Foreigners visit or want to visit Nigeria for reasons best known to them but sadly, they usually get advice from people who have heard just a one-sided story about Nigeria.

People talk about Nigeria as a place they'll get killed or attacked immediately after they land at the Airport or walk the streets. It's never that bad.

A 50year old American woman said to me a couple of years ago, "I would like to visit my friend in Nigeria but I don't wanna get raped, Olamide." For a minute, I didn't know what to say to her.

There is only a possibility that as a foreigner, maybe with different skin color, you might seem like easy prey in some situations or beat-up parts of town but it's nowhere near a guarantee that it would happen!

Like I always tell people, Nigeria is not the sort of country where you'll want to come and wander about aimlessly, have an itinerary, or know someone trustworthy beforehand to act as a guide.

Like most mega cities with huge populations, we have the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Lagos is the grand humbler, no matter how rich you are, when you come to Lagos, you'll just be another statistic. Because whatever you have, there is someone just around the corner who has more than double what you have. You simply get dissolved into the population, unless of course if you're among the world's richest.

Stay in nice hotels and neighborhoods. Live close to the rich or upper middle class. The safety you would enjoy in those neighborhoods might even be better compared to where you're coming from.

Lagos has hundreds if not thousands of gated estates or communities. You're very safe if you're living in one of those, preferably on the Island, as they have private security around the clock.

Aside from the security, these places are occupied by the upper middle class to the very rich, violent crimes are quite rare.

Most of the crimes that take place in Lagos happen outside the home in isolated or beat-up parts of town, mostly while in transit. Hence you want to avoid night movement around such places.

You'll be safer if you drive a personal car or have a guide to take you about as you don't know the intention of random drivers, there are some drivers with bad intentions, not only for foreigners but Nigerians as well.

You may stay out late in affluent parts of town. This includes Victoria Island, Banana Island, Ikoyi, and parts of Lekki. I've been out in these places all night at clubs and bars for years and there has been no incident that made me fear for my life, but it could be a different story for you.

You can flash wealth by how you dress and with your high-end gadgets, you have no idea the amount of wealth there's in Lagos, just don't do so in poor neighborhoods as there's that one-off chance that someone might be interested in what you have.

Nigerians can be genuinely friendly and chatty, mostly if you're white. People would smile and hold casual conversations with you on the streets, my advice is to greet and move on, that causal conversation could easily turn into a business transaction where you'll be the product.

If you happen to get attacked or lose something valuable, just count your losses, our Police are not worth your time and resources.

Apart from dealing with the mad traffic and queues due to the huge population, Lagos used to be quite safe but Nigeria as a whole is at its lowest when it comes to safety.

But still, there are many foreigners here including whites who are living in relative safety and you can do the same as well if you're careful.

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