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  • FCTA holds special Jumaat prayer for Nigerian children – Voice of Nigeria

    Childhood, we all miss those moments away from this scam called adulthood. Yours probably had the good times with Baba Dudu, early morning cartoons on NTA and rolling tyres down the street. But what are the moments from the late ’80s and early ’90s to reminisce on as a child? These eight Nigerian parents and baby boomers share moments they miss about their childhood.

    Felicia, 53

    I miss being by the water side with my mum and siblings.

    Top Popular Beaches in Lagos and their Entrance Prices - Kampari tours

    I loved visiting the pool at Federal Palace and Sheraton Hotel almost every Sunday. When we didn’t have money, we would go to the beach. My mum wanted so much for us to experience life outside of Mushin. We weren’t rich, but she never wanted us to feel like we couldn’t afford to enjoy life just because we didn’t belong to the upper class. The only thing I hated about being by the pool or beach was having to wear a skirt over my swimsuit. As much as my mum wanted us to live life, she was strictly against us ever showing our bodies.

    Kunle, 48

    My fondest memories are at Bar Beach with my dad, mum and sister.

    See Lagos Bar Beach in the 1960s, and What It Looks Like Today (Photos)

    The beaches in Lagos were different when I was 10. I wish I could go back to the drive up to Victoria Island on sunny days and the walk up to the sandy beach, while holding my dad’s hands as I struggled to get sand out of my shoes. I loved to ride the horses along the shore and feel the jolt of each gallop each time the rider holding me jerked the reins. If I could, I’d totally go back to those sunny days at Bar beach, but I’d probably skip one of the last few times we visited. I was casually chilling in the ocean with my dad when an under current almost carried me away. Luckily, my dad was a powerful swimmer so he managed to pull me out before I got too far. 

    Onyeche, 52

    The best thing about my childhood was spending time with my grandmother at Boji-Boji, Agbor in Delta State.

    96 Africa Poverty Child Grandmother Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStock

    It was back in the 1980s, and I can still remember spending nights at her quaint house during my holidays from secondary school. She never stressed me with chores like my mum. All she did was ask, “Che, what would you like to eat?” My answer was always roasted corn and pear/coconut. My siblings always found it annoying to request the same thing all the time, but I really didn’t care and grandma never complained either. On the few days she ignored my request, she’d give me money to buy delicious rice or beans with plantain from Mama Ogugua’s canteen behind the house. Right now, I’m looking for who can feed me like this because adulthood has tired me.

    Aisha, 60

    I miss the peace I experienced in Kaduna before the religious crises.

    10 Beautiful Places In Kaduna State - PropertyPro Insider

    I haven’t been back since my mum and I left for Ibadan in 1983. I’d love to relive the moments sleeping underneath the mango tree when it got too hot inside the house. There was no fear of being robbed or killed in the middle of the night and we could sleep outside our home. It was so good that I could pack up my things from school in Ibadan and get a bus going to Kaduna State as late as 7 p.m. without any fear. I don’t have any reason to go back now, but I wish I could.

    Adeyemi, 57

    I can still remember the Afro-Brazilian festivals during Christmas and New Year on Lagos Island as a young boy.

    Is Nigeria's Brazilian heritage under threat? | Arts and Culture | Al Jazeera

    I miss hiding to watch the different masquerades — Egungun, Oiko, Abey, and Eyo — from Campos Square. I enjoyed the drumming and dancing as the colourful outfits of the masquerades moved along the streets. I miss walking from house to house to wish the elders Merry Christmas,  collecting pennies in return, and later sitting on the floor with my friends as we ate from  trays of rice and stew. 

    Imaobong, 63

    I miss the days of being friends with my siblings.

    It’s one thing to be bonded by blood, but we actually loved to spend time gisting with one another late into the night at our family home in Calabar. Everything changed when we entered secondary school and made other friends. We weren’t as close and some of my siblings ended up in gangs that made them different. I’d give anything to just be able to sit with them again and talk like we once did. 

    Tunde, 55

    A lovely memory I would like to relive of my mornings as a child in Obalende.

