There is no one way to introduce your partner to your very Nigerian parents. Most Nigerian parents like to delude themselves into thinking that you’re a saintly angel who knows nothing about relationships, sex, and commitment. Lol.

We’ve curated some tips that might be helpful when introducing your partner to your parents:

1) First of all decide if it’s worth doing:

Is your relationship in that place yet? You really don’t want to turn your house to a footpath for every Tom, Dick, and Harry, breakup after breakup.

The people in your neighbourhood will start counting and bring it to the attention of your parents, who will in turn rain fire and brimstone on your head.

2) Meet the friends before the parents:

Duh! Are you even in a relationship if you haven’t met with your partner’s friends? This is a crucial sign of approval.

If they are not flaunting you to their best buds then something is really wrong.

3) Keep calm: 

Panicking and creating weird scenarios in your head would just worsen the situation. But try not to get caught kissing your partner within the first few hours of the MEET (keep your slippery assurances well away from the venue). Y’all will find it hard to get out of that faux pas or anything similar to it.

4) Plan and scheme:

You know your parents better than anybody. You know if they like the Mary Amaka kind of girls or are liberal enough to accept tattooed goodness.

So you might want to plan what your partner will wear, how they will talk, what jokes to crack, and how not to put their foot in their mouth. Ensure you both get your story straight so you don’t get caught in whatever tales you’ve weaved.

5) Prepare yourself for questions:

What kind of job does your partner have? What’s their family name and village address? Do they visit family during the holidays? When will you be getting married? 

Oh, did you really think you were gonna avoid that? Hell nah, if you are old enough to bring someone home, you are old enough for marriage in the eye of a Nigerian parent.

6) Let your partner be themselves:

Honestly, this is the best way to get off the radar of mothers with squinty eyes at their back and fathers with razor-sharp tongues who will smile at your partner until they decree that you stop seeing them. For no reason whatsoever, except that dream they had that declared your partner as the kingpin of a wizarding kingdom.

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