Oh my God, I’m doing it…I’m going to Nigeria!”
Those were my first words when I booked my ticket to Nigeria. This trip was literally a dream come true because it was something that I’ve wanted to do since high school when I joined the ASA (African Student Association) chapter at my predominantly white school. I didn’t have the privilege (yes, I say it’s a privilege) to grow up knowing where my ancestors came from or having parents that were first generation immigrants to America, so a lot of my culture wasn’t found out until I was well into adulthood. All I knew was that I wanted to experience something greater than myself, and that was in knowing where I really came from.
Why Nigeria?
I’ve always had a connection with Nigeria from the moment when I stopped believing the stereotypes of African looking like the Feed The Children commercials. For those of you that have never seen those commercials, it only showed children and adult surrounded by trash and flies in these very dirty neighborhoods where they hadn’t eaten in days. The older I got (we’re talking high school at this point), I realized that my friends in ASA could help me to debunk this myth that was given to us by our white counterparts.
“They only want you to think it’s that way, so you never want to return home.” That’s what my high school friend Olabayo told me when I asked him why they make Africa look like it’s the worst of the continents. If you’ve never seen one of those commercials, I’m sure you can YouTube them and compare then to what you personally know about Africa. It’s quite sad that America makes African seem like the scum of the entire earth when most of the planet thrives off what they get from African soil, but they don’t like that type of preaching.
I fell in love with Nigeria when I heard “Fire On The Mountain” by Asa. I literally was mesmerized by her voice and captivated by her style. I started looking up more about Nigeria and learning more of the culture. All my life, I had only heard American music by American-born singers, so I was simply fascinated by Asa (although I didn’t know who she was fully until later on). Through the food, culture, just the way I heard Nigerian people speak, I started to really fall in love with the country and I made up in my mind that I would one day visit. Little did I know, it wasn’t just by coincidence that I had come to love this country, it was in my bones.
American-born Nigerian
A few years back, I did a DNA ancestry test on 23&Me because Diaspora-born Africans (aka African Americans) were really in search of where they really came from, before colonization. When I got my results back, I was partially shocked because I was over 50% Nigerian. I say partially shocked because I had such a deep connection with Nigeria by this point and I knew it had to come from somewhere. It was at that point when I made up my mind that I had to visit the country that most of my ancestors belonged to, but who would go with me?
Most of my African American friends and family had such bad views of Africa, and viewed Nigeria in an even dimmer light, calling it dirty and full of thieves. I found this to be very funny because America is also dirty and full of thieves, that and the people talking had never been to Nigeria outside of in their mind after watching a Nollywood movie. Regardless of what they said about Nigeria, there was nothing that would hold me back from making that pilgrimage…nothing was going to hold me back from seeing my future by discovering my past.
My Journey Home
When I decided to go, I only told a few people because I didn’t want so many in my business about when I was going and what I would be doing. I also didn’t want the opinions of others on how my trip would be based off their own experiences. To this day, there are many that don’t even know that I went to Nigeria in the first place, and I was there for an entire month. I had some interesting times, but all in all, I am beyond grateful for my trip, and I cannot wait to go back.
My journey there was quite interesting, starting with the plane ride going. For some reason, at 3am and after finally going to sleep, a man in front of me decided that he was going to take alcohol at 30,000 feet in the air after having pain reliver. Now, for those of you that don’t know, that combination is simply not a smart one. I don’t know if the Delta Airlines jollof rice and beef made him do it, but it still wasn’t a good idea, and it was one that caused the entire plane to go into a frenzy…at 3am in the morning. I look at the lady next to me and said to her, “it’s gonna be a long night sis.” She nodded her head and smiled because we both knew that it would indeed be a long night. There was an ER nurse that came from the back and a doctor from the front. It took about 30 minutes, but the man would soon come to full consciousness and be met with a plane of people clapping for him as he woke up.
Thankfully, I was prepped well for the airport because honey, it was rough. I’ve been to many airports in my life, but the Nigerian airport may just take the cake on the most foolery that can be done in a single day at an airport. It took a bit, but when I finally made it down the long walkway outside, I was met by some amazing people, one of which I’ve had the pleasure to know for the past few years. When I met up with them and finally made it the beautiful Nigerian soil, my heart cried out…I was finally home.
You know, Nigeria is nothing like those that don’t have real love for our people say it is. Now, I did get sick when I was there with malaria and typhoid, but it was still one of the BEST experiences (not the getting sick part) that I’ve ever had in my life. Going home to Nigeria (because it is my home now) touched every aspect of my being: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. For once, I was surrounded by more people that looked like me than people who didn’t. It didn’t get looked at for wrapping my hair and wearing a long skirt as a young woman, especially not at the market. I feel in love with Ibadan and in Ibadan. Yeah, I had to straighten a few people out with trying to call me an Oyinbo (a white person) or a “half cast,” which is more insulting than Oyinbo honestly…but they would soon realize that my blood bled the same as theirs at the end of the day.
Going to Nigeria for me wasn’t just a dream fulfilled, it was what happens when a dream meets passion and births a promise. My Nigeria trip was one that literally changed my life forever and for the better. Now, my life can literally be summed up in two periods – Pre and Post Nigeria. The food, the culture, the people, the tradition, the SOUL…it was everything that I dreamed Nigeria would be, but in real life finally. After that trip, my mind was made up – Nigeria is home, it is the Ile Ife of my soul. I look forward to seeing that soil again and watching it grow.
Naija No Dey Carry Last!
With Love,
Kelsie Speaks aka Olajumoke…but you can call me Jummy.
