Awolowo’s Lost Memoir
I Shine, Not Burn
Nostalgia is one thing. It’s great to go and play the old songs. People know them and appreciate them. You got to give them what they want to hear — Denny Laine
I took a walk around Soluyi in Gbagada today…
Not for walking’s sake, anyway. I was looking for a good diffuser.
A diffuser is used to dispense essential oils in your room. A diffuser with oil (an essential oil diffuser or an aromatherapy diffuser) can often freshen up your room and keep mosquitoes at bay.
I was restructuring my room again, and I thought it needed more fragrance.
I eventually found it.
But then, I found something else…
You won’t believe it.
This side of Gbagada has more pharmacies than churches. For the record, it is the home of the famous Deeper-Life Bible Church headquarters.
You’ll even find pharmacies opposite each other or right beside each other.
We will talk about this someday, but for today, I’ll tell you about something else.
As I walked the streets of Soluyi, I thought to myself that indeed…
I grew up with so many privileges
By the time I became aware of who I was, my parents were already well-to-do financially. I stayed in a place that was big enough to accommodate a lot of visitors.
People flowed in and out of our house at different times. Some were posted for their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state we lived in Enugu. They’d live with us for one year and leave afterward. For some, I never saw them again after they left, and for others, I still saw them years after.
My first official holiday as a kid was in 2008. My mum took me and my siblings to Ado-Ekiti. I had just concluded JSS3 Junior WAEC, and I couldn’t wait for the Pre-SS1 classes my school was organizing. I was thirteen (13) years old.
It was the year the Nigerian artist 9ice released the album titled Gongo Aso, and my favorite track from that album was ‘Street Credibility.’
It was the year I also got my first kiss…
That was the year I also became confident enough to compete with students from other schools outside Lagos.
The local champion in me was happy.
The holiday teachers at Ben Folarin Secondary School were impressed by my knowledge and eagerness to learn. I proudly represented my school there in Ado Ekiti.
I was flogged the moment I got back to the school, though…
This life no just balance.
Why did I need to take pre-SS1 classes that wouldn’t be relevant in SS1?
I took many things on that day.
The cane, my prize for being the overall best student during the previous academic session and promotion to SS1, with some memories from Ado-Ekiti (The holiday destination that was better than the Maldives).
All these things don’t exactly qualify the truth that I’m privileged.
By family…
A well-to-do family that could afford the standard of education I received
By friends…
The ones that ensure I have no misplaced hope as long as it is not an extreme.
By the romantic love that I have experienced.
They are my pillars.
To be honest, I’ve never been on the streets.
Each time I enjoy the lyrics of Street Credibility by 9ice, it’s a life I never lived, and more so, when my best friend sings it with me, there are no other emotions attached outside of the context of whatever 9ice was trying to pass across.
It’s just us…
In our world, singing is at the top of both our lungs.
Even with 99 problems, we will still sing those lines — Na me dey want, to the streets I belong. Enemies are a must if you want to blow. Omo na turn by turn, beg baba God make e reach your turn.
The nostalgia flows through my veins tonight.
The love I knew, the friendship I cherished, and the family I still belong to.
They are the privileges I grew up with.
In this world, I will always shine because of them, and not burn.
If you enjoyed this, then you’d enjoy this.
Thank you for reading!
