29, Single & Nigerian by Naijasinglegirl

The book 29, Single & Nigerian by Naijasinglegirl follows the turbulent journey of Edikan, a young woman who is described as naïve, materialistic, thirsty, and bordering on delusional. Despite growing up in abject poverty, Edikan is completely unprepared for the realities of adulthood, and the novel serves as a hilarious yet poignant look at the trials of unemployment, societal pressure to marry, and the patriarchal systems in Nigeria that define a woman’s worth by her relationship status.

The Prologue: A Bitter 27th Birthday

The story opens at Casabella, a high-end restaurant in Calabar, where Edikan’s friends Bibi, Nkechi, and Amanda have organized a dinner for her 27th birthday. Edikan is in a sour mood, reflecting that birthdays are merely markers of moving closer to death rather than events to celebrate. Her friends are preoccupied with their upcoming National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) postings; Bibi has been posted to Lagos, Amanda to Benue, and Edikan eventually discovers she is destined for Anambra State.

During the dinner, Edikan’s best friend Bibi nicknamed “Kim K” for her hourglass figure is the center of attention, while Edikan feels like a “friend by association” to the others. Bibi notes that the only thing missing from the celebration is the “boyfriend Edikan has never had,” highlighting Edikan’s long-standing status as a single woman.

The NYSC Camp Experience: Anambra

Edikan’s journey to the NYSC camp at Union Secondary School, Umunya, begins with a grueling bus ride where she meets Etim, an arrogant law graduate from a UK university who constantly belittles Nigerian institutions. Upon arriving at the camp, Edikan is greeted by a gaping gully and sticky red earth, which immediately ruins her suitcase and shoes.

The camp experience is characterized by extreme hardship: non-flowing boreholes, a lack of electricity, and oversized uniforms. Edikan meets Nathan, a charming and handsome corps member who helps her navigate the chaotic registration process. She quickly becomes infatuated with him, imagining him as her potential “Mr. Right”. However, the harsh reality of camp life sets in, with Edikan being punished with fifty frog jumps by a no-nonsense soldier for laughing during aerobics.

While in camp, Edikan’s obsession with redeploying to Lagos intensifies. She had originally hoped to serve in Lagos to stay with Bibi and jumpstart a career in the “city of dreams”. Her father, a strict disciplinarian, had forbidden her from using a fake medical report (claiming asthma) to influence her posting, telling her she was “stupid” and “an idiot” for considering it.

Flashbacks: A Childhood of Poverty and Toil

Throughout her time in camp, Edikan experiences vivid memories of her childhood in Ikot Ekpene. Her family fell into abject poverty when her father, a formerly successful cocoa farmer, lost his plantation to a bank loan. At age nine, Edikan was sent to live with her Aunty Agnes in Obotidim to serve as a house girl in exchange for her school fees.

Aunty Agnes was a terrifying, religious fanatic and a respected teacher who subjected Edikan to a life of grueling labor. Edikan’s days began at 3:30 AM, making one hundred and ten fish rolls for Agnes to sell at the school canteen. Her diet consisted of “coloured water” beverage and dry bread, while she was forced to carry heavy pails of fish rolls on her head to school.

During these years, Edikan was bullied as the “buns girl” and lived in constant fear of Agnes’s physical abuse. One traumatic incident involved Ekarika, the landlady’s crippled grandson. After being intrigued by Ekarika’s nudity, Edikan was later falsely accused of offering him a fish roll in exchange for sexual contact. Agnes beat her until she gave a forced confession, a moment that further entrenched Edikan’s fear of the opposite sex.

The Trauma of Austin and the Grandville

The source of Edikan’s deep-seated distrust of men and her “secondary virginity” is revealed in her memories of Austin, whom she met at a university prep class. Austin was the son of Chief Lehi, one of the richest men in Calabar, and lived in a mansion known as the Grandville.

On her 20th birthday, Austin lured Edikan to his bedroom under the guise of giving her a tour and a gift of seven novels. Once they were alone, his demeanor changed from a “Mr. Nice Guy” to a predator. He forcefully kissed her and then sexually assaulted her, ignoring her screams for help. He justified his actions by telling her that his brothers also did this to girls and that the walls were soundproof. After the assault, Austin threw money at her to replace her torn blouse and slapped her, calling her a “slimy bitch”. His brother, Mike, threatened her with acid if she told anyone what happened. This trauma caused Edikan to withdraw from society and remain single for nearly a decade.

