?)

I have always been a propagator for young entrepreneurs, and people being more expressive, but long before, even in the face of censorship and ridicule, charly boy never stood down or bowed to the norm and that different way of doing things has taken him places without ever having being referred to as his father’s son. Not a lot of us are that brave. It is important that you don’t miss the meaning of this blog, its not written to praise charly boy, it is not written to encourage deviant behaviour but I write this to say that we should stop censoring ourselves and making excuses like my mother will never let me, or I’m from a disadvantaged home or state. Censorship not only kills creativity it keeps u on your butt making excuses. Take charge.

For those of you that are not aware, there is a global recession that has hit the world hard, Nigeria was already plagued by unemployment, so you can imagine the situation now. we hope it get better but news flash, there are no jobs. Wr concept has designed a YPIBIZ(young people in business) network for young individuals with good ideas and concrete business plans to put their ideas to good use and build up businesses that will not only take them out of the job search market but take fellow young people out of the market as well. Key into it and im sure you will find that you too can make a difference, and someday soon, maybe ill be writing a blog about you.
Goodluck.

P.S- i know who adetokunbo ademola is and i think he was pretty cool.

process schmocess

I had a whole interesting write up planned out in my head and then my brand new bb suddenly stopped working without being dropped or anything and my annoyance made everything fly out of my head.
But write I must. Why must I? You may ask. Well because I’ve got a microphone and you don’t! (I’m trying out humour in the face of great annoyance)

This note is about GAP but it’s not all about GAP, I hope to be able to link my issues to what went down at GAP gathering yesterday.First of all the young generation- generation y or next or whatever we are called and by we I mean you-yes you, we are easily star struck.(yup. I see some people already shaking their head, but that another trait we have, denial). When I say star struck, I’m not talking D’Banj star struck or M I star struck; I’m talking intelligent upward mobile young men and women cringing in the face of ‘Great Men/Women’.The first time I met Yaradua, I was star struck. Nothing prepared me for that, I was awed, lil me in the same room with the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, nothing that was said before mattered at that moment. I know a lot of people will deny being prone to star struck status, but remember the first time you met your head pastor? Or vice chancellor? (Feel free to take me up on that)

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of having the lovely and admirable Eugenia Abu- mother (her favourite), writer (her passion) broadcaster (her job) yes she put it like that. I loved it; it shows clearly what defines Eugenia Abu. We had the privilege of hearing her read from her book ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ and we were thoroughly awed, at least I was. Of the 4 articles that was read the one that touched me most was the article about JERRYCANS, people who attended the meeting may ask why? It’s not because I have not lost a loved one or experienced the grief process, I’m just not the mushy sort, yea I’m fickle like that(sue me). ‘JERRYCANS’ on the other hand stirred in me a deep sense of grief at the fact that an article written 20 years ago (1989) sounded like it was written just a few weeks ago (when we were hounded by fuel scarcity yet again), only difference is that it was 60k then and it is N65 now. It gave us naija optimist food for thought. There are people who have been fighting all this years, and situations have remained the same, were they not optimistic enough or they weren’t doing something right? were they following the process? were they waiting for the generation before them to step aside and give them a chance?

Which brings me back to the star struck issue. With all due respect, I disagree with Mrs Eugenia Abu and all the Ruben Abati of this country who believe that we are a lost generation. We are accused of taking it and shunning the process. Well I agree! But since when did taking it become a bad thing? We young people are accused of being in a hurry, of not stopping to think, we are lacking and we are lost, ha! Well I beg to differ, no I don’t beg to differ, I totally and utterly disagree! This is my take, I do not subscribe to old ways of thinking and doing things because obviously if they didn’t work for you then they sure won’t work for me. I live in a time where today fashionable, tomorrow obsolete (did I say tomorrow, sorry, the next minute) so why should I wait? We are a lucky generation, we have the best books available to us( The Laws of Power, Re Imagine) we learn from Biographies and we manoeuvre the internet like it’s our playground, we build empires from scratch and we are taking over, all this done by taking. Our fathers supported the process, go to school learn to read and write then u can lead, please tell me which school Bill Gates finished from (there you go).

