Nigeria, June 4 -- I noticed his accent. This guy must be from Ondo State. I have a keen ear for accents from all over Nigeria and even beyond. But I usually like to engage folks from my end of the woods in Lagos, and to find out about their journeys so far.

Of course he is from Ondo town proper, he told me. I joked with him about how lucky he was that he wasn't given the Number 11 tribal marks that is indigenous to Ondo town - apart from the love for 404 (go figure). He laughed as he shook his head, rejecting the suggestion that his face be carved up like they used to do in times past. I glanced at his rather handsome 'yellow' face, imagining how the tribal marks would have sat. I then asked why - like me - he abandoned Ondo State for L...