Recently, I got the full Lagos treatment, and I couldn't pass up the chance to write about my experience.
Lagos, like most urban cities, is a hot spot for robbery and petty theft.
My purse and phone were stolen on my street and this has now made me some sort of authority on how to avoid getting robbed.
Here are five tips:
1. Never go anywhere with anything valuable
They cannot steal what isn’t there, can they?
The days after I got robbed I found myself wishing I didn't go out with my phone.
In Port Harcourt City, there is a place called Mile 12; you are advised to remove any expensive jewellery you have on because it can be yanked right off your ears, neck, and wrists.
The same rule applies to Lagos.
2. Live only in a gated community with security guards
Visiting someone who lives in a gated community can be laborious and annoying because of all the safety red tapes, but you cannot deny the perks.
You're simply less likely to get robbed in an environment with visible security presence; it's just science.
If this does not describe your current living condition, then you need to move before that robbery encounter waiting to happen.
Living in such communities in Lagos could cost an arm and a leg, but that's the cost of avoiding petty robbers.
3. Don't talk to strangers
Such an obvious advise to be giving to an adult like you, but no judgement.
Strangers can grab, snatch, or swindle you of your personal belongings, but you can make the job difficult for them by minding your business.
Best to keep a straight face and hold your possessions close to your chest and not answer any strangers on the street.
4. Always be conscious of your surroundings
Everyone can potentially steal your belongings. A friend of mine sitting in a bus had his phone stolen by some young girls sitting behind him.
Pressing your phone inside danfo can end in someone from the outside snatching it and doing a 500m dash, never to be seen again.
Be vigilant and do not relax thinking you are in a secured place. No, you are not.
5. Accept that you cannot prevent getting robbed
The truth is there's only so much that safety precautions can do for you, and you ultimately cannot avoid getting robbed.
You can get robbed anywhere in Lagos - in your car, in your home, or on the streets.
It can happen at any time - broad daylight or pitch black at night, regardless of your best attempts to ensure it doesn't.
Whenever it happens, promise yourself not to fight with your robbers because they can potentially harm you.
Belongings can be replaced, but your life can't.