Pimoey Oshodi's Blog

The cultural heritage of Nigeria is rich in mythology in the form of tales, fables, and folklore. This mythology often governs the laws of communities and informs how their members and any visitors must behave. As a ‘Kopa’ one needs to be aware of the rules and taboos guarding any society you find yourself in, as well as immerse yourself in the legends of a new place. During my NYSC year, a discussion of myths started during a mountaineering expedition at the Okuta Hills in Kwara State . I had a group of ‘Kopa’ friends who loved adventures. All four of us (two guys and two girls) dressed smartly one evening and wore our jungle boots to protect us from any reptiles. Jungle boots: the ever-ready Kopa’s staple We climbed up the path, but before we got to the mountain summit, we girls got tired. Luckily, the guys were kind and offered to carry us. The first couple moved quickly ahead while the second (of which I was a member) was behind. We began to compete with the first coupl...

“If Kopa marry Kopa they go born worwhor!”  is a common cliché among Kopas. Although this suggests that Kopas getting married to one another is seen as disgusting, there are plenty of matrimonial cases among them – perhaps because of the rumour that the federal government gives N500,000 to those who get married during their service year, or because of love. Even if they don’t end up marrying, many Kopas do date their fellow service members. But why do Kopas get into relationships with one another? Is it for the fun of it, the fund in it, or the future in it? One year is indeed a long time for Kopas not to mingle with one another. Kopas tend to come into their service year with a fresh attitude regardless of their prior relationships, wealth and academic performances, and easily socialise with people from different backgrounds. While female Kopas tend to exercise caution for fear of being tagged as ‘easy,’ the male Kopa usually seizes any available chance they can get with ...

I was privileged to have been born in the late ‘80s and to have grown up during the ‘90s. At the time, there were several local Nigerian television stations springing up with such as  LTV ,  Channels ,  DBN , and  AIT . Most parents, including mine, thought it was a good idea to allow their children to watch TV programmes. TV was a means of learning and acquiring skills for self-development. Viewers of all ages could watch television programmes together, whether cartoons, soaps, educative programmes, music videos or movies. I loved watching the cartoon versions of my favourite storybooks such as  Aladdin and the Forty Thieves , The   Hunchback of Notre Dame ,  The Muppet Babies  and  Peter Pan . When I came back from school, I was eager to finish my homework before 4pm so that I could settle down in the living room with my older brothers to watch TV. I’m quite sure that the cartoons helped fine-tune my accent (don’t get me wrong ...

“No corps member is allowed to travel. You are all expected to remain in your Places of Primary Assignment (PPA). If you are caught then you will be reprimanded. You will either be given an extension of your service year, or on the day of your passing out your certificate would be withheld . ” Those were the threatening words our Zonal and Local Inspectors gave us. But nobody wanted to remain in their PPAs for a whole year, as it would be rather boring. Don’t get me wrong, we were getting first-class treatment from the indigenes. Students returning from the farm at weekends would always drop by and give us gifts such as yams, sweet potatoes, corn, sugar cane, mangoes, and tomatoes, depending on which crop was in season. After school, some of these students would offer to pound yam for us and help us roast cashew nuts. They were like our younger siblings, and we spoilt them often because they were willing to do anything for us. We Kopas felt that Zonal Inspectors (ZI) could be an...

Most Kopas – both male and female – who served in rural areas are completely rugged and active as during the service year they were always on the run looking for ways to make ends meet. Whether teaching extra hours in schools or at people’s houses, working at computer centres, or selling various items in a bid to survive the hardship in the country, their entrepreneurial spirit is strong. This was the case with Kopa Deola and me: as corps members in the Baruten LGA of  Kwara State , we were highly recognised in the community for the commodities we sold. Kopa Deola and I were just friends, although we were often mistaken for sisters. We did virtually everything together; we talked about everything and anything – we were like Pumbaa and Timon in  The Lion King  – we stood by one another. But beyond our friendship, we were both marketers and every evening except for Sundays, we carried our wares to the heart of the township and often sold out. We would usually first hold ...

Greeting is a two-way communication process that plays an important role in every society. I am certain that the most interesting forms of greetings are found in Africa, as our people love to accompany their greetings with prostrations, gesticulations and more (remember the elaborate greeting routine in the slapstick comedy  Mr Bones , in which Leon Schuster and his friends slap each other hard on the cheeks and touch noses?). In Nigeria, there are several forms of interesting greetings common to the Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas, Edo, Urhobos, Itshekiris, Barubas and other ethnic groups. Nigerians generally frown at informal greetings and it is expected that a younger person greet an elderly person with enthusiasm as an indication of respect.  Imagine this typical scene in a Saki town in Oyo between an elderly woman and a younger woman: Younger woman:   Eku aro , ma. Older woman:  How are you, my dear? Younger woman:  Fine, ma. Older woman:  And...

The average Nigerian knows how to tell a “local breed” chicken from an agricultural one. This same distinction can be applied to individuals. I have always been indifferent about the lives of the plants and animals in my environment; all I cared about was their consumption, especially during celebrations like Christmas, Eid el-Kabir, birthdays, and weddings. During my NYSC year, however, I came to realise that plants and animals are more than just tasty meals: their lives aren’t too different to ours. The average ‘Kopa’ runs as far away from a rural assignment as possible, but as I had been posted to a village where farming was important, I decided to get to grips with this new environment. The school at which I served had a large farm on which cash crops such as yam, maize, groundnut, cassava, sugar cane, tomatoes, and cashews were grown. The harvests were sold and the money raised was used for maintenance expenses. I loved going to the farm to watch the students cultivating th...

Every year, Muslim families across Nigeria celebrate Eid el-Kabir. An age-long festival which has its roots in the Koranic story of Prophet Ibrahim, it marks the kindness of Allah to mankind. During the festivities, Muslims distribute food and drink to their neighbours, with roasted ram meat as the big attraction. But in this part of the world, rams are for more than eating. No Sallah – especially not in  Lagos State  – is complete without a ram wrestling competition. That’s right: rams duking it out WWF-style to the cheers of excited crowds. Youths in every community drag their biggest, wildest ram to neighbours’ compounds, boasting about their animals’ toughness, and challenging everyone in sight, before roasting them for eating. Ram wrestling in Nigeria dates back to the nineteenth century, and has been passed on from one generation of youths to another. As a secondary school student in 1968, my father excitedly watched rams battling it out at the Ajele area near Campo...

Tribal marks are an age-long art common to the Western part of Nigeria. The Egba, Nupe, Ilaje and other Yoruba tribes commonly use these marks and designs as a form of identification, beautification and protection. There are two different types of marks:  ila (the well-known facial scars) and  ona  (also known as “local tattoos”). Both are created using a sharp instrument such as razor blades, knives or glass. Flesh is cut from the skin to create a gash, which later heals and leaves a permanent pattern on the body. Snails (known as  Igbin  in Yoruba), a popular delicacy in Nigeria, are very important to tribal mark artisans, as the liquid they secrete is used to soothe the pain caused by the instrument used to make the incisions. The unique colour of the  ona  comes from various pigments such as charcoal. Tribal marks were used as a source of identification in times of war or migration. There are different styles for different tribes; for instance...