Day in the Life of a Lagos Forex Trader: From Charts to NEPA ⚡

What's good, fam! 👋

Tunde here, and today I'm taking you behind the scenes of what it's REALLY like being a full-time forex trader in Lagos. No Instagram highlights, no fake flex—just the raw, unfiltered truth of trading in the most vibrant (and chaotic) city in Africa! 🇳🇬

Grab your coffee (or zobo, no judgment here), and let's dive into my typical Tuesday! ☕

4:30 AM - The Early Bird Catches the Pips 🐦

My alarm goes off at 4:30 AM sharp. Yeah, I know what you're thinking—"Guy, you dey craze?" But hear me out!

The London session opens at 8 AM Nigerian time, and I need those extra hours to:

• Check overnight news from the US

• Review my trading plan

• Mentally prepare for the day ahead

• Most importantly... PRAY that NEPA doesn't disappoint me today! 🙏

Real talk: I've learned that successful trading in Lagos requires two things—skill and backup power. The market doesn't care if Ikeja Electric decides to "take light" during the New York session!

5:00 AM - The Morning Ritual 📊

I stumble to my home office (okay, it's my bedroom corner, but we're calling it an office). My setup is simple but effective:

• Dell laptop (bought with my first profitable month's earnings!)

• Two monitors (one for charts, one for news)

• Inverter battery at 100% ✅

• Generator on standby (just in case) ⛽

• Trading journal beside me

First thing I do? Check if my overnight swing trades are still alive. Yesterday I left a GBP/USD position open, and with Brexit news... let's just say my heart was doing acrobatics!

Update: +45 pips! We move! 💪

6:00 AM - Market Analysis Time 🔍

This is where the magic happens. I pull up my charts and start my analysis:

EUR/USD: Looking bearish after yesterday's ECB comments. My bias is short if we break 1.0850 GBP/JPY: Ranging between 180.50 and 181.20. Perfect for my scalping strategy

USD/NGN: sigh Our naira is doing naira things again

I spend about 45 minutes marking key levels, checking economic calendar, and setting alerts. My phone is buzzing with messages from my FT9ja trading group—everyone sharing their morning setups.

Pro tip: Having a community of serious traders keeps you accountable. Iron sharpens iron! 🔥

7:30 AM - Breakfast and Family Time 🍳

Trading is important, but family is everything. I help my wife prepare breakfast (yes, I can fry plantain, judge your father! 😂) while discussing the day's plan.

"Honey, I might be busy between 2-4 PM today. NFP data is coming out."

She just smiles. After two years of marriage, she knows that "NFP" means "Do not disturb Tunde unless the house is on fire."

My 3-year-old daughter climbs on my lap, trying to "help" daddy trade. She presses random keys and declares, "Daddy, I buy dollar!"

If only it were that simple, princess. If only. 👶

8:00 AM - London Session Opens 🇬🇧

Here we go! The real work begins. I'm at my desk with my coffee, charts loaded, and my trading plan in front of me.

8:15 AM: EUR/USD breaks my level! I'm short with 1% risk, targeting 1.0800. Risk management first, profits second!

8:45 AM: Price is moving in my favor. I move my stop to breakeven. Rule number one: Protect your capital!

9:30 AM: +32 pips and counting. I'm taking partial profits here. Why? Because I've learned that "pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered."

Suddenly... silence. The fan stops. The AC dies. My UPS starts beeping.

NEPA has entered the chat. 🤬

9:35 AM - The Lagos Trader's Greatest Enemy ⚡

Power is out. But am I panicking? Nah fam, I've been here before!

My inverter kicks in seamlessly. My internet is still running on my phone's hotspot. My trades are still active. This is why preparation is everything in Lagos!

I quickly check my positions:

• EUR/USD: Still running +28 pips

• GBP/JPY: Hit my stop loss for -15 pips

• Overall: +13 pips for the morning

Not bad for a Tuesday morning with NEPA drama! 💡

11:00 AM - Mid-Morning Strategy Session 📱

Power is back! (Classic NEPA—gone for 1 hour, back for 2 hours). I use this time to:

• Update my trading journal

• Review my morning trades

• Prepare for the New York session

• Check my WhatsApp messages (my mom sent me a voice note asking if I'm still "playing with those computer numbers" 😂)
  

I also take time to mentor two junior traders from the FT9ja program. They're struggling with discipline, so I share my biggest lesson:

"The market will always be there tomorrow. Your capital might not be."