    Lagos govt gives Obalende shanty owners 48 hours to quit - Punch Newspapers

    I come from a polygamous home, so nobody really bothered about what I spent my time doing. I would wake up and go to Dodan Barracks to watch young privates/soldiers on their morning parades. I loved joining them from behind and marching along as the commander led the parade round the barracks. After that, I would walk through the European Quarters like Rumens Road, Gerald Road, Alexander Street, Bourdillon, and Queen’s Drive (now Kofo Abayomi street), plucking mangoes. My strolls would usually end with me swimming at the lagoon or fishing. 

    Emeka, 65

    There were many interesting moments as a young boy but watching football with my boys in Teslim Balogun Stadium and National Stadium tops the bunch.

    Fans Applaud Sanwo-Olu For Igniting Teslim Stadium With AFCON Tie, Want More Eagles Matches In Lagos - P.M.EXPRESS

    If a match was 4 p.m., we would arrive at 11 a.m. to enjoy the music and fun activities before a game. On the days we didn’t have the money to make it into the stadium, we would scale the fence or wait for the gates to be opened during half time. Sometimes it would get so rowdy that the guards would have to throw tear gas at the people gathering around the gate after a match. I’ve stopped watching football now, but I wouldn’t mind one more moment of cheering at a Nigerian FA Cup or Principal Cup match at the stadium.

  • There’s no doubt that this list will have you reminiscing if you had a lit childhood. Try it and see.

    Select all the shows you watched:

  • You think we can’t figure out how obedient you were as a child? Try us:

    Tick the names of friends you had in your childhood:

  • Don’t you just miss those nostalgic experiences from your Nigerian childhood? Now that we’re journeying through this adulting maze, some things just seem to have fallen off.

    Here are six of them.

    1. Five Naira

    Before you argue, think about this: how often do you see a five Naira note these days? This denomination is so useless now that even two of it can’t buy pure water. What a waste. .

    2. Junior WAEC result

    All the days and nights you spent studying to prove you are worthy of being promoted to Senior Secondary School in the mud. Better go and sell your Junior WAEC result to Akara sellers so that they can make their daily 30k.

    3. One thousand Naira

    Remember those rare visitors who used to dash you money during festive periods as a kid? If you were lucky to get one thousand Naira then, omo, it’d feel like you’d made it in life. Now, those glory days are over. One thousand Naira is the new ten Naira. Life tuff.

    4. Business centres

    The good old days of 20 Naira per minute when you sneak out and pay someone to use their phone to talk to your crush without worrying that your strict Nigerian parents would catch you are over. Now, they mostly sell recharge cards or offer POS services. Team Gen Z cannot relate sha.

    5. Home video rental stores

    Netflix who? These OGs saved lives back in the late 2000s; from Naruto to Avatar, and every “Jackie Chan” movie, there was always something new to rent.

    6. Street Games

    How many kids do you catch outside playing suwe, ten ten, or heavenly king these days? The games that make us nostalgic about our childhoods have almost gone extinct thanks to smart devices. But hey, tech is the future. Who are we to complain?

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    Spread the nostalgia! Share this with a childhood friend of yours.

  • When I was a kid, I believed rain fell because an Angel left taps running in heaven. My older sister told me that, although she vehemently denies it. I was curious to know other ridiculous things people believed as kids and I got a lot of funny responses. Which of these did you also believe?

    Sandy

    1. If you poured the water you used to watch clothes on your legs, someone was going to lie against you. 
    2. I believed that if you stood under an umbrella when it was not raining, it was going to rain on your wedding day. 
    3. I believed that if you stood while eating, the food will go to your legs instead of your stomach. Also, if you laid down while eating, the food wouldn’t give you strength and if you got into a fight with someone you’re much older than, the person automatically becomes stronger than you and beats you up. 

    Ty

    1. Standing in the wind long enough would make me fly.
    2.  Looking at your shadow can make a person ugly.
    3. I thought looking at the moon would give you blue eyes.

    Faye

    1. I believed that if you threw your agbalumo on the wall 7 times and rubbed it between your palms, it would become sweeter.
    2. I also believed that rubber bands sucked my blood and that I had to lick my blood when I bleed, so I won’t lose blood.
    3. When you shared cooked eggs with someone, it meant you’re sharing your heart with them.

