A Letter From Nigeria, Where Coping With COVID-19 Entails Twitterstorms, Bullets, and Corruption

Once Again Nigerians Will Adapt to Whatever Their New Normal Becomes

We wake up on a March morning that feels shaken, the air suddenly colder, drained of one energy and infused with another. The numbers from Lagos have increased again. “We have to go now, this is getting serious,” I tell J., who is half asleep. We are alone in a friend’s flat in the small university town we visit for getaways, but it’s time to get back to Big City.

For weeks, all our friends have thought I’m over worrying, overreacting. We pack our things. On the way out of town, …