₦airaland Forum

Let me start by saying this: I know what you are thinking. "This guy don craze." Even my own mother cried when I told her I was coming back.

I left Nigeria in 2019. Got a visa through my company's transfer program, packed two bags, and landed in Manchester on a cold Tuesday morning that nearly killed my Lagos raised soul.

For 5 years, I did everything "right."

Got a better paying job. Sent money home every month. Upgraded my family's life. Got my indefinite leave to remain sorted. On paper, I was living the dream every Nigerian prays for at night.

But last December, I packed those same two bags now four and came back to Lagos.

Here is why.

1. I WAS LONELY IN A WAY I CANNOT FULLY EXPLAIN

Nobody warns you about this.

You can be surrounded by colleagues, housemates, even "friends" and still feel like a ghost. British people are polite but not warm. There is a difference. You will smile at your neighbor for 3 years and never know his first name.

In Lagos, my street alone has more genuine human connection than my entire postcode in Manchester. My landlord's wife used to bring me food when I was sick. My neighbor knew my name within 24 hours.

I did not realize how much I needed that until I did not have it anymore.

2. THE MONEY LOOKED BIG UNTIL IT DIDN'T

Yes, I was earning in pounds. But London/UK cost of living will humble you fast.

Rent: £900/month for a small flat. Food: £400/month if you cook mostly at home. Transport: £200/month. Bills: £150/month.

By the time you finish doing the math, that "big salary" is already half gone before you enjoy anything. And if you have family back home depending on you, which most of us do, you are effectively running two households.

Back in Lagos, with the savings and investments I had built up, I now run a small logistics business. Last month I cleared more in naira than I was taking home in pounds after expenses.

People forget to calculate purchasing power and cost of living when they are dreaming about abroad.

3. I WAS AGEING WITHOUT LIVING
This one is personal.

In the UK, my routine was: wake up, commute, work, come home, cook, sleep, repeat. Weekends were for grocery shopping and rest because Monday was always coming.

In Lagos, even with the chaos, there is LIFE. There is noise and owambe and suya at midnight and people who actually want to sit with you and argue about football for 3 hours. There is color. There is energy.

I went to the UK and became productive. I came back to Nigeria and started actually living.

4. MY PARENTS ARE GETTING OLD
I watched my father shrink over video calls. My mother's hair went completely white in 3 years. They never complained, that is the Nigerian parent way, but I could see it.

No amount of money sent home replaces presence. I know that sounds like something on a greeting card, but I promise you it is true. My father's face when I walked through the door in December is something I will never forget.

I refuse to be the child who shows up for the burial after spending the last good years sending money instead of time.

5. OPPORTUNITY IN NIGERIA IS UNDERRATED
This will be controversial, I know.

But hear me out. Nigeria is hard. The infrastructure is a disaster. Fuel prices are criminal. The government is not your friend.

AND YET, for someone with skill, international exposure, savings, and the willingness to grind, Nigeria rewards you in ways that a saturated Western economy cannot. The competition is not as fierce at the top. The gaps in the market are enormous.

I identified a logistics gap in my area. Started small. Now I have 6 staff and three vehicles. I am building something. In the UK I was building someone else's dream.

THE HONEST DOWNSIDES, I WON'T LIE TO YOU

Light situation is still a spiritual attack. Generator fuel is expensive. The roads want to kill me daily. Some things that should take 30 minutes take 3 days because of bureaucracy. I sometimes miss the simple efficiency of abroad. Ordering something and it actually arrives. Bills that just work.

I am not here to sell you a fantasy. Nigeria is hard. But it is MY hard. And I am building something meaningful inside it.

FINAL WORD

I am not saying don't Japa. If you have the opportunity and you are young, GO. Gather experience, save money, build skills, see the world.

But do not let anyone make you feel like returning home is failure. It is a choice. And for me, it has been the best one I ever made.

I am home. I am building. I am alive.

Need a business website, e-commerce store, or SEO strategy? Let's talk. devifeoluwa@gmail.com | Whatsapp +2348109733031

Drop your questions or your own experience below, let us talk.

Tinubu’s government will chase this one back. He won’t write a report when the country finally frustrates him.

You waited to get your ILR before returning to Nigeria?
Why?

Okpueze1:
You waited to get your ILR before returning to Nigeria?
Why?

Shouldn't I have done that?

You guys do it too to "others" in Nigeria
Now you now understand how it feels to be treated that way

Bros....abeg no loud am...make those that want to Japa go and see.

I tell people since I came back home that, there's no place like home.