I hate long notes so I will end this by quoting Paul Arden of whom I am a disciple- Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite! There Is No Right Point Of View! And finally ‘Too Many People Spend Too Much Time Trying To Perfect Something Before They Actually Do It. Instead Of Waiting For Perfection Run With What You’ve Got, And Fix It As You Go’.
Oh and I was totally inspired by Eugenia Abu, I have loved and looked up to her since I was a child being forced to watch network news(thanks mom) and I look forward to meeting her personally
.(please feel free to disagree, critisize, insult. i might be wrong but i might be right, may be someday i will bash the future generation who knows, but for now ill be a voice in mine)

ijeoma okeagu
white rabbit concept

I AM BEING UNREASONABLE!

you walk

I STRUT

you talk

I DRAWL

you pounce

I PRAWL

you shout

I GROWL

THats just my STyle.

you come

I ARRIVE

you dream

I WANT

you regret

I RIGHT THE WRONG

you fail

I FAIL BETTER

you are perfect

I AM ART

THis is just my STyle

CONFESSIONS OF CITY CRAWLER PT.7 - MJ LIVES

sorry to barge in to you again, but it is of utmost importance that i write this(i use the word loosely).
i am writing this in a hurry because i dont want to change my mind again(iv done that 3 times in the last 5 hours) but i owe it to myself, my fellow city crawlers to expose the happenings of wednesday d 1st.

WINE SHOP again!

with the aide/lure of a certain city crawler i found my self at wine shop at an hour i should have been at home putting finishing touches to a project document. it was very interesting to note that alot of people felt the same lure and were there too. for me it was a way to pass time before i head off to a fun ladies night at BASEMENT', i have no idea what the other people who were there had in mind when they headed out, maybe drowning their sorrows or celebrating their joy or maybe excaping prison(yes sue me, it is prison jo), ooh but i digress.the night got really interesting when from some where among the crowd a man clad in white seqine jacket, a white glove, a black bowler hat and moves from the classic video-billie jean, emerged from the crowd and as if on cue the dj started playing the intro of the no. 1 hit BAD and in the words of dbanj suddenly suddenly MJ was alive again.

sorrows were forgotten, drinks were ignored every 1 gathered near to get a closer look at this performer who for 20minutes took on the personality of the KING himself. he was a delight to watch and i scanned the faces of people and i saw excitement, wonder, delight,understAnding, emphathy, sadness and even tears(a girl had tears in her eyes and she said she had not felt the impact of mj death until that moment). i was totally impressed with the guys moves and then suddenly suddenly (thanks dbanj) several other mj impersonators came out from the crowd and showed us that they too had moveS and no one of them wanted to carry last. the DJ (kill joy that he was) stopped the music and the mj show abrubtly came to an end.
people went back to their seats and to their drinks, but the vibe of wine shop took on a whole new ambience. lively conversation, smily faces etc etc. let me not bore u with the details of what happened after that, but the point of this as i stated as the topic of this note is MICHEAL JACKSON LIVES! he lives in music, song, dance, poetry, style and all the other aspect of life which he has influenced and He will go on and on for generations to come. lets celebrate the man that was, celebrate him for what you remember him for, celebrate him for the legend that he is.

not one of those muchy sorts, so ive done my own MJ tribute oh
P.S-if you dont believe me about the mj impersonators u can ask sadik, aniekan, martha,tar etc. they were the other city crawlers I spotted out last night when they should have been at home doing productive work or sleeping, i swore to expose them.

BRUTALLY HONEST

Brutally honest.
The world has a very unreasonable standard of beauty and there is so much pressure on people, both men and women and now even children to keep up. This standard is basically about physical appearance and most of the time it boils down to weight and colour of skin. Of course there are other dimensions like, cheek bone, height, x-factor which can also be referred to as swagger for our male counterparts.

I committed self esteem suicide yesterday when I agreed to meet with some visiting new Yorkers. 4 real life models, 6 ft 5, long legged, toned, tanned, size 4 beauties. I stood out from amongst them like awilos ‘red shoes’. Every lady there must have felt a bit green, this is not self degradation oh before some people will rise to judgement it is me being brutally honest. Obviously curious I asked them how they manage to maintain such a size and always look so effortlessly beautiful and Erica (who was a delight to listen to as she was usually so animated when she talked) told me that she finds it saddening that people are always quick to dismiss them as anorexic airheads but there is so much discipline required in their profession. constant exercise, eating right, the right posture and constant travel for photo shoots and a lot more to stand out in a world of modelling where unlike here, where she lives there are dozens of girls in the business ready to push you aside. Well they each have their backup plan, cos as they grow older in the industry, younger, fresher faces sprout up every day making them irrelevant and forgotten.

