14. Nearly All the Men in Lagos are Mad by Damilare Kuku

It’s Valentine’s week.The air feels heavier; perfumed with roses, promises, and the soft illusion of forever.For lovers, it’s candlelight dinners. Sweet nothings. Slow kisses. Grand gestures. For singles, it’s quieter. A glass of wine. A brave smile. A little self-love. A little jealousy. A stubborn, flickering hope that maybe , just maybe, next year will be different.And then there’s us. The ones who live in the in-between. Not single. Not taken. Not safe enough to relax. Not free enough to walk away. The almosts. The maybes. The “what are we?” at 3 a.m. And it’s not just dating. It’s the couples, the marriages, the long-term commitments that feel like prisons. The partners who are emotionally unavailable, manipulative, or wrapped in lies. The ones who look like stability until you scratch the surface and find chaos.You’re with someone yet you’re never sure you have them. Every message feels like a riddle. Every silence screams warnings. Every “I’m busy” is a story you’re not allowed to hear. So you question everything. Their words. Their tone. Their touch. Their texts, late replies or lack of. Because loving them feels less like romance and more like solving a mystery. Are you single? Dating? Married? Or drowning in a situationship (and not the good kind like Heated Rivalry)? These days relationships are wilder than ever. People arrive polished ; charming smiles, perfect bios, intoxicating energy. They say all the right things. Do all the right things. Until the other shoe drops. And suddenly the red flags are fireworks. You discover the chaos beneath the charm. The beautiful disaster. The kind of madness that makes you question your own sanity.And somehow, somehow, they look you in the eye and convince you that you’re the problem for not “understanding” their baggage, their history, their “quirks.” Gaslighting but make it romantic. Desire tangled with confusion. Passion flirting with heartbreak.In this anthology, we step into those shadows. We unravel the messy, electric, sometimes reckless relationships of Nigerians. Stories that are raw, intimate, and dangerously familiar.But don’t be fooled. This isn’t just Lagos. This isn’t just Nigeria. This is global, modern love at its finest. This is you, or someone you almost loved. So listen closely. Fair warning though; this isn't sweet. It’s heated. It’s messy. It’s a little sinful, spicy. Definitely R-rated. Headphones on. Lights low. Heart open. Cue the madness!!P.S. If this sounds like your kind of trouble, start with Episode 2: Sinners, where I explored the equally wild, equally tender dating lives of Kenyan women. Because apparently… love has the same madness in every language.