Photo credit: Nairaland
There are so many things I miss because adulthood has come upon me.
The first is sitting by the radio hung at the corridor every Saturday and listening to ‘Omo Obokun’. The presenter told various stories which I imagined were real.
I do miss my wheel which waa made of a disused metal bucket. I happily rolled it through the streets of Itire in my childhood.
I also miss floating my paper boats along the gutters of Murtala Muhammed Street (then Denton Street), Ebute Meta. I should remark that those gutters were so clean then.
I miss Afope l’Olorun. I posted about the ikomo – naming ceremonies at which the first song was Now Thank We All Our God. The song was done lustily in expectation of the bread or yam that came afterwards with the fish stew made for the occasion.
The agbari Ojukwu was so helpful in making the stew!
The tea waa another thing entirely. It was made with bongo or kettle brand of tea. The tea was also rich in milk and sugar.
Those were the days!
I do miss going on ikiri. After school, I did hawk ogi or pap, a corn meal which my granny carefully made. I didn’t have to but I did and I should mention that I enjoyed it.
It earned me an appellation, Baba Ologi!
Talking of ogi, I do miss the process of making ogi. It all started from picking the maize and soaking it in water for three days. We then took the maize to the grinder.
After grinding into paste, we went on to use sieves in sifting the chaff from the soft paste We also went on to ferment the final product for a couple of days after which it was ready for the market.
I do miss the bicycle which I forced myself to learn how to ride. I normally rented bicycles.
I do miss the growing relationship between two of our teachers. The relationship later blossomed into a marriage. I did enjoy looking at the love in their eyes during courtship.
Of course, I do miss my introduction into the first private library. It was a family library. But then it was better stocked than even some school libraries. It had encyclopedias, various editions of the famous Guinness Book of World Records, James Hadley Chase, James Bond, etc.
Then I do miss my first love! I won’t say more!!
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