spray paint & school fees: childcare in abuja through my eyes as a street artist
so, here's the thing about being a street artist in abuja - you spend your days creating art on walls that'll probably be painted over next week, and your nights worrying about where your kid is while you're out there making ends meet. childcare costs in this city? let's just say it's more expensive than a good can of montana gold spray paint.
right now, the weather's doing that thing where it's hot enough to melt your spray cans but also randomly decides to dump rain on you when you're least expecting it. one minute you're sweating bullets under the sun, next minute you're scrambling to cover your artwork with a tarp while lightning splits the sky. honestly? kinda reminds me of parenting.
abuja's got some real mixed feelings about safety and cost of living. rent ain't cheap - we're talking like ₦1.2m annually for a decent 2-bedroom in asokoro, which is basically the 'artist-friendly' neighborhood where the galleries are. job market's a rollercoaster - either you're getting paid to paint some politician's mansion or you're hustling for small commissions on instagram. safety's... well, it depends which area you're in. asokoro's pretty chill, but try doing street art in wuse 2 and you might end up with a security detail following you around.
so childcare options...
the private schools will cost you ₦500k-₦2m annually per kid, depending how fancy you wanna go. these places have more security than some government buildings and teach everything from french to coding. but good luck getting your kid in if you're not connected - the waitlists are longer than a nigerian wedding reception line. then there's the informal arrangements - neighbors who watch kids for ₦5k-₦10k per day. this is where most of us street artists end up, because honestly, gotta pay for those spray cans somehow.
something a local warned me about: "those private schools? they'll take your money faster than a thief in traffic. make sure you read every line of that contract - they charge extra for everything from 'security maintenance' to 'air quality assurance'."
i heard this drunk advice at a bar last night: "man, just find one of those church-run schools. way cheaper, they feed the kids proper food instead of that processed stuff, and the teachers actually care. my cousin's kid learned how to fix generators there - practical skills, you know?"
your best bet as a street artist? probably one of these:
- find a fellow artist to share childcare duties (trading babysitting for art critiques)
- look into government schools - ₦20k-₦50k annually, but you'll need to navigate bureaucracy
- those community centers sometimes have after-school programs for ₦5k per month
oh, and if you ever get stuck, just know that calabar's only a short flight away. great street art scene there, and reportedly cheaper childcare. check out the abuja art community subreddit here.
something i overheard at the market: "that new montessori school? beautiful place, but they charge like you're sending your kid to harvard. my neighbor's kid went there for a year before they realized they could teach the same things at home with just internet and patience."
honestly, the whole childcare situation here is like trying to spray paint in a hurricane - expensive, chaotic, and you'll probably end up with more paint on yourself than on the canvas. but we make it work, right? here's a list of family-friendly spots in abuja.
for more local parenting tips.
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