Every day essential items that the average Nigerian tech enthusiast should own.

Since time immemorial, humans have been going about with an Every Day Carry (EDC).

Basically, an EDC is that item/group of items apart from clothing that you just do not leave the house without. Although the term is new, the practice has been around since forever. From the Stone Age man that carted around a club, to cowboys of the Americas with their pistols and hats and soldiers with their guns etc. Bringing it home, our forefathers with their machetes and hoes for farming (not that type of hoe..get your minds out that gutter) to Banky W with the assortment of hats..etc. You get the gist right?

Fast forward to 2017, where the modern day smartphone is slowly but surely edging out the wallet as the number one everyday essential, although, EDC’s may vary according to individual, when it comes to carting about smartphones, we might as well all be the same individual.

What irks me though, is that as far as far as smartphones and tech go, there still exists that working/studying guy or girl that goes around with the smartphone but not with items or group of items that compliment/accentuate said smartphone. I know, someone somewhere reading this is probably thinking “wetin this one dey on about again”, but seriously, if you have not already done so, adopt a couple items from this list and you’d sooner realize how you ever survived without them.

Earpiece: this can be sub divided into the Bluetooth earpiece and Bluetooth headphones which also run on batteries and can be juiced up with your Power bank. The earpiece or the likes can be useful when you want to drown out the surrounding noise cities like Lagos are famous for. Then there is the case of that guy or girl who absolutely has to entertain a phone call or two while driving. Like drinking and driving, I do not encourage driving and being on the phone, but if you must, go hands free.

Portable Bluetooth speakers: like a friend once told me, we are all audiophiles; it is just the genre of music that divides us. Seeing as our smartphones are Bluetooth enabled and also double as music players, I implore you, grab yourself a portable BT speaker (they come as low as NGN5k) after a month or two of usage, you’d wonder how you ever carried on without them.

PC: let’s see. It’s a damn computer. Its versatility knows no bounds. But I get it. They don’t come cheap. Especially the really good ones, and like I always say, why settle for less when you can save for the best. So you get a pass if you don’t own a PC…but try getting one.

Storage device: this comes in the form of external hard drives or USB thumb/flash drives. Let me just say real quick, It is completely understandable not owning a PC/computer or Laptop, but any grown individual that does not own any one of the listed forms of storage should open a GoFundMe account to get one.

Power Bank: seriously, I cannot emphasize enough how essential this piece of tech is? Despite it being 2017, we still sadly live in a Nigeria where power is anything but stable. Some areas cannot even boast of 4hrs of constant power. Therefore, a power bank comes absolutely handy when you need to juice up your phone on the go, mobile wifi or 1, 2 and 3 on this list.

Back pack or a sizable handbag for the women: Naturally, all the above items will fit comfortably inside a back pack. Gone are them days when it was only school boys and girls that carried backpacks. We live in a 2017 where back packs are not just for lugging about books and a laptop, but are also something of a fashion statement. My back pack of choice? i know, some may say having a car negates the need of a back pack but i disagree. A back pack does not just keep things organized, it makes it so you can grab and go at a moments notice...plus, your back pack can follow you through rough terrain, i'd like to see a Lexus IS350 do that.

There are other things I could throw in but they may or may not be specific to me and my needs. Stuff like sun glasses, a note pad for jotting down ideas, a tab/iPad and a DSLR are my essentials. But those aside, try to invest in a number of the items on this list if you have not already done so and see how they can serve to make the Naija struggle a little more bearable.. Annnndddd NEPA PHCN just carry light..damn you satan!