Covered in a stream of sweat as he made for the narrow
entrance leading outside the block, Okoli Nwabueze (not real name), cursed and
grumbled angrily. He was deep in slumber by the time the fan in his room
stopped rolling that afternoon and so couldn’t make it out on time to enjoy
cool, ‘precious’ breeze. Lacking proper ventilation, electricity supply was the
only means to keep the temperature within the room normal. Last year, when he
paid N140, 000 as rent and related charges for 12 months to move into Agboye
‘Estate’, a gigantic structure with over 500 rooms stretching on about four
plots of land on Oduntan Street, Ketu, Lagos, this was not what he expected.
The situation leaves him deeply frustrated.