Social Entrepreneurship and Life in Nigeria

So why did you chose to come to Lagos?

I have been asked this question countless times, and the only way I can explain it is that Nigeria intrigues me.

On more than one occasion I was told there are much "easier" places for me to go to volunteer my time. I was warned about of the violence in the Niger Delta, the corrupt government, the corrupt police, the high crime rate, and the dangerous roads.

The funny thing is that in some twisted way this actually made it more attractive to me. 

When I started researching Nigeria one of the first pages I found was The Economist Liveability Ranking.

The Liveability Ranking is a 2007 study used to rank 132 cities in the world according to 40 indicators that included stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.  At the time I was splitting my time between Victoria and Vancouver, and was proud to see that Vancouver had made it to the top of the list.  Then I saw Lagos...3rd from the bottom!

My first reaction was that I should probably re-think my decision:
"Why would ANYBODY live in a place with such corruption and violence!?!"

But that quickly turned into curiousity:
"How do people live in a place with with such corruption and violence?"

I knew I had to find out for myself.