Where I Come From....🎵

🎵Where I come from everyone happy...🎵 (excerpt from WHERE I COME FROM BY Chronixx)

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Hello Queens & Kings, welcome to another blog post. Happy Black History Month!

In the little ‘About Me’ section on the main page of the blog, I mentioned that I was born in Nigeria. Nigeria is where I come from- it is my motherland and my fatherland. In this requested blog post I’ll talk about a view aspects of my homeland as I remember it and I’ll discuss the importance of reflecting on the past. I left Naija when I was 9 years old, I am now 18 years of age, so do keep in mind that the narration I’ll be giving is of the past and that too, from a child’s perspective. Also, keep in mind that Nigeria is a civilized country with amenities of most third world countries.

Ethnic groups

An ethnic group refers to a number of people that share a similar history and distinct cultures. In Nigeria, we have 250 ethnic groups and over 500 languages. We have 3 popular ethnic groups and languages- Yoruba, Hausa & Igbo also referred to as ‘WA-ZO-BIA’ which translates to “come” in all three languages respectively. Nigeria is made up of 36 states and capitals ( i use to know how to recite all of them lol- let me know if you want me to make a video recite them) Nigeria is geographically divided based on these three main groups: theWest is referred to as Yoruba land, the north is for the Hausa and the East is for Igbo (we don’t really acknowledge the south). My parents are from the north- my mom is from Gombe & my dad is from Taraba, they are both Wrukun and therefore I am Wrukun. But….. I believe I sometimes say that I am Yoruba because I was born in Lagos, a Yoruba land- my logic makes sense right? I think it does lol, won't you agree?

Community

I grew up in Badagry city in Lagos. The name of the place ‘Badagry’ comes from ‘ Bad agreement’ and this in honour of the bad agreement between white settlers and the natives of the land. Apparently, when the whites came there was a great conflict war and all- you know because they came to take over their land. I learnt this when I was at a palace visit with my school and we got to see Oba (king). In Nigeria we still hold true to our traditional system of governance to some extent- we have kings, who have palaces and communities which they oversee. My first best friend Lola, was of royal blood ( allegedly I might be also but let us not sweat it), her grandfather was one of the chiefs (royal advisor) to the Oba and so she would usually go over to the palace like every other weekend. On that very day of our school visit- while the rest of us sat on chairs provided for visitors, my good sis was seated on Oba's lap. Yup, that’s my best friend!

I was brought up in a University Village known as the ‘Nigerian French Language Village’ (NFLV). Now I know the stereotypical imagery that might come with the word village- you might think a vast land of bush and huts and maybe wild animals. No, at least not this village. I would like to add here though that Wild animals in Nigeria do not just roam around and live amongst human beings they are either in Zoos or Game Reserves. Back to NFLV- the place was established through a partnership between the Nigerian and French government- it hosted a university that had both Nigerian 7 french students, a secondary school, a primary school which I attended, a clinic, a couple of eateries, a bookshop, lots of offices & classrooms, a chapel, a mosque, Nuff things but most importantly it had 8 houses clustered together- this was my home, my community- all of these amenities were encapsulated by large walls & gates hence why it is referred to as a village. My house was directly behind my school.

When school was over me and the children that lived in the other houses (Lola was one of the children) spent most of our time together; we would have extra lessons on some days (it didn’t matter whether you needed the help or not our academic-focused parents ensured our excellence in school). If we finished lessons early or had none that evening we spent our time playing. Our playtime included us scripting plays and acting them out, our stories drove inspirations from movies and the themes revolved around: family, love, marriage and juju/obeah/sorcery (LOL). People have said that I am dramatic, if there is truth to that statement, this might be where it stems from. If we weren’t acting we were racing or just conversing. Our playtime ended when the large generator house in front of our yards started to roar, we’d then hurry to our houses. Now I can't tell you that this is the play routine of a typical Nigerian child but this was mine.

Food

Having been in the western world for a while, I have noticed that westerners have a great affinity for chicken. In Nigeria, I must say all meat is treated the same all that matters is how much you are willing to spend. My meals included: Rice (thanks to colonizers)Jollof Rice, Fried Rice (on special occasions), indomines and ‘the ones we eat with our hands’ - these are molded pudding-like food. They include: Semo/ Tuwo, Fufu, Tuwo shinkafa, Pounded Yam, Eba, Amala, They are eaten with vegetable sauces we call soup- ewedu, egusi soup, ogbono & many more. We also enjoy soaked garrie with peanuts(which we call ground nuts), akara & moi moi made from black head beans, suya (my personal favourite), I’ll stop here because the list is very extensive and cannot be exhausted.

Here is an image of POUNDED YAM & EGUSI SOUP

Fashion

The fashion scene included a blend of African print clothing as western clothing. African print was and is not a fashion item we wear on a ‘special’ occasion, it is worn all the time because every day is a special occasion. The African print in itself consists of designs that sometimes tell a story or display random things like mango or an intricate design. They are accentuated by vibrant colours. There are different types including wax print, Aso oke fabric, Adire (a type of tie & dye), Akwete and many more.

Modes of transportation

The modes of transportation to move around in the city included:

1. Cars(if you owned one)

2. Okadas- these are motorbikes, which have now been eradicated in Lagos. I was hit by one because I thought I could outrun it and get across the street.

3. Keke- these are cute minibuses that host a maximum of 4 individuals. I remember I was excited to ride in one when they first came out.

4.Big Buses- these were mostly used for long-distance travel.

Here is an image of a KEKE:

School life

In the School system, there were Nursery classes, primary school & Secondary School. I attended Nursery 1 & 2 and Primary 1 - 4. The teachers were highly dedicated and they taught their hearts out. I loved all my Nursery & primary school teachers. We had general assemblies with the entire school every day, except if it rained. Something interesting that takes place in Nigerian schools is that there was a ‘hairstyle for the week’ (for girls) so on Friday assemblies they would announce the hairstyle for next week. It would be something like this: Next week's hairstyle is ‘police cap’ or ‘all back’ or ‘shuku and base’

The school curriculum is definitely more intense than that of the western world and there was a strictness that ran in the school atmosphere. I do appreciate all of it though.

Here is an image of a SHUKU hairstyle

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My homeland Nigeria teaches me resilience and to pursue excellence.

I think reflection on the past is important in curating one’s best life. It shows you how far you have come from and highlights your accomplishments. If you look with intention into your past you can identify your strengths & weaknesses- amplify the strengths and improve on the weaknesses. I hope you take time to reflect on your past, note some lessons, implement those lessons in your present life and work towards curating your best life. Looking back, let us move forward. Thanks for stopping by.