Uche and The Kids; Nigerianization I (SEPTEMBER 2016, NY)
I had spent about 2 months in Florida, but decided to visit Uche for a few days before heading back to Nigeria. Thinking about the dollar to naira exchange rate of 1 to 350 at the time almost made me put away the idea of making the trip. With a little bit of psychological support from my wife, I bought the ticket and flew into La Guardia airport.
I got to Uche’s house on a Sunday evening, and then he suggested that we go get some Nigerian food. We drove with Kayin and headed to a Nigerian restaurant in Brooklyn. There seemed to be a whole world of difference between Kayin in 2015 and Kayin in 2016.
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Uche had obviously been force-feeding him a diet of Nigerian culture. I smiled as he sang along to the Nigerian songs that Uche played in a manner that was an aftereffect of rote memorisation. Kayin knew the words but was still on the journey to getting to know the spirit behind the words. I recognised what Uche was doing because it was just a repetition of what was done to us in our formative years – learning bible passages by heart, learning songs by heart, learning musical chord progressions by heart, rinse and repeat.
That style of learning was based on – do first and then think later. While our parents, who had adopted Westernised ideals of speaking “proper language”, would have never allowed us to speak in Pidgin English, the irony was not lost on me that we were using Pidgin English as a means of transmitting culture to the next generation.
Most of the time, parenting experts would recommend that parents allow their kids to grow up and then find their way back to their culture if they choose to. Uche left nothing to chance. His mission seemed to be – I will make them Nigerians, let them find their way out of it if they can.