    Gabriel

    1. If you make a wish when you see a shooting star pass by, your wish will come to pass. I’ve seen a shooting star twice and I am still broke AF.
    2. When your teeth removes and you don’t throw them on the rooftop with seven stones, they won’t grow back.
    3. If you have a sore throat, it means you spat on the floor and someone stepped on it before it dried up.
    4. When you walk over burning ash from wood with your laps spread out, it’ll make bedwetting painful and ultimately stop it.

    Lola

    1. I believed if your teeth fell off, you had to throw it on a roof or bury it for it to grow back – I always threw it on the roof.
    2. If I plucked my lashes and put them on my head while holding the thought that a particular person should forget about me, they’d forget. I nearly pulled out all my eyelashes one day, hoping my maths teacher will forget about me, but he still remembered to flog me.

    Jay

    1. When you swallow agbalumo seed, a tree would grow in your stomach.
    2. If the sun was shining and it was raining at the same time, it meant an elephant was giving birth.
    3. If I didn’t throw my tooth on the roof and a lizard saw it in my hand, it meant my tooth would never grow back.

    Dami

    1. If you look at the mirror before you sleep you will have a nightmare.
    2. When rain fell, it meant angels were crying in heaven.

    Chidi

    1. I believed putting thread on the head helped with hiccups. It’s strange how I know it’s silly but can’t say it didn’t work.
    2. White birds (Leke Leke) gave me white fingers. 
    3. I believed that at the sight of a hawk if I bent any of my index fingers backwards and raised it in the direction of the bird, it would hypnotize the bird and make it fall. The more people doing it per time, the more effective it was. Frankly, I can’t say it didn’t work.

    Oyinda

    1. If you swallow agbalumo seed, a tree would grow in your stomach.
    2. When the sun was shining and it was raining at the same time, it meant an elephant was giving birth.
    3. If I didn’t throw my tooth on the roof and a lizard saw it in my hand, it meant my tooth would never grow back.

    Itohan

    1. I used to think that 10k was enough money to send someone from JS1 till they finish University. Ten thousand NAIRA oo.
    2. If I swallowed a seed, the whole tree will grow in my stomach.
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    Tammy

    1. I thought clouds were made of cotton candy and that there was an all-you-can-eat buffet in heaven.
    2.  Also believed that thing about your child looking like someone because they crossed over your leg.
    3. I thought rain fell because Angels were either watering plants, crying or showering and that was why it rained.

    Erica

    I believed and still kinda believe that when it rains and you put out your hand, if lightning strikes, your hand will be paralysed forever in the form it was when the lightning struck.

    Kiki

    I believed that If I broke the television I could enter it and live with the actors.

    Imole

    I believe that the sun would make me lighter because it was bright. I would always stay outside whenever the sun is very bright just so I could get fair. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that it would only make me get darker.

    Ella

    My brother told me that if I sprayed perfume or put some body lotion in my butt and when I fart it won’t smell (he actually said it will scent greatly). I stupidly did it too. 

    Chichi

    I used to believe that people had sex through their navel. For some reason, I thought that was where babies came out from, so that’s how women got pregnant.

  • Women are raised differently. These six Nigerian women talk about what it’s like having strict parents .

    Christabelle, 20

    I had to create a whole new personality especially for them. I have a bunch of interests like photography, video editing, graphic design, music but they don’t know that. like they know nothing about any of my hobbies. Also, I’m not particularly nice to my family because I am always on edge. I can’t introduce my friends to them because unlike me, my friends are openly wayward. There was a period in my life where I never texted people partly because my dad used to randomly go through my phone.

    Temi, 20

    I’ve learned to keep a lot to myself. I don’t talk about anything, and I stopped asking for permission to go anywhere because it was always futile. My lying skills have been perfected, and they think they know me but they only know the me I’ve shown them.

    Tamilore, 18

    I have strict anti social parents. My parents don’t have friends and their family isn’t close-knit so I don’t any sort of relationship with my relatives. We’re like an island. I’ve never attended a wedding, birthday party, naming ceremony, stayed at my cousins’, that kind thing. I start to lie instinctively around them like a compulsive liar. I don’t think about it too much, it just flows. I pick and choose when to lie and they trust me because they’ve never caught me. My parents don’t think I need fun, so they don’t think I do anything for fun.