The Redeployment Scam and the Enugu Detour

At the end of the NYSC camp, Edikan is devastated to learn she has been posted to a girls’ school in Onitsha, not Lagos. Desperate, she pays ₦25,000 to a man named Dele who promises to influence her redeployment to Lagos. Instead, she is scammed and finds herself redeployed to Enugu.

In Enugu, Edikan faces homelessness and meets two men named Chuka. The first is a banker who makes inappropriate sexual remarks. The second is a contractor who offers her a place to stay in his “secret abode”. Edikan takes the risk and stays with him, only to discover he is married with a one-year-old son and is younger than her. When he attempts to initiate a sexual relationship, Edikan flees his house and eventually completes her service year as a literature teacher in Enugu.

Part Two: The Lagos Hustle

After finishing her NYSC, Edikan finally makes it to Lagos, staying with Bibi’s father in Ikotun. She begins an exhaustive and often demoralizing job hunt. She falls for a CV rewriting scam, paying ₦5,000 for a resume that yields no results.

Edikan teams up with Kemi, a fellow job hunter she met at an aptitude test, to gate-crash companies on the Island and submit their resumes. They face constant rejection, with receptionists and security guards often treating them with disdain. Edikan’s desperation grows as she realizes that “everybody in Lagos is looking for a job” and many vacancies specify an age limit of 26 and below, making her feel like “old cargo” at 28.

During this period, she meets Osarieme, a friend of Bibi’s boyfriend Hakeem. Osarieme is wealthy but arrogant, stating he wants a “submissive lady” he can mould like clay and that he would only marry a woman who gets pregnant for him first. Edikan finds him “bossy” and chooses not to pursue a relationship.

George Franklin: The High-Flying Side Chick

Edikan’s life takes a dramatic turn when she takes a one-day contract job delivering modems for a company called Hynet. One of her deliveries is to George Franklin, the handsome and “stinking rich” CEO of BLG, a top Nigerian tech company. George is impressed by her and gives her a large tip.

Edikan becomes obsessed with George, stalking his Facebook and eventually attending a tech seminar he hosts at Four Points Hotel. She manages to reintroduce herself, and George invites her to his office and then his home in Lekki.

What follows is a whirlwind of luxury and sexual awakening. George flies her business class to Calabar for her birthday and sends her large sums of money. Edikan, who has lived in fear of sex since the Austin incident, decides to risk a relationship with George and loses her “secondary virginity” to him. However, she soon discovers the relationship is strictly about sex; George refers to her as “homely” (which she interprets as unattractive) and admits to wanting threesomes.

The illusion shatters when Edikan returns to George’s house to retrieve a forgotten phone and finds him cleaning up the kitchen to hide her presence from his fiancée, who had been visiting from the US. George bluntly informs her that he has been in a seven-year committed relationship and never intended to marry her. He insults her by suggesting that the ₦300,000 he sent her was a “payoff” for the sex they had.

Spiritual Redemption and the Birth of a Bestseller

Broken and spiraling into Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Edikan is found by Ifeanyi, a man she had briefly met on a bus and initially ignored. Ifeanyi, a devout Christian, encourages her to turn to God and invites her to his church, Faith Assembly. Edikan has a profound spiritual experience, rededicating her life to Christ and finding the strength to move on from George.

During their time together, Ifeanyi reads Edikan’s diary and is struck by its beauty and relatability. He convinces her to publish her story, arguing that her experiences from poverty to heartbreak would resonate with many. Edikan uses the money George gave her to hire a writer, Ejiro, to help her polish her manuscript.

Despite facing rejection from traditional publishers, she applies for a youth verification scheme with Zegbua Publishers. The head of the panel, Mrs. Tope Williams, is initially harsh but ultimately sees the potential in Edikan’s “weird” and honest writing.

The Epilogue: 30 and Successful

The novel concludes on Edikan’s 30th birthday. Her book, 29, Single & Nigerian, has become a massive success, selling one hundred thousand copies and leading to television interviews and a nationwide promotional tour. Edikan is now financially independent, living in an apartment in Ikoyi and owning her own car.

She is in a loving and supportive relationship with Ifeanyi, who throws her a surprise birthday party at the Oriental Hotel. Although her mother still laments that being 30 and single is “not something to be proud of,” Edikan has found fulfillment. The book ends on a realistic note, showing Edikan reading harsh social media comments on a blog post about her party, but she is no longer defined by them. She has transformed her trials into a legacy, proving that adulthood is about more than just finding a man it is about finding oneself.