RETAIL THERAPY

  I can  hear  the  rhythm again.... The  slow rhythmic melody almost hypnotic like  the  Piper belting out  tunes so wanton... so  bewitching ...causing my  resolute  to  slowly  ebb  away and in my  head I moved  to  the sound with  snake - like  precision, slithering from side  to  side .
        THEN!  all  of  a sudden!! The  tempo quickened.... Pulsating, palpitating almost like  War-chant and in  my  head  still,  I made  movements like  a Roman warrior ,the forth and  back movements of  Abija in  the  Arelu series.... Prancing  as swift as  a cheetah  yet as  elegant as  a gazelle.
The sudden  halt  of  the car snapped  me  out  of  the  trance.

This  is Balogun  market in  Lagos  island, my second visit  this  week yet the  rhythm keeps luring me  back to  this place, propelling me to  indulge myself.

Hello  people, I'm  iyale  Onkan and  I'm a shopaholic ....well not entirely Compulsive Buying Disorder  but  I need  occasional(more like regular) fix of retail  therapy to  validate  my  sanity.

When I'm bored  I shop, when I'm  happy  I shop, when  I'm sad I shop, when  I need  to clear  my  head  I shop.... Heck! When  I'm  broke I shop! . It  could be  clothing,accessories,cosmetics ,groceries  even  gadgets as long  as  I'm  sha  shopping.

The thing is ,I'm  a shopping whore I bend anyway.... more like  a contortionist when  it  comes to  shopping. From the Oxford street in  London to  Bole  road in  Addis  Abba  to  flea  markets  in  Maputo  even Harrods store on Brompton road ( sebi  window  shopping counts?)  to  balogun market  and  all  those places  I cannot mention  ( because  of  my  star  ratings). Just  loose me in  any shopping  mall and  I'm in  the seventh  heaven.

 Oxford street 

Of all  these shopping  destinations, Balogun  market hold  the  most sentimental  bond. The market  that sprawls over a dozen of  streets in the  lagos  Island is my  first  shopping  love, our  romantic  dalliance dated  more  than  two decades...... The market paved  way for  my  shopping  addiction,it embraced, nurtured,fuelled and  honed my  thirst  for all  things  buy -able, regardless  of  my  propensity  to  spend at  the  age  of  8....the  market  patiently  nurtured  me.

 Balogun  Market 

This  post is  to  eulogize the  Theraptic power  of shopping..... An  ode  to  self  indulgence .
The bright , glistening lights , the  merchandise, the mannequins whispering my  name  seductively.... "Iyale  Onkan".... "Iyale  onkan" ....

Buying  could  be impulsive, premeditated or emotional /duress, /blackmail (most  times all those ugly Aso-ebi)  but  no one  can  deny the  sense  of  accomplishment You  feel each  time you  make  those  purchases.... the  rewarding  experience?......."Babanla" Morale  booster .
The  satisfaction you  get  from  shopping  could  be  skin  deep, momentarily to life  changing /saving  but  the  key  word  here  is  SATISFACTION........
                        (To  be  continued.......)