Truly Nigerian

The other day, I saw a video of this American girl speaking Yoruba on facebook. It was just a tour of her walk to school and she spoke a mixture of English and simple Yoruba like “ekaro o” (Good morning) and was able to hold a simple convo with a group of hostel boys about what she had for breakfast. I was amused so I went to her you tube page, watched a couple of other videos and found a link to her blog http://www.northoflagos.com/.

I was more than amused, impressed, blown away! Like, here is a typical American girl, who was learning Yoruba at the University of Wisconsin and went the extra mile to take a year out to the University of Ibadan to consolidate her learning. First question I asked was how in the hell did she get the idea to study Yoruba? A language that is dying out even within its own tribe, a language that a huge chunk of its young generation scorns, preferring to speak variations of “American” and “British” English. *note emphasis on VARIATIONS of American and British English...lol
This girl left her comfortable American uni to live with host parents in Ibadan because she saw a beauty in the language and culture of a people and appreciated the uniqueness and richness of the culture.

So, if someone all the way from America can go all the way to learn our language and appreciate our culture...why can’t we???! It’s really so sad to see young people who are so willing to shrug off their Nigerian heritage, language and culture to be more westernised. Yes, I blame globalization but then I blame us more. I grew up speaking English at home and listening to Yoruba being spoken by my family. I loved the language but in a way I felt almost cut off from it because I didn’t speak it. Fast forward to school days, and then I realised most people didn’t want to be associated with the language anyway. They noted it’s presence around us but then we were not really immersed in it, our Englishness made us aloof to it. And so it became cool NOT to speak Yoruba. If you spoke it too much you were razz and local. That was the beginning of the death of our culture.

Now, I worry that if I can’t even speak Yoruba fluently and frequently, my children would grow up speaking and listening to English and then they would lose any awareness of being Yoruba at all! I really cannot bear to imagine this and as a result, I have been driven to speak Yoruba more often and just appreciate our culture more. I think this is more a problem with the young Yoruba’s than say the young Ibo’s or Hausa’s who are distinctly more Ibo and Hausa in their identity. Young Yoruba’s have embraced westernisation in exchange for their language. *can you say slave trade all over again*

I am not saying ALL young people are like this but compared with the older generations the proportion of non-native speaking Nigerians is MUCH more. I am not saying we shouldn’t be westernised. God knows we are too educated and exposed not to be but what I’m saying is that there should be a more symbiotic relationship between both. Speak English and Yoruba. Eat burgers and pounded yam (I am sure this is much easier for all of us). Wear your Brazilian hair and still be able to tie a gele, and on and on. Being African/Nigerian/Ibo isn’t synonymous with being fresh or bush or razz. You can speak excellent English and still be able to speak your native language. This is not about making it ok to speak bad English, or dress shabbily or anything like that. If you can speak your native language and cannot speak English without gbagauning in this day and age, you oughtta be ashamed!

But PLEASE can we just appreciate what we see around us more and not be afraid to be truly Nigerian, while remaining citizens of the world. Keep our culture alive!

n check her out!

A few of my favourite things--Style Crush

Rather late but happy new month guys! We are Marching forward...lol.*forgive*

So on the sidebar, there's a list of my current favourite things. I say current, because I cannot guarantee the length of my love relationships with these things. I can be very fickle sometimes but while the love affair lasts, I shall try to show you why I love them so!

I’m going to start from the bottom of the list...not for any particular reason but it’s the most recent relevant occurrence on my mind.

Zara Okpara: So the other day my cousin/aunty (she’s everything all rolled in one...Lol) and I found out we had the same style crush after she saw my little list in the sidebar. Normally I don’t really like sharing my favourite things (selfish, I know) but some things are too good not to share. After seeing her face among a sea of others in various magazines and blogs, her face quickly became familiar because she was always looking on point. In today’s scene where everyone is trying to be over sexy and trendy and cool...everything at the same time! She comes as a blast of fresh air with her subtle sexiness and understated chic.