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    Esther, 20

    I was warned to never have a social media account from a very tender age, but I was curious so I made a Facebook account and my parents found it. I knew hell that day. My mum kicked and punched me. I couldn’t fight back, so I just sat there and let her beat me. I was 15 at the time. Rebelling was something I had to teach myself because they will control any and everything they can. I got my first phone when I was 17, and I bought it for myself. My dad once beat me up, stripped me, punished me all night and woke up at midnight to beat me again because he found my Instagram. I always tell people, no one can hurt me more than my parents have. There’s no insult that can hurt me cause I’ve heard it all from my parents before.

    Omawunmi, 21

    My dad’s strictness is him being extremely security cautious, but my mum? I feel like she’s projecting because she knew what she was doing at my age. When my brother does something, suddenly my mum doesn’t remember you can beat someone with a lamp charger.

    Onome, 19

    Having strict parents means I get left out of things because I’m not allowed to go out. I’m incapable of maintaining a friendship with extroverted people because they always want to go somewhere. I’m 19 and can’t go out without my parents’ permission and them taking me there.

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  • The subject of this week’s What She Said is a 26-year-old Nigerian woman. She talks about the trauma she faced growing up with her mum, her dad leaving and how therapy improved her relationship with her mum.

    Tell me about your earliest memory.

    Growing up, I was very stubborn. I used to get into a lot of trouble, and my mum would beat me. There was a phase I was convinced she hated me. I used to ask if she was really my mother. 

    Does any incident come to mind? 

    I wouldn’t do my chores, so I would chop beating for that. If she asked me to do anything, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t remember my siblings getting beaten as much as I was.

    Tell me about a striking memory of your mum.

    I remember three distinct memories. When I was in primary school, I was smart. First to third — that was usually my position. There was one term I came tenth; my mother wanted to kill me. We lived in a face-me-I-face-you compound. She pursued me around it. I had to run for cover to my neighbour’s because she was going to beat the living daylight out of me.

    Omo.

    Another memory was in secondary school. After school, I would wait with my friend for her parent’s car to come pick her; meanwhile, I’d take a bus home. School closed at 3 p.m., and I would wait till 6 p.m., so I usually got home late. My mother would warn me, but I ignored her. One day, she got home before me. When I did, the beating no get part two.

    The last memory I have is traumatic for me. I think I’ve forgiven her now. When I was 13, my landlady’s son had an older friend or family living with them. I and the guy were close. It was nothing sexual, and I know that a lot of adults cannot fathom when the opposite sexes are chummy with each other — for good reason, with all sexual assault stories we hear. Anyway, someone told my mum that I said I wanted to have sex with him. According to this person, I said: “I’m going to be 13 soon, so he can disvirgin me.”

    She believed this person over me. At night, she came to room and asked me if I planned to be anything in life. She said other mean things. It affected our relationship and how I saw her.

    I’m sorry you experienced this. 

    It’s funny because I didn’t even have sex till I was 25.

    What’s something that changes when you feel like you can’t trust your mum?

    Our relationship was fraught. Since she didn’t trust me or believe me, I couldn’t confide in her. I confided in my sister or dad instead. My dad didn’t live with us — she did — so you’d expect she would know all my shit. But she didn’t have any idea, and it was largely because of that.

    Where was your dad?

    He was with his other family.

    Oh?

    He had two wives, and he lived with the other wife and kids. My mum is the second wife but she had the first child so she’s regarded as the first. My dad was really desperate for kids. People say the other wife jazzed him because he decided to stay with her. He used to visit occasionally. 

    I— Tell me about your relationship with your sister.

    Haha. We used to fight a lot, but we were close. I’m outspoken and she’s calm. It made other people think I was rude. Though she’s secretive, we share things. I told her when I had sex for the first time. She knew when I had a sugar daddy. She knows everything about me.

    A particular memory is when I was a teenager, there was an older guy asking her to meet him in a funny place. She was going to go, and I followed her and stayed around.

