"There Is Life Outside Ikorodu" – Simisanya Reveals How Leaving Changed Her Mindset

"There Is Life Outside Ikorodu" – Simisanya Reveals How Leaving Changed Her Mindset

Speaking on the With Chude Podcast, the influencer, also known as Simi Sanya, recalled how seeing someone drive a Benz while living in Ikorodu could seem like a big deal. "It's not just about leaving Ikorodu to the island, just living Ikorodu in general, because around you won't see a lot of people driving Benz.

And then, I mean now it's different, but then if somebody's driving a Benz, you'd be like, 'ah.' But then on the island, people are driving Ferraris," she said.

The contrast, she explained, forced her to raise her standard of what was possible. She explained that exposure to other environments can make people realise that they can aspire to more. "They're driving, like your mind, you need to see other places, how things are done for your mind to be open, to be receptive to what God has in store for you," she said.

Her point landed as both a personal testimony and a class story Lagos already knows too well, with some listeners hearing a call to expand vision and others hearing a familiar slight against Ikorodu.

Simisanya also spoke about how her family would be cautious about wearing expensive jewellery because of security concerns. "Because some days you just be like, Oh, we're wearing gold, let's take it off. My mom, until she's approaching the party, she won't wear the gold, so they will not..."

She said seeing people openly wear jewellery worth millions on the Island further changed her perspective. "But on the island, people are wearing diamonds, costing millions.

Like we need to see that there's life outside of there." She added that while the fear of being monitored for wearing gold is real, the experience ultimately helped her move beyond a limited mindset. "Well, it's not a lie. The fear is there.

People can actually monitor you because you're wearing small gold. Unlike on the island, people wear gold costing millions, and nobody cares. So, like, I just needed my mindset to shift from that small, you need to be something more.

Yes, bigger." Her point landed as both a personal testimony and a class story Lagos already knows too well. Simisanya framed the move as spiritual as much as social. Exposure, in her telling, was not only about cars and diamonds. It was about training the mind to receive more than the first version of success it grew up applauding.

Her comments have sparked debate about class, exposure, and how Lagos neighbourhoods shape ambition, with many sharing their own experiences of how leaving their comfort zones changed their lives.