Here, she looks feminine, sexy and kinda edgy with the low back of the dress and the shoes. The JBL dress is a number and she keeps it simple with no accessories, killer shoes and flowing locks. I woulda ditched the purse though but she still looks great.

Again she keeps it fresh. Bright red lippy, loose shirt and keeps the focus on the print pleated skirt while the red bag adds a bit of pop. She complements her figure with the loose fitting pieces and gives off this I-don’t-try-too-hard-but-still-nail-it look.

And my favourite:

I LOOOVEEEE this neon green Bridget Awosika skirt! Like when I saw it I wanted to die...not literally but gosh excitement! (neon green is one of my favs right now too,partly cuz of Bridget Awosika’s look book) I don’t really know where to start from here. I love the colour palette of black, neon and purple and the chunky necklace; everything just works together so well! 10/10 This look is currently one of the nominees for the best dressed for Jan/Feb on Bella Naija. I have obviously voted for this look but unfortunately the ultra fabulous and famous Genevieve appears to be trumping the cards. Oh well, there are plenty more months in the year.

So, from all my gushing, I guess you could say I love Zara's style in general , these are just a few pics I found loitering the internet. But in almost everything I've seen her in she looks good and not only that she wears the type of things I want to wear. Most people have people they look up to for style inspiration although they’re usually distant American stars, however in a bid to support our own, I’ve found one closer to home. Good thing it’s kinda part of her job to stay stylish as she works as a PR manager for the fashion house, Jewel by Lisa, So there’s no fear of a downward trend anytime soon. Keep ‘em coming girl!

Do you have any (African or otherwise) style crushes? Do share!

and OH!

Please feel free to leave comments if you read my posts! I promise Idon't bite :)

Who's up there?

So, we go on and on about how we need to walk the walk and talk the talk. Truth of the matter is that we would all really like to see other people who are walking the walk and talking the talk to reinforce our drive to do the same. We are after all social beings, what we do mostly comes from what we see around us. We wear what the designers are putting on the runways, what the hottest celebrities are wearing. We learn the new move in the latest hit video. (The dougie, jerk. we will all be doing the 10/10 dance in Naeto c's video soon. thank God that one is easy. lol) Yes, we are inherently all copycats. (Even if you refuse to admit it :p)

God knows this and thats why He said we should stick our heads in a church and "not forsake the brethren" because we need to see people professing the same faith we have and walking in our chosen paths to keep our faith alive. That's not to say I support the herd mentality or that we should totally put our future into other peoples hands! The Good Book still tells us to "work out OUR OWN salvation"

But basically, my point is whatever it is we want to do; sing, run a successful business, get a first class on your degree, live passionately for God,(I just listed all the things I wanna do..feel free to insert your own list..lol) it always helps seeing people that are doing the same thing successfully. It assures us that it is something that can be done especially if the current successors are in our immediate vicinity, then the smell of success/achievement becomes even closer and sweeter! It is very discouraging to say the least not having anyone to look up to and this has killed many dreams.

I have been actively trying to find people that I can look up to. People who are already on the path I would one day like to be. That is, generally people of excellence...there are too many mediocre people out there today and what's worse is that we are all comfortable stagnating in this mediocrity! That's where excellent people come in...they make us UNCOMFORTABLE!

Here are a few excellent people that I have come across this week that have inspired me.

Tosin Otiloju who was featured on Bella Naija this week.

She was a head girl at Queens College Lagos, had the best SSCE results in the country in 1996. Got a first class in Electrical Engineering at Howard University. Got a scholarship to the California Institute of Technology for postgraduate studies. Was awarded the young person award of the year for 2006. She teaches at the University of Lagos (Also taught at the University of Yola). Published a collection of poems and has acted in five full theatre productions! Sounds like superwoman. Do you feel uncomfortable now?! lol.

Next up, I stumbled upon one of Lola Adesioye's articles today and found my way to her website.

She looks very pretty right? I assure you, she is more than just a pretty face. She graduated for the University of Cambridge with a degree in Social and political science. She is an inspirational speaker, socio-political commentator and writer and contributor to established publications such as The Guardian, The Economist and The Huffington Post and Arise Magazine. She has made guest speaker appearances on CNN, BBC, Channel4, BET and AOL Voices. She also performs as a singer/songwriter and she runs a multi-media company called something2say. She has a beautiful inspirational blog and oh! She is a self professed born again christian! Erm...did I here 360 degree woman??..... yup I think I did!

