WELCOME TO OWERRI CITY
Where hotels and gas stations outnumber people and traffic exists in plates.
Welcome to Owerri, the city where every building is either a hotel, a lounge, or thinking of becoming one.
Owerri má ụzọ́ ije!
Let me warn you first. You don’t visit Owerri. Owerri visits you.
And when it does, it enters your bloodstream like chilled palm wine. Slowly. Sweetly. Permanently.
Let me paint you a picture.
You arrive at 6:45pm, thinking you’ll book a room and crash.
But at 7pm, every single hotel in the city has turned into Noah’s Ark- packed to capacity.
Is there a conference of all tribes here or y’all just allergic to your own houses?
I mean, who are all these people? Do they live here?
Are they visiting?
Is there a secret tourism board promoting Hotel Hopping as a lifestyle?
Let me burst your bubble. Some Owerri residents legit live in hotels like it’s a lifestyle package from Airbnb Deluxe.
A new form of real estate- Owerri style!
And let’s talk about the hospitality industry.
If you sneeze in Owerri, a hotel manager appears beside you with a towel, room key, and a welcome drink. The hospitality game here is not just booming; it’s exploding.
With hotels sprouting like mushrooms after rain and fuel stations competing like they’re in a Formula 1 race, this city is busy in a Porsche kind of way.
Smooth. Glossy. Luxury-laced.
Yet chaotic enough to remind you you’re still in Nigeria.
Now don’t get me started on the people.
Owerri is a whole runway show.
The Girls? Finer than your phone camera can capture.
My friend, don’t even try to compete.
You came with your cute braid?
Owerri Girls come with 30 inches of Peruvian hair, lashes so long they create breeze when they blink, and a waist snatched by the gods.
The guys? Steadily dripping like they walked straight out of a fashion magazine.
Fresh cuts. Designer shirts. Smelling like intentionality.
Never caught unfresh.
The swag here has GPS and it doesn’t miss.
Unlike some Nigerian cities (no shade 😏), Owerri doesn’t have too many agberos.
I noticed.
The area boys here probably run forex businesses, or whatever keeps them busy at night and get them sleeping in the morning.
Respectfully chaotic, but in a well-dressed way.
Let’s come to the crown jewel- Owerri soup!
Owerri knows the way to cruise life. They know how to “chop life”
You’d visit Owerri and before you leave, you’d understand the meaning of that song, “Ónyé nà ejighi égó, ọ̀ nà eri ófé Owerri?”
If you haven’t had oha soup from an Owerri native, I hate to break it to you, you’ve been playing yourself.
Owerri soup is not soup, it’s traffic in a bowl.
So rich, you’ll start calculating your net worth immediately after gulping in the first roll of eba.
Goat meat? Check.
Snail? Double check.
Dried fish, stockfish, periwinkle, and vibes? Unlimited!
Each plate is a whole festival, not a meal.
Let’s not even start with the city’s nightlife.
From Monday to Sunday, this city is either hosting something or preparing to host something.
Clubs, lounges, rooftops- full every night.
No recession. No depression. Just DJ mixes and soft life goals.
Owerri may not be your home, but after one weekend, you’ll be making inquiries about land.
It’s that kind of place.
So, if you’re looking for a city that feels like a mix of Port Harcourt’s boldness and Abuja’s ‘soft life’, blended with the heart of Igbo culture, then welcome to Owerri.
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My name is Marapeace Amara Austine
