It may sound criminal, but I actually missed the Saturday night of the Olympics when Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won Gold medals. Although I watched all the events later, I was actually at a party that evening. To be precise – I was at a Nigerian party.
I Specify that it was a Nigerian party as although I originate from Nigeria and I’ve actually lived there before I very rarely go to Nigerian parties.
I therefore found myself sitting and observing – fascinated. It was a 70th birthday party and I was fascinated by all the people dressed in different styles of dress all in the same material – brought and sewn especially to support the celebrant.
I was fascinated by the rich variety of Nigerian food inclusive of a range of rice and yam dishes with different soups and sauces. The variety of Nigerian snacks inclusive of meat pies which are actually very meaty in comparison to the British meat pies or Cornish pasty.
I was fascinated when a variety of gifts inclusive of bags, waste paper bins and saucepans were distributed to the guests.
In addition, in recent years Nigeria seems to have developed a new style of music which is characterised by African beats with singing in English often interjected with some singing in a Nigerian language.
So as I sat contemplating my environment with fascination a song started playing with a chorus “ Who am I, Who am I”. Even more fascinated I found myself contemplating for the first time in a long while – really and truly, Who am I in the context of Nigeria?!
Selah ?
Copyright 2012. This document is the specific intellectual property of Susan Popoola. Content may not be reused or reproduced without the specific permission of the owner or a reference to the source.