This is just two of many! We all need to have people we know fighting the good fight. I am personally on the lookout to find a mentor (I don't really know how to get myself one of those *_* ) Who are some people you look up to? and If the answer to that question is non-existent, do find yourself someone/people. They do exist, you just have to look hard! And if all else fails...well you have Jesus! We are told to look up to him as the author and finisher of our faith!

Stay steady dreaming!

Block colours dilemna

Am I crazy for thinking that purple and orange go together?? lol. I didnt end up finding the balls to wear this combo but I absolutely love it! I'm not sure if I always had these feelings towards bright colours or if seeing Jill sanders spring collection switched on a bright colour light bulb in my head.



Thoughts?

Whatchudoing!

Writing has always been my thing. I wouldn’t say hobby, because that implies that it was something I just did mindlessly in my past time. I wouldn’t say gift/talent either because I feel there is a mass of way more talented writers out there who write blogs, magazine articles and books that inspire me constantly. It being my thing implies simply that it’s something I hold dear, something I do all the time and with purpose as a channel for my thoughts. I write because I am.

As a uni student, just recently turned 21, the prospects of graduating into the real world in these gloomy economic times, I have been hit by a stark dose reality and somewhat approaching what you could call a quarter life crisis; The frantic questioning of your existence and the usefulness of your life on earth so far. This may come at different stages for different folks; I’m assuming that the cut off age to qualify for “quarter life” goes all the way up to 30. At my age, you could say “oh, but you still have a lot of time”. But I only have to look around to see boundless examples of young people achieving impressive and amazing feats. And once more I curl back into my shell of frantic questions “what exactly are you doing with your life?!” I love fashion and dressing up generally ( as most girls) but if I was a real fashionista, I could have well been on my way to establishing a name for myself like the young girls behind the Virgos lounge collection recently featured on Bella Naija . Music, is also one of my passions, if it really was then I could have been churning out hits like the 21 year old Adele who is responsible for such beautiful hits as “Make you feel my love” and “chasing pavements”( Her new album 21 is stupendously beautiful by the way). And if, indeed I had any promise as a writer, I could well be on my way to publishing my first book like the 19 year old Chibundo Onuzo, who recently signed a two year book deal with the English publishers Faber. These are all examples of young dynamic people blessed with the opportunity to follow their passions and who are in fact beginning to make their mark on the world at such young ages. So, I’m afraid young age is not an excuse for anyone.

We may not all be opportune to get two year book contracts with a British publisher, nevertheless, we can take baby steps in whatever form we find to making our marks and living lives that count. For me, that could involve honing my literary voice through whatever medium I have found, blogs or otherwise. Practicing and improving on my singing and seeking out opportunities to perform in whatever I can, church choir, school shows...etc. But alas, as with the execution of every great idea comes obstacles. In my case, it was the big PROCRASTINATION leading to piles of school work and applications to be sorted through. It then progresses to the blame stage and we happily pour all of it on the devil even though he probably has no hand in this. I mean he is a liar, but you, not him, convinced yourself it would be a good idea to sit and watch the latest episode of Gossip girl instead of actually getting productive work done. Be it starting that business or just getting that first class degree that you had always pinned for. At the end of the day, like our shining examples earlier we have to pick ourselves up, dust off the grit and dust and put ourselves where we belong. Yes, I said “put ourselves”. I am one of those optimistic activist people who believe that we are in control of our destiny. Even if it means starting slowly and way earlier (age wise) like I said earlier at least you are moving! Needless to say, it’s never too early or too late either. So, here I am, in my room, typing away on my laptop...hopefully typing to my way to making my mark.

Sugary sea is not forgotten

I was gone for a minute but I'm back!...ish! Things have been super busy...but yeah I'm still guilty of neglecting my blog *guilty face*. I will definitely try harder :)