I was born and raised in several parts of Yorubaland, Nigeria, from Ibadan to Abeokuta, Ile Ife, Ikire, Oye Ekiti, Eruwa and Lagos. And I am very proud of my humble beginnings .. a time when everyone treated each other like family.
We went outside to play in the streets, built dens, climbed trees and built tree houses, we didn't eat fast food.... we ate Groundnuts, Kulikuli, Kokoro, Puff Puff, Buns, Balewa, Ekana Gowon, Agidi jollof with biscuit bone, Dankwa and home made food and "Banga soup and starch made from cassava. We got ice cream from the ice-cream man. We played ten-ten, Suwe, game buss, hide and seek, and then enjoyed visiting our neighbors, Families and Family friends.
There was no bottled water, we drank water from the tap or buy Iced water if we had a drink we would share the same bottle of juice...after giving it a wipe with our mucky sleeves, We had a TV only to be switched on at 4pm on weekdays and 10am on weekends; rode our bikes or played in the rain for hours, "barefoot". There was no such thing as a mobile phone or any other electronic device.
We weren't AFRAID OF ANYTHING (except maybe the Nurse, the Nuns at school and our parents) If someone had a fight, that's what it was...a fist fight. Kids didn't have gun or knives, we played cowboys & crooks. The street lights were your curfew or until your Mom shouted out of the window. School was mandatory.
The days of going to school in groups just so we can gist and buy Dankuwa, and condense milk with our pocket money. And days of Kidnapper's scare everywhere and mom would warn us not to collect sweet from a stranger if you don't want to turn to a tuber of yam.
We would NOT disrespect our elders because we knew we'd get an ass whooping, with the belt, shoe or wooden spoon not forgetting the koboko invisibly hidden in every corner of the house. (Inter-street football match was superb during our time).
Re-post if you're proud that you came from a close knit community and you will never forget where you came from!
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