Peace

Muyiwaipere:
Bros....abeg no loud am...make those that want to Japa go and see.

I tell people since I came back home that, there's no place like home.

Peace

No lies, but they have to go first to find out themselves

I understand the main reason why you came
Everything no longer matters in the uk
The happiness you looking for is not in the the uk
The money , the good life the ease of doing things
And how organized the country doesn’t matter anymore
You just want happiness or should I say self fulfillment

Fake story
Buuuulssssssshhhhhiiiiit

Broda you Sabi make up stories. Same you, Ifeoluw, the bearer of the story'I paid my bride price' blaa blaaaa. Continue oooo😫😫😫😫

alshalz:
Broda you Sabi make up stories. Same you, Ifeoluw, the bearer of the story'I paid my bride price' blaa blaaaa. Continue oooo😫😫😫😫

Lol. “He” no know say we don tey for here…………………………….

Okay o. If you get money or good investment' home is the best place to be but security wise, I don't think so.

Muyiwaipere:
Bros....abeg no loud am...make those that want to Japa go and see.

I tell people since I came back home that, there's no place like home.

Peace

Home is home especially with the growing anti immigrant sentiments everywhere..

Just the first point is why I would leave when I am done. Don't bother explaining, no one will understand.

Ifeoluwadev:
Let me start by saying this: I know what you are thinking. "This guy don craze." Even my own mother cried when I told her I was coming back.

I left Nigeria in 2019. Got a visa through my company's transfer program, packed two bags, and landed in Manchester on a cold Tuesday morning that nearly killed my Lagos raised soul.

For 5 years, I did everything "right."

Got a better paying job. Sent money home every month. Upgraded my family's life. Got my indefinite leave to remain sorted. On paper, I was living the dream every Nigerian prays for at night.

But last December, I packed those same two bags now four and came back to Lagos.

Here is why.

1. I WAS LONELY IN A WAY I CANNOT FULLY EXPLAIN

Nobody warns you about this.

You can be surrounded by colleagues, housemates, even "friends" and still feel like a ghost. British people are polite but not warm. There is a difference. You will smile at your neighbor for 3 years and never know his first name.

In Lagos, my street alone has more genuine human connection than my entire postcode in Manchester. My landlord's wife used to bring me food when I was sick. My neighbor knew my name within 24 hours.

I did not realize how much I needed that until I did not have it anymore.

2. THE MONEY LOOKED BIG UNTIL IT DIDN'T

Yes, I was earning in pounds. But London/UK cost of living will humble you fast.

Rent: £900/month for a small flat. Food: £400/month if you cook mostly at home. Transport: £200/month. Bills: £150/month.

By the time you finish doing the math, that "big salary" is already half gone before you enjoy anything. And if you have family back home depending on you, which most of us do, you are effectively running two households.

Back in Lagos, with the savings and investments I had built up, I now run a small logistics business. Last month I cleared more in naira than I was taking home in pounds after expenses.

People forget to calculate purchasing power and cost of living when they are dreaming about abroad.

3. I WAS AGEING WITHOUT LIVING
This one is personal.

In the UK, my routine was: wake up, commute, work, come home, cook, sleep, repeat. Weekends were for grocery shopping and rest because Monday was always coming.

In Lagos, even with the chaos, there is LIFE. There is noise and owambe and suya at midnight and people who actually want to sit with you and argue about football for 3 hours. There is color. There is energy.

I went to the UK and became productive. I came back to Nigeria and started actually living.

4. MY PARENTS ARE GETTING OLD
I watched my father shrink over video calls. My mother's hair went completely white in 3 years. They never complained, that is the Nigerian parent way, but I could see it.

No amount of money sent home replaces presence. I know that sounds like something on a greeting card, but I promise you it is true. My father's face when I walked through the door in December is something I will never forget.

I refuse to be the child who shows up for the burial after spending the last good years sending money instead of time.

5. OPPORTUNITY IN NIGERIA IS UNDERRATED
This will be controversial, I know.

But hear me out. Nigeria is hard. The infrastructure is a disaster. Fuel prices are criminal. The government is not your friend.

AND YET, for someone with skill, international exposure, savings, and the willingness to grind, Nigeria rewards you in ways that a saturated Western economy cannot. The competition is not as fierce at the top. The gaps in the market are enormous.

I identified a logistics gap in my area. Started small. Now I have 6 staff and three vehicles. I am building something. In the UK I was building someone else's dream.

