Lagos is a city of hustle. The traffic alone is a full-time job. But tucked inside that chaos is a growing group of people who technically work from home—or wherever NEPA allows. Here are 10 types of remote workers you will definitely recognise in Lagos.
1. The Full-Time Tourist
A week ago, they were on a rooftop in Victoria Island. Now, they’re posting stories from Paris with a croissant and a MacBook in frame. When you ask what they do for a living, they say, “I live.” They’ve cracked the actual remote work code, and they are not sorry about it.
2. The Lagos Vampire
These ones live in Lagos, but their company is 5+ hours behind, so night becomes their daytime. You’ll see them replying to emails at 2:17 AM and replying to your chats with “just waking up” at 1:00 PM when the rest of the city is about to close for the day. Their body is physically in Lagos, but their spirit and clock are in New York or London.
3. The Employee-CEO
The remote job is not the dream. It’s the venture capital. They claim to be at work, but their browser tabs are split 40:2, two for the actual job. The rest is for the skincare brand, thrift page, or the “almost ready to launch” startup they are building on company time. They may be an employee to you, but to others, a CEO.
4. The Ghost
Technically part of the team, but spiritually offline. You know they work there only because HR said so. You’ll send them a Slack message on Monday and get a reply after three working days, if at all. The only time you actually see them is at the team hangout, where they are somehow warm, funny, and completely present. There are rumors—maybe they know the founder, maybe their father is an investor, or they own some equity in the company. Nobody knows for sure. What everyone knows is that their name does not come up in restructuring conversations, and it never will.
5. The Chef
Remote work unlocked something in these ones. They have suddenly become a Michelin-starred chef from all the extra time their remote job seems to give them. You’ll hear frying in the background of their calls and casual debates about whether prosecco is better than Moscato. While you’re surviving on biscuits at your desk, they are plating a three-course lunch at home on a random Tuesday.
6. The Non-Remote-Remote Worker
Technically remote, but practically stressed. You’ll see them dressed up at the bus stop by 8:00 AM but they aren’t going to an office, they’re just hunting for a place with a stable power and a functional environment. Between buying “black market” fuel and topping up data subscriptions every three days, half their salary is gone before the month ends. May Nigeria not happen to your deadlines!
7. The Outsider
Nobody knows when this one sleeps. They are always outside—a friend’s hangout, a new club, or a rave in a strange location that doesn’t come up on Google Maps—but somehow they make the morning meetings. Their bed has become their office, and they always find an excuse to turn off their camera. Everything about them looks unserious, but somehow they get the job done.
8. The 24/7 Remote Worker
Remote work was supposed to give them freedom, but somehow their job has become their entire personality. They’re replying to Slack messages at 1:00 AM and sending emails at the club, and if you see them at an Owambe on Saturday, don’t be surprised when they step outside to take a strategy call in the car park. Their phone has never been on Do Not Disturb. Not once. If you ask them about it, they’ll say they love what they do. Maybe they do. But somewhere deep down, everyone is a little concerned.
9. The Cafe-Based Creative Director
Why work from home when Lagos has cafés with lounge chairs and that abroad vibe? These ones know exactly which spots won’t embarrass them with generator noise mid-call. They’ll order one latte, ask for the Wi-Fi password, and sit in the same spot for five hours like they pay rent for the building. Nobody really understands what they do—and neither do they—but one thing is certain: the “Working Hard” selfie will definitely make it to their Instagram story before they leave.
10. The Jack of All Remote, Master of None
This person is working for a fintech company in Lagos, a SaaS startup in Estonia, and a crypto brand in the US—all at the same time. Their desk looks like a NASA control center with three different laptops and four monitors. One day, they’ll accidentally send a “How far?” message meant for their Lagos colleague to a CEO in San Francisco. It’s pure adrenaline and high blood pressure, but the multiple streams of income are screaming, “Oblee!”
If you’re a remote worker in a city like Lagos, you definitely know where you fall in these categories. No shade oh! We see you.
