My Trip to Naija! I (May 23-27 and June 6-8)

This was my first time to Nigeria and my mom's first time in 27 years! We spent the first few days in Lagos State with my aunt and some cousins. Then we headed off to Rivers State for a few days to stay with my aunt and little cousins, before going to Abia State to see my people in the village. I tried to keep it low key, so I didn't take as many pictures as I would've liked.

Ikeja, Lagos State

When we first arrived at the airport, the first thing I noticed was that the houseboy had on an Eminem t-shirt. A lot of the young people in Nigeria are into the same music as Americans, hip hop, pop, reggae, etc. Everybody watched American Idol (which I never watch in the States) along with West African Idol and text-messaged their votes. There's also Nigeria's Next Top Model.

Lagos is the former capital, which means that some places are beautiful and some places look really rundown. Like any big city, the streets are crowded with buildings. Life is not easy, so you'll find a lot of vendors, peddlers, and "hustlers" (including little kids) crowding the streets and chasing down cars, bargaining and selling whatever they can: roasted corn and ube, cassava, phone cards, Ebony, Jet, and Ovation, toys, watches, you name it. You don't even have to leave your car.

Nigerians are of all shades, sizes, ethnic backgrounds, ages, etc. The diversity is very refreshing. (Even the fashion magazines reflect this, unlike American magazines that only have your typical stick-thin models.) In the streets, some dress contemporary and some wear traditional clothes. The traditional clothes are beautiful, made of lightweight cloth, in bright colors, with fancy, intricate patterns. I really wish I could've left with some traditional clothes. I'll have to save it for my next trip. All the women hook their hair up. If you want your braids done, fly to Nigeria! Just drive down any street and some woman is getting her hair did. Wigs, weaves, relaxers, naturals, cornrows, braids, you name it! (Check out the billboard. Cell phones are pretty popular. A lot of people have two or three phones.)

It seems like everyone in Lagos owns a car—or two or three, and it seems like everyone is driving at the same time. (On our last day, my cousins couldn't even say good-bye because they were stuck in a "go-slow" for five hours!) The right of way goes to biggest car that gets there first. There are so many motorcyclists and they really don't give a sh*t. They do what they want, like drive the wrong direction on the street. My cousins said if you bump one all of them will gang up and beat you to death. I couldn't figure out if she was just playing or for real. I felt safer in the plane than on the ground. I now understood why so many people hire drivers. Our poor driver was learning to drive a stick on those roads. I had several near-death experiences a day!

(Check out the billboard. That's the new president.)

This is my aunt's house in Ikeja where we spent the first few days. Like most big cities, there is hardly any green anywhere. Lagos is so overcrowded. Most people live within gated residential estates with more gates around their own homes with broken glass and wires at the top. Windows have bars on them, too.

The lady in the picture is my late uncle's wife. She came to the US when I was a baby, and she made AND KEPT the promise that she would carry me on her lap again before she died! She's seventy years old. (By the way, her house boy was fiiine!)

Before we headed to Port Harcourt, my aunt and cousins threw us a big family party. All of my cousins, their wives, girlfriends, their children, and some in-laws showed up. The food and drinks were delicious.

It's hot (Nepa's messing with the electricity again) but get your dance on!

Later that night, I went out with my cousins to a club on Victoria Island. Victoria Island has an interesting history. After emancipation in Brazil, many former Yoruba slaves returned to Nigeria. Many became elites. In some areas, the architecture reflects the African-Brazilian descendants. Igbo communities and secret societies still survive in some places like Puerto Rico and Cuba. There was a huge Igbo slave rebellion in the Gullah region of the South. I'm hoping to do some more research on Igbo diaspora.

In the club, they had a live band who sang some 70s disco, like Irene Cara (not my thing, but the girl sounded just like her) and then some Nigerian hits, asuka asuka! They gave me a hard time for being American. I had to be schooled on proper booty shaking.

I also met a guy with the same name as my dad. He changed his name and reintroduced himself before the conversation could proceed! (Isn't my mom a great photographer!)

My Trip to Naija! II (May 27-June 5)

Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Port Harcourt is another city, but not quite as big as Lagos. We stayed with another aunt and did little everyday things like go to the market, buy food along the expressway, and watch Nollywood movies on the Nollywood channel. On her street alone, there are like five or six churches. Church is like an industry. (They actually sponsor many of the Nollywood films, which explains some of the moralistic undertones in the genre.) Many churches have no doors in Nigeria, so you can hear those preachers shouting all day long on megaphones. The potholes on my aunt's street were no joke. If you fool around, your car will have no shocks in no time. My aunt lived in a cute little house with the same gated entrances and barred windows as Lagos, and she had adjacent apartments that she rented to tenants. We also saw coverage of the presidential inauguration. The show was huge and elaborate. I wish I could've taped it. The election was a big deal, the first handoff from one republic to another.

My little cousin is wearing the basketball jersey we got him in the pic. The toddler is cute, but BAD TO THE BONE. There he is already messing with my sh*t. The little girl is the housegirl. Many Nigerians have house help and drivers. (I'll say more about this later.)

This probably seems kind of silly, but it was my first time hearing a child with a Nigerian accent, since all of the immigrants I know are adults. The kids tried to speak English like me, hearing an American accent for the first time, and said, "Rrreally?" and "Yeah!" They asked me some cute questions: "You actually have to wash dishes in America?" Yeah. "Do you have hangers and rulers in America, too?" Yeah. "Of course, America makes everything." Well, actually, Japan makes everything. lol.

That's my uncle's apartment below. I met some more relatives and my mom caught up with people. We watched his wedding video. He had a traditional wedding and a Christian (catholic) wedding, as many Nigerians do if they can afford it.

I was forced to go on many dates! The third guy from the left in the lower pic is one of them. At least I got to see some of the city. The first pic is a local bar. It had an outdoor patio type of feel. It was very nice. They never knew what I was talking about when I would order American mixed drinks so I gave up and always asked for a Smirnoff, which tasted just like it does in America. Nothing else tasted the same except Coke. The second picture is the Presidential Hotel. All the big shots go there, including the president when he visits. We bought some cool souvenirs there. The third picture is the entrance to a university. The professors were on strike because of teaching conditions.

The fuel tank drivers went on strike, too, and so did the fuel stations, all protesting the presidential election. Lines to gas stations that actually had fuel were so long. And on the way to the airport in Lagos, many cars died along the way, causing "go-slows," as people tried to make it home from work. In Port, we had to live without the generator to save fuel. That is no joke. We had a running joke at my Lagos aunt's place. The ten month-old baby would always shout, "Nepa!" whenever the lights went out, his first word. That's how bad the light situation is. (Nepa's the Nigerian electricity company.)


This is my double-date. LOL. Two dates at the same time. Both work with my uncle at an oil company. They took me to a bar/restaurant. It was really nice with outdoor huts, tiki torches, and a live band. There were also little TV sets so you could keep up with your football (soccer).