But somehow I believe that more and more older women are looking hotter and hotter. They have stopped letting go after a few children and have started spending more resources which they have a lot of disposable income available to them. Decades ago, using make up and taking time dressing up was frowned on when u reached a certain age (read ‘road to bar beach’), usually you just start aging from 30 onwards when you have had your fifth child. You wear unsightly, unflattering bubus and bubas and just generally look unattractive. But you don’t need ovation magazine to tell you that things have changed. 50 is the new 30 or maybe even 20. Nigerian women are aging gracefully. Let’s leave more extreme enhancements like surgery and focus on safer, cheaper and easier ones like make up/makeover.

You may believe that you have always been the ugly duckling in your family or the less attractive among your group of friends, but I assure you, hiding your love handles under that unflattering tunic will not help you or your confidence. It’s about time you take matters into your hands. if u you are not one for makeup, I’m sure there are colours and brands that will suit you, if your weight makes you shy, get on a program(but do it for yourself and not for anybody else). I say all these because I believe that a lot can be achieved when a woman believes she has attained beauty especially by her own standards. Good luck!

P.S - A Beauty studio CYREENE is opening, July 2009 in OMEGA PLAZA Wuse 2. Finally! A place where women can go have professional make up treatment, makeovers to suit their new lifestyle and status, buy quality makeup products that you have seen only in magazines and sip tea or wine while chatting with fellow girlfriends. I look forward to it.

PLEASE STAND UP....

The best decisions are informed decisions.
I am happy to live in a world and in a time where young people are encouraged to do great things and I have noticed that more and more people are leaving the corporate world to start their own business. Many reasons, flexibility, control, or just plain tired of the routine of a 9-5. This is not only great for the economy but also good for individual growth and confidence.

As a young child growing up, I dreamt of being many things. Lawyer, pilot, princess, pirate etc.non of these quite worked out but that is a story for another day.

In Nigeria, we are encouraged to go to school, finish, get a job and then get married and have kids and settle down to growing older. As boring as this sounds alot of people tow this line. Which begs the question, are you doing absolutely what you want to be doing? Or are you stuck in a rut just because having a good job is wat is expected of you or you feel safe? You dream about success and achieving great heights in life but you are too afraid to take the leap, how then do u intend to attain? Fear makes us irrational, desperate even, so we just sit in our comfort, quietly watching our days go by when we can do something about.

What the world needs is young passionate innovative individuals who are ready to take on the world and change the script, who can bravely challenge ols ways of doing things/thinking and change them. I believe that success isn’t predetermined by some force or a higher power, you attain success because of the choices you make, the risk you take and the hardwork and determination you put into your business or your art. I am a young woman starting out in business and I consider every one, young and old who ventured out and succeeded as my inspiration and I doff my hat to them.

New ideas abound, Abuja has a thriving market, take control.

ijeoma okeagu
executive director,
white rabbit concePt nig ltd
08037135829
WHITE RABBIT CONCEpT LIMITED. Also known as WR CONCEpT is an EVENTS MANAGEMENT and PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM based in Abuja, Nigeria.

(YPIB - young people in business seminar/networking meet coming in july 2009)

PLAY (BYOB) - confessions of a city crawler (pt.6)

Alright I admit this is free advert but, I couldn’t resist the urge to write about this.Its like 3 degrees outside(rain) and I barely made it home on time, just before the rain started pouring. im lucky the rain did not catch me, being asthmatic and all (get to the point aijay)

I will I will. Its Thursday at play sports bar and lounge. I convince 4 of my cool friends, derin, anieakan, lam and tk to follow me to play to come get slushed since we can carry as much alchohol as we want. Little did I know that other abujanites would have the exact same idea.BYOB(bring your own booze) nite which I must say was suggested my me(Ijeoma “white rabbit” Okeagu) (couldn’t resist that) has evolved to a point where even me a regular playete , did not find a place to place my cute tushie.