12:30 PM - Lunch Break (With a Side of Market Monitoring) 🍚

Nigerian jollof rice with chicken (the best fuel for trading, fight me!). But even during lunch, I'm monitoring the market with one eye. The GBP is showing weakness after some political news. I'm setting alerts for potential trades during the NY session.

My wife asks, "Can you stop checking your phone during lunch?"

I show her my phone: "+67 pips for the day so far."

She smiles and says, "Check away, honey. Check away." 💰

2:00 PM - New York Session Madness 🗽

The US session is where things get spicy! NFP data is coming out in 30 minutes, and I can feel the volatility building.

1:55 PM: All positions closed. I'm flat before the news. Why? Because I've learned that trading news is like riding okada in Lagos traffic—exciting but dangerous!

2:30 PM: NFP beats expectations! USD is flying. I'm looking for pullbacks to enter long positions.

2:45 PM: USD/CAD gives me a perfect setup. I'm long with tight risk management.

3:15 PM: +41 pips! I'm taking profits and calling it a day. My daily target is met, and I know when to stop.

4:00 PM - The Afternoon Reflection 📝

Trading day is over, but the work continues. I spend 30 minutes updating my trading journal:

• Trades taken: 5

• Winning trades: 3

• Losing trades: 2

• Net profit: +89 pips

• Key lessons: Patience paid off, risk management saved me during NEPA outage

This journal has been my secret weapon. It helps me identify patterns, improve my strategy, and stay accountable.

5:30 PM - Lagos Traffic and Mobile Trading 🚗

Time to pick up my wife from work. Lagos traffic is doing Lagos traffic things, so I'm stuck on Third Mainland Bridge for 45 minutes.

But guess what? I'm monitoring the markets on my phone. Not trading (that's dangerous in traffic), just observing. The Asian session is starting, and I'm noting potential setups for tomorrow.

A trader's work is never done! 📱

7:00 PM - Evening Wind Down 🌅

We're home, and I'm officially done with active trading. But I still have evening tasks:

• Review global market news

• Check my prop firm dashboard

• Plan tomorrow's trading session

• Respond to messages from my trading mentees

I also spend time with family. Trading success means nothing if you lose the people you love in the process.

9:00 PM - The Lagos Trader's Nightcap 🌙

Before bed, I do a final market check:

• Asian session opening levels noted

• Economic calendar reviewed for tomorrow

• Trading plan for Wednesday drafted

• Phone on silent (the market will survive without me for 7 hours!)

I also take a moment to be grateful. Two years ago, I was a banker earning 150k monthly and hating my life. Today, I'm a profitable trader, working from home, and building wealth on my own terms.

The journey hasn't been easy. I've blown accounts, lost money, and questioned my sanity. But with proper education, discipline, and a community like FT9ja, I've built something sustainable.

The Real Talk Section 💯

Here's what today's vlog doesn't show you:

• The months of losses before becoming profitable

• The stress of learning risk management the hard way

• The discipline required to stick to your strategy

• The mental strength needed to handle losing streaks

• The importance of having backup plans for NEPA! 😂
  

Trading in Lagos is unique because:

• We deal with infrastructure challenges

• We trade during unconventional hours

• We manage currency risk (naira to dollar)

• We need strong mental game for the chaos

• We must be more prepared than traders elsewhere
  

Tomorrow's Plan 📅

Wednesday looks promising:

• Australian inflation data at 2:30 AM

• European PMI data at 9:00 AM

• US retail sales at 3:30 PM

My bias is long AUD/USD if inflation comes in hot, and short EUR/GBP if PMI disappoints. But as always, I'll wait for my setups and trade my plan.

The Bottom Line 🎯

Being a forex trader in Lagos is like being a warrior in paradise—challenging but rewarding. The infrastructure fights you, the timezone works against you, but the opportunities are endless.

Success requires:

• Skill (continuous learning)

• Discipline (stick to your plan)

• Patience (wait for your setups)

• Preparation (backup everything!)

• Community (surround yourself with winners)

If you're thinking about full-time trading, remember: it's not about the lifestyle posts on Instagram. It's about the daily grind, the discipline, and the commitment to excellence.

To my fellow Nigerian traders: We're building something special in this city. Let's keep pushing, keep learning, and keep proving that geographical location doesn't determine financial destination!

Want to join our community of serious Nigeria traders? Check out FT9ja's prop trading program where we turn dreamers into professional traders. No shortcuts—just pure skill development! 🏆

What's your biggest challenge as a trader in Nigeria? Drop it in the comments! 👇

Follow @FT9jaHQ on instagram for more real-life trading content from the heart of Lagos!