    Love it. Walk me through how you landed a sugar daddy. I’m asking for a friend.

    In 2015 my friend, who was a runs girl, introduced me, but it never really took off because I was not sexually active. He literally just kissed me out of the blue and I was like huh? Last year, he reached out again, and I told him his actions were rapey. He apologised and we hung out. People get cars and houses from their sugar runs, but I got mostly change.

    How did your relationship with your mum affect you?

    I only saw her as a provider. I loved her because she was my mum and she got me things. 

    How is your relationship with your mum now?

    It’s better. I had to get therapy in 2018 because there was a period I resented her — everything she did irritated me. I see her as a person now. I’m more open with her though I didn’t tell her when I started having sex because I was trying to protect my good girl image that she had.  We’re consciously building our relationship.

    When you say we, did she get therapy too?

    No. But she was willing to admit she’s not infallible. I berated her for a lot of the mistakes that she made, especially with my dad. We also have a lot of conversations. I was going to organise therapy for my mum, but she doesn’t believe in it. “I go just sidon dey tell person my life? I no fit.”

    How did you decide on therapy? 

    I was working in a coaching organisation and I had free access to therapists. I’d used therapy for other issues and decided to try it with this. 

    Tell me your happiest memory of your dad.

    I don’t remember. When I got older — 17 — we started fighting a lot because I realised his shortcomings. It wasn’t just my mum with issues; he had his faults too. He died when in 2015. Now that I think about it, I may have daddy issues. 

    Navigating life as a woman in the world today is interesting. From Nigeria to Timbuktu, it’ll amaze you how similar all our experiences are. Every Wednesday, women the world over will share their experiences on everything from sex to politics right here. 

  • If you grew up in Nigeria around the late 80s and early 90s, then you definitely said these insults to both your friends and enemies. How well do you remember what happened after you messed?

    Test your memory:

  • Childhood was probably the peak of our lives. Free food, no rent, no responsibilities and plenty of fun. Until we were scammed into adulthood, which we all know is the absolute ghetto. Sometimes I wonder about the things I would bring back from my childhood if I could.

    1. Naps.

    Remember how you had to be forced to take naps? What wouldn’t you give to be able to take naps freely now?

    2. Being taken care of you when you’re sick.

    The biggest scam of adulthood has to be you having to take care of yourself when you’re sick

    3. Pocket money.

    Pocket money used to land without having to work for it. God when again?

    4. Someone to carry you to bed when you sleep off.

    Remember how you’d sleep off in front of the TV and mysteriously find yourself in your bed the next morning? Now if you sleep off in front of the TV, that’s where you’ll meet yourself. When you’re ready, you’ll carry yourself to the room.

    A parenting anecdote: The rigors of getting a child to sleep

    5. Money from visitors.

    Receiving money from visitors was such a childhood flex. Your uncle would visit and crisp 500 naira notes would land in your palms when they were leaving. Now they assume that because you’re grown, you don’t need it anymore. Please it is now that I need it the most.

    6. Being carried.

    Being carried around when you were a kid felt terrific. Not going to lie, I won’t say no to it now.

    Black Middle Aged Man Carrying His Son On His Shoulders In The.. Stock Photo, Picture And Royalty Free Image. Image 111696844.

    7. Having a bedtime.

    A standard beahviour was grumbling at bedtime because you didn’t want to go to bed. Now, if I get to sleep by 1am, I consider myself lucky.

    12 Good Habits Parents Need to Teach their Kids — Greensprings School

    8. Not having responsibilities.

    Having no responsibilities. The responsibilities that come with adulting are from the devil. Paying your own hospital bills, paying for your own food, paying rent, sending money home, maintaining your car and having a life were a  lot  more expensive that you would have thought. God abeg.

    IF YOU DON'T PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN, WHO WILL?

    Read: 13 Names For Men When You’ve Forgotten Their Names

  • I feel like every single person that grew up in Nigeria had the same childhood. So, that’s why this quiz shouldn’t be too difficult.

    Give it a try below:

    11 Quizzes For People Who Grew Up In Nigeria

    Prove your Nigerian-ness. Take these quizzes.