2020

 Hi everyone,

A lot has happened since I posted last in 2016. I honestly don’t know where to start but here we go…

The most exciting news is that I am someone’s mother now. Yes I’m a mum and I smile every time I say it or in this case type it out. I will do a whole post about motherhood because it deserves its own post.

I don’t know why I stopped blogging, I guess I got super busy with business or maybe it’s because I post on other social media handles like Instagram and Snapchat but if you don’t follow me (@jibbywest) let’s get you up to speed. 

I opened a branch in Lekki for Indigo Boutique which led me to amazing friends who have turned to sisters. We called ourselves ‘The Fola Osibo Bosses’. Our amazing sisterhood consists of a fashion designer, a pharmacist, a mixologist and of course me.  In the space of four years, we’ve had marriages, kids and a pandemic. 

The pandemic, also known as COVID19, really affected the world at large. A lot of lives were lost (may the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God RIP) and more than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries had to stay at home because there we were all under some form of lockdown. 

In March 2020, I returned to Nigeria from the states and the lockdown started a few weeks later. This affected my business as we had to shut down all the stores. Unfortunately, I still hadn’t implemented the website (the problem of procrastination). The website might have been helpful when the lockdown eased and people started working from home. At least a lot of our loungewear collection would have sold out since public places like cinemas, bars and clubs were still closed. 

Birthdays and anniversaries were not celebrated because we couldn’t be with our loved ones. No large gatherings also meant no church service (except online), no weddings, no owambes etc. Imagine a world where you cannot hug, shake or see people you care about to avoid being sick. Some marriages scattered while some thrived. A lot of babies were born in 2020/2021, most small businesses collapsed especially travel, and event planning 

Wearing a mask everywhere became normal towards the end of the year. Masking up became fashionable as many designers created their own designs some with crystals, stones and other embellishments. Most people started matching outfits to mask designs or colors.

I just wanted to be safe and keep my baby safe so I stuck to surgical masks during pregnancy. I was 8 months pregnant in the picture above and hardly left my apartment with the exception of my appointment with my Doctor.

Then the protests in Nigeria began to ‘End SARS’. Enough was enough. Police brutality had to end and we wanted to protest peacefully. I could hardly make my appointments because of the road blocks and traffic but I always found a way until this particular day where they closed most roads and the alternative route was blocked too. I begged one of the boys at the bridge to please grant me passage as I had to get to the hospital but he ignored me. A lady I met at the hospital passed away because her baby was breached, she couldn’t make it to the hospital because the roads were blocked. Shops were looted, people were arrested and killed and all I could think of was the lady who didn’t make it. At this point I made a decision that I would not subject my child to this. 

We would never forget 20/10/2020. 

Enough with the downside of 2020… In baby news, my siblings and I all had babies in 2020, so my parents had 4 grandkids (see exciting news again). Even though Zi, my daughter, was due on Christmas Day, she decided to grace us with her presence on the 31st of December 2020. Fashionably late just like her momma… Definitely the best way to end the year and now NYE is my fave holiday ever because I had the best gift. 

Please share your best and worst experiences from 2020.

Bisous…xxx