THE HONEST DOWNSIDES, I WON'T LIE TO YOU

Light situation is still a spiritual attack. Generator fuel is expensive. The roads want to kill me daily. Some things that should take 30 minutes take 3 days because of bureaucracy. I sometimes miss the simple efficiency of abroad. Ordering something and it actually arrives. Bills that just work.

I am not here to sell you a fantasy. Nigeria is hard. But it is MY hard. And I am building something meaningful inside it.

FINAL WORD

I am not saying don't Japa. If you have the opportunity and you are young, GO. Gather experience, save money, build skills, see the world.

But do not let anyone make you feel like returning home is failure. It is a choice. And for me, it has been the best one I ever made.

I am home. I am building. I am alive.

Need a business website, e-commerce store, or SEO strategy? Let's talk. devifeoluwa@gmail.com | Whatsapp +2348109733031

Drop your questions or your own experience below, let us talk.

Your Number 4 point is very valid. It's a good reason to return. You are very lucky to have your parents.
You are right about the opportunities. Yes, the terrian is tough, but it also offers rewards.
There are various gaps in the business landscape of Nigeria and the ROI is unprecedented.

Yeah. Sounds like this is just a made up story. At least from the OP's posting history.

obinna58:
Fake story
Buuuulssssssshhhhhiiiiit

You’re telling me you swapped a UK salary for a Lagos logistics business and cleared more in naira? Either your math is as shaky as Nigeria’s power grid or you’re running a glorified okada operation.

So the UK made you a robot and Lagos made you alive? Priorities, my guy.


You’re not building something meaningful. You’re running a glorified okada service with a fancy title. You came back because you couldn’t hack it abroad and now you’re selling it as a choice. Weak.

Spare me the redemption arc. Just admit you missed the suffering.

Kaczynski:
You’re telling me you swapped a UK salary for a Lagos logistics business and cleared more in naira? Either your math is as shaky as Nigeria’s power grid or you’re running a glorified okada operation.

So the UK made you a robot and Lagos made you alive? Priorities, my guy.


You’re not building something meaningful. You’re running a glorified okada service with a fancy title. You came back because you couldn’t hack it abroad and now you’re selling it as a choice. Weak.

Spare me the redemption arc. Just admit you missed the suffering.

A lot of people especially when you get older find fulfilment in making their own money than being salaried. You cannot define another person's success. Even if he is cooking food daily in Lagos and makes money from it, I don't see what is wrong with that and why you have a problem with how that will make the person happy. The person said they made money but did not feel it but here you are trying to argue for them what experience should feel like. I don't get it.

So bros dey cook yet he spends £400 per month on feeding?

Well done sir

You're a coward...full of fear... Fear to stand and start... You lack entrepreneurial spirit...👌

Na una type dey go obodo oyinbo, cut ties with family and friends, and forget home, because of hamburger, snow and white skins... Shior ... Running a rat race 🐀🐀

Una no wan get reasonable sense ... God is wonderful ...

Bye bye ... Enjoy your obodo oyinbo... Mr. Smith Spencer... Obodo oyinbo dream come true... Team na here we dye...

Kaczynski:
You’re telling me you swapped a UK salary for a Lagos logistics business and cleared more in naira? Either your math is as shaky as Nigeria’s power grid or you’re running a glorified okada operation.

So the UK made you a robot and Lagos made you alive? Priorities, my guy.


You’re not building something meaningful. You’re running a glorified okada service with a fancy title. You came back because you couldn’t hack it abroad and now you’re selling it as a choice. Weak.

Spare me the redemption arc. Just admit you missed the suffering.

Been reading through this thread for a while — the contrast between the early pages and the recent ones says a lot on its own. Wanted to add something I haven't seen mentioned much here: the money math of Japa gets talked about constantly (visa cost, flight, first months rent), but almost nobody talks about what happens to the cost of living back home while you're gone, and how that affects the decision to return.
I ran the actual numbers recently — a basic grocery basket that cost ₦25,225 in 2020 costs ₦147,050 now. That's not just "things are expensive," that's a 582% jump in 6 years. If you Japa'd in 2020 thinking you'd come back in a few years once things stabilized, the Nigeria you'd be returning to is now a completely different financial reality than the one you left. That math changes the "should I come back" decision a lot more than people give it credit for.
There's also a quieter pattern I've seen mentioned in passing on threads like this but never really unpacked — people who do come back often go quiet on social media afterward, partly because of the assumption that returning means you "failed" abroad. That silence probably distorts how the rest of us see the return decision, since we mostly hear from people who stayed.
I put together a fuller breakdown of this (plus a few related pieces) if anyone wants to go deeper — happy to share the link if useful, don't want to drop it unprompted in case that's against the spirit of the thread.