The idea, incase u haven’t caught on is a night where you can buy or even manufacture your own drinks and bring it into play and drink to your heart content and let loose and have as much fun as your alcohol state can allow you. And have fun we did.
As a city crawler reporter, I surveyed the entire scene and people were having uninhibited fun (which is the best kind of fun by the way) and the vibe was lovely. Fashionistas were out for the night and I could see the guy’s loosening up and having fun.

Contrary to popular opinion, we do know how to have fun in Abuja and we don’t need any body to show us. Big ups play, BYOB night @ play is the shit, if u are an abujanite that appreciates good fun i suggest you try it. We had a couple of celebrities there too (one of nigeria's finest menswear designers)

P.S how did those ‘ladies of the night get in?’ (over to play mgt)

ALi and the Angel

419 did not start today. I always like to imagine how people first came to do certain things. ‘ hey, people are gullible, ive got an idea! You know how I fooled ola and he was very angry but couldn’t do or say anything about it cos he was ashamed of his greed and stupidity, this time lets take it bigger, maybe even global, we have the internet don’t we?

For those of you who love to read like me, maybe u have heard of or read ALI and the ANGEL. In a nut shell, Ali told everyone in his small village that an angel is visiting him and if u are clean and pure of mind, u can come and see the angel and ask him whatever you want….for a fee. Well the villagers gathered, some out of disbelief, some curiosity, some skepticism and some just wanted to expose the fraud, but how can u go in and come out and say u did not see anything and then be regarded as unclean without a pure heart? So all of them both brave and strong and wise, paid, went in and spoke to the angel. I don’t know how the story ended because I laughed so hard. If you were told the way I was told u would laugh too, sometimes it’s not the joke that is funny, it’s how u tell it.

Ali is a crook obviously, but I decided to play devil’s advocate and call him a darn good sales man. Why because he did not beg or steal or force he only persuaded. He sold a perception and people fell for it. He played on people need to be good and moral and clean. How is he different from the pastors of now a days??? Yes I said it sue me.
(i wrote this note with a huge smile on my face and a lesson learnt, dont think u r not supseptible to deciet, its cockiness like that, that leads you straight there. just be careful and wary)

ABUJA IS HUNGRY- Confessions of a city crawler(pt.4)

friday night, i convince my sister amisdt struggle and frowns to a night on the town. we had dinner and drinks and caught up with some old friends,oyibo style and then i decided the night was still too young to head home. so off we went to The Wine Shop. i was amazed at he sight that caught me, it was brimming with people. first of all parking was a problem and then curiousity took us inside, we wanted to know wat happened here that the white rabbit wasnt aware of, amazingly nothing, it was just a normal friday night abuja crowd, searching for good music, well priced drinks, see and be seen crowd and unrestricted fun. when i first discovered the wine shop it was located at aminu kano and it was a place for u to buy wine period, i went in there to pick a bottle of wine for my oga, by the next time i went to wine shop, they had 4 white chairs outside,no table,a couple of guys were sitting there having a meeting i think and sipping their wine from white disposable cups, why take it home when they can drink it right there. by the next month, more white chairs, more people.this was 2007.

fastforward to 2009.

which brings me to this, ABUJA IS HUNGRY!

as a city crawler i can confidently tell u that the vibe of every lounge and club and hangout is pretty much the same every night. same music, same drinks, same food, nothing new. some clubs have the illusion that they are grander and posher than others, but we'll let them live with that illusion i guess because really really its the same ol' same ol'. and some how lounges manage to morph in to clubs which kindof creates a problem for the owners or not,some owners encourage this.

i still havent seen a chilled out, loungy inspired place that has some how managed to stay that way(look wat happened to krystal lounge) or a posh club with an ultra chic no nonscence dress code(where are our fashionista/fashion forwards), people always default.

well,in conclusion to friday nights outing, we ended up at bassment. My first friday night at basement and i had a blast,first of all it had a dance floor the size of an actual dance floor, the vibe was grand but unpretentious, the crowd was great, people came out to have fun although there were some people who were just out to ruin it for everyone else but generally people came to have fun and then slip into the night(u know). but the way people crowd into places just goes to show that there is a market out there and club and lounge owners need to tap into it, up the ante on your place. if u want to be a 'after work with the guys' kind of place be that, if u want to be a 'gathering of cool party people' kind of place, be that, if u want to be a normal resturant just be that, but have focus really because people are getting confused.

P.S thanks basement, u helped me give my sister the time of her life.