New York

Q: When did you leave home and what circumstances warranted you departure from home?
“If I could remember well, the first time I ever left Ibadan was in 2003, when I went to do the entrance exam for Sped International Secondary School in Oyo. I had never been away from Ibadan for more than 3 months because I couldn’t live without my parents for that long. Leaving Nigeria in 2012 was really surreal for me; I never thought in my wildest dreams that I’ll travel out of the country. If at all I would have thought that, perhaps, after I finished my university education.

Winning the lotto was like a dream because the last time I played was in 2009, absent mindedly, with my friends while we were writing our final papers at the Federal College of Education (Sp) in Oyo. Unknown to me, the agent that we played with had been playing for us repeatedly since then because he had our data with him. I was in 300 level, studying Linguistics at the University of Ilorin when I won the US visa lottery. That was in 2011.

I left Nigeria in 2012

Q2: What was life like for you back at home in Ibadan?

“Living in Ibadan was a very memorable experience for me. I was born at Adeoyo hospital and my parents lived at Elekuro then, but in 1997, I moved in with my grandmother. She lived at Alakia Isebo, and Alakia Isebo as at then was very undeveloped. I had this “omo inu gate” kind of upbringing as my primary and junior secondary education was within the confines of the community.

Though I went to Ikolaba Grammar School for a year and I was able to see a little bit of Agodi Gate then. However, my grandmother made living in Ibadan most memorable for me. I was her “handbag” to everywhere she went and this gave me the opportunity to see the core of Ibadan as a city. Our family house is at Oke Are and grandma will always go to places like Bere, Ìsàlè Àáfà, Sápátì, Òjé, Òrányàn, etc, to visit family members and of course, she has a stall at the Òrányàn livestock market. She also took me to a lot of naming and burial ceremonies. Going to these gatherings and taking public transport has however shaped my love for the indigenous Fuji Music.

Talk about the “Gbogbo Eléres” (local disc jockeys), they made social gatherings fun for me. I also got to know places because my parents lived in Elekuro and I always went visiting. Almost every weekend I pass through Agodi Gate, Òde Ajé, Oríta Aperin, etc. If I could remember well, the first time I ever left Ibadan was in 2003, when I went to do the entrance exam for Sped International Secondary School in Oyo. I had never been away from Ibadan for more than 3 months because I couldn’t live without my parents for that long. But as fate would have it, I was away from my favorite city for 5 years before I could see and feel it again.”

Q: In what ways have your experiences in the US changed some of the ideas you have had before leaving home.

“When I first left Nigeria, people always ask me what the difference is like and the basic thing I tell them is that the US cannot be compared to Nigeria, especially Ibadan. Ibadan is the biggest city in Sub-saharan Africa but it is very underdeveloped. For a city that big, the government has to do something to make it more developed, to let it live to its standard. I always thought you could live life to the fullest if you have money in Nigeria, but living in the US changed that perspective.

A major example is the health sector. Healthcare is nothing to write home about in Nigeria and when I say nothing, I mean nothing. The rate at which people self medicate is alarming and they cannot be blamed. How many people have the money to visit the hospital? As the local adage saying goes money for hand, back for ground. No money, no medical care in Nigeria. This is totally different in the U.S. You’ll be taken care of before they ask for money and if you don’t have it, they’ll send you the bill and even allow you to pay in installments.

Another thing is the road network. The roads are massive and you can easily miss your way if care is not taken. I remember the driving instructor I went to in Gbági trying to describe how road networks in developed countries are, I could only grab his descriptions through the American movies I watch, but trust me, one can never know how massive, beautiful and complex these roads are, unless you see it for yourself. When you compare this to the roads back home, one cannot but shake head in pity and disgust. The people in government are depriving us of so many normal amenities. Talk about the airport? Hummph! The Muritala Muhammad Airport does not match up to one terminal at the John F. Kennedy airport in New York.

Another major experience is the education. Education in the U.S. is totally different from the one we have back home. 40% is the passing grade in Nigeria and here, you need a percentage of 70% which is only a C grade and scoring a C is like a F. To really pass, you have to score at least 80% which is a B grade. I was angry during my first semester in school when I scored 80% and the professor gave me a B, I was expecting an A+, unlike Nigeria, where 70% is the A grade. Also, every homework assignment has to be typed and not handwritten. I struggled with this a lot. At the beginning, I’ll write before typing but I’m used to it now that I just type out the work from my head. Every homework was handwritten when I was back home, most times we copy from our classmates few minutes to the time due.

Q: What one thing do you miss the most about the city?

“Deep sigh! I miss Ibadan a lot.
I mean, what’s not to miss about a place where you spend your childhood? Putting my family and friends aside who happened to come first, I miss the food. I miss how the food we eat is fresh from the market and not some frozen food. Ewédú is like the number one food that I miss most. Not that there’s no ewédú here, but it’s always frozen and doesn’t taste like the slimy, green ewédú ęlégùsíí I’m used to.

During one of my visits to Nigeria, my sister told me that she has been noticing that the only food I eat well was amala. Well, I told her that it was the ewédú and then the taste of the stew and meat is different. The beef was fresh, it had just been killed at the abattoir, unlike the 3 months old meat we eat here, because from the slaughterhouse to the freezer is what we do.

Being able to eat street food is another thing. The taste of moinmoin and àkàrà that you don’t have to make is heavenly. You know when you can enjoy food without having to stress yourself to make it? I miss that. Eating fresh from the pot I miss too. Here, you can eat one week old rice. Why? It’s in the refrigerator. To even eat a two day old rice in Ibadan is a struggle. Where’s the light to power your fridge.

So yeah! from the stove to the dining table is what we do in Ibadan.”

<3

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