What should be so sensational about returning to your ancestral/home country?

Mental / modern day slavery is real.

You should have just stayed and collected your passport before coming back sha, u never can tell
The fact that you left on work visa points to soft landing back then but who knows? Talking about boredom, UK has the largest and most accessible Nigerian community abroad, IDK why it was difficult for you
Well, welcome back, I wish you the very best in Nigeria

Ifeoluwadev:
Let me start by saying this: I know what you are thinking. "This guy don craze." Even my own mother cried when I told her I was coming back.

I left Nigeria in 2019. Got a visa through my company's transfer program, packed two bags, and landed in Manchester on a cold Tuesday morning that nearly killed my Lagos raised soul.

For 5 years, I did everything "right."

Got a better paying job. Sent money home every month. Upgraded my family's life. Got my indefinite leave to remain sorted. On paper, I was living the dream every Nigerian prays for at night.

But last December, I packed those same two bags now four and came back to Lagos.

Here is why.

1. I WAS LONELY IN A WAY I CANNOT FULLY EXPLAIN

Nobody warns you about this.

You can be surrounded by colleagues, housemates, even "friends" and still feel like a ghost. British people are polite but not warm. There is a difference. You will smile at your neighbor for 3 years and never know his first name.

In Lagos, my street alone has more genuine human connection than my entire postcode in Manchester. My landlord's wife used to bring me food when I was sick. My neighbor knew my name within 24 hours.

I did not realize how much I needed that until I did not have it anymore.

2. THE MONEY LOOKED BIG UNTIL IT DIDN'T

Yes, I was earning in pounds. But London/UK cost of living will humble you fast.

Rent: £900/month for a small flat. Food: £400/month if you cook mostly at home. Transport: £200/month. Bills: £150/month.

By the time you finish doing the math, that "big salary" is already half gone before you enjoy anything. And if you have family back home depending on you, which most of us do, you are effectively running two households.

Back in Lagos, with the savings and investments I had built up, I now run a small logistics business. Last month I cleared more in naira than I was taking home in pounds after expenses.

People forget to calculate purchasing power and cost of living when they are dreaming about abroad.

3. I WAS AGEING WITHOUT LIVING
This one is personal.

In the UK, my routine was: wake up, commute, work, come home, cook, sleep, repeat. Weekends were for grocery shopping and rest because Monday was always coming.

In Lagos, even with the chaos, there is LIFE. There is noise and owambe and suya at midnight and people who actually want to sit with you and argue about football for 3 hours. There is color. There is energy.

I went to the UK and became productive. I came back to Nigeria and started actually living.

4. MY PARENTS ARE GETTING OLD
I watched my father shrink over video calls. My mother's hair went completely white in 3 years. They never complained, that is the Nigerian parent way, but I could see it.

No amount of money sent home replaces presence. I know that sounds like something on a greeting card, but I promise you it is true. My father's face when I walked through the door in December is something I will never forget.

I refuse to be the child who shows up for the burial after spending the last good years sending money instead of time.

5. OPPORTUNITY IN NIGERIA IS UNDERRATED
This will be controversial, I know.

But hear me out. Nigeria is hard. The infrastructure is a disaster. Fuel prices are criminal. The government is not your friend.

AND YET, for someone with skill, international exposure, savings, and the willingness to grind, Nigeria rewards you in ways that a saturated Western economy cannot. The competition is not as fierce at the top. The gaps in the market are enormous.

I identified a logistics gap in my area. Started small. Now I have 6 staff and three vehicles. I am building something. In the UK I was building someone else's dream.

THE HONEST DOWNSIDES, I WON'T LIE TO YOU

Light situation is still a spiritual attack. Generator fuel is expensive. The roads want to kill me daily. Some things that should take 30 minutes take 3 days because of bureaucracy. I sometimes miss the simple efficiency of abroad. Ordering something and it actually arrives. Bills that just work.

I am not here to sell you a fantasy. Nigeria is hard. But it is MY hard. And I am building something meaningful inside it.

FINAL WORD

I am not saying don't Japa. If you have the opportunity and you are young, GO. Gather experience, save money, build skills, see the world.

But do not let anyone make you feel like returning home is failure. It is a choice. And for me, it has been the best one I ever made.

I am home. I am building. I am alive.

Need a business website, e-commerce store, or SEO strategy? Let's talk. devifeoluwa@gmail.com | Whatsapp +2348109733031

Drop your questions or your own experience below, let us talk.