For those of us who were born many years ago, this post will bring back memories...
I remember the good old days..
When a neighbour would buy an electronic appliance mostly black and white television or a Stereo system and he would call on the other neighbours to come rejoice with him. People would fill his apartment, he would play the TV or Radio and buy drinks for everyone present including us (children). Hahahahaha.
Nowadays, its something like a new car or house that they celebrate and its usually with friends and family o, not with neighbours. You would even greet and say ' Daddy Bomboy, congrats on your new car' and the man will go 'oooh thank you madam, God bless you' he will just blank his face.
When birthday cake was not common or non existent in some parts of the country. We would mark our birthdays and take pictures with white rice and stew served in a 'china plate' and placed on a stool sandwiched on both sides by bottles of soft drinks. Hehehehe
When a woman would give birth and the mothers in the neighbourhood would take turns in bathing the mother and child till a relative arrives from the village and takes over. Nowadays, everyone minds their business except the couple asks for assistance. Hmmmm
When people gave birth to 'ogbanje'. I remember a woman who lost 7 babies at birth and people said the babies were 'ogbanje's'. Sad!
My mum told me that I was so sick when I was a baby that people kept telling her to give me deep marks on the face so I won't 'go back'. She said her Christian faith and little education prevented her from heeding to their advice. I told her I would not have forgiven her if she had given me a single mark on my face.
Now I wonder where the spirit of 'ogbanje' disappeared to. My mind tells me it was sickle cell...or what do think?
When children used to gather themselves on Christmas day and go round the houses in the neighbourhood eating and drinking. When they were leaving each house, they would be given money to share.
I remember one man who used to give us #5 back then. Every year, this man would give his wife #5 to give to us to share.
When kids used to have 'giri' or convulsions. Virtually all the kids I knew back then suffered from convulsions.
Then they would put a spoon in the child's mouth to prevent the teeth from clamping. The women would bring different kinds of concoctions for the child's mother to use on him/her. They included cow urine mixed with somethings, ground charcoal mixed with somethings, some type of leaves, herbal mixtures, etc
When we rarely took pictures. Pictures were for special occasions like birthdays, wedding/naming ceremonies, etc. Now we take pictures with our devices almost everyday.
When your milk teeth will fall off and they will tell you to throw it on the roof top or else.. Hehehehe
Add your own...
Mama Tee
Good old days; When Goody Goody was 2 for 5 naira. Limca was 5naira.
ReplyDeleteOh I remember Limca and Goldspot soft drinks. The last I heard of them was that Seven-up bottling company bought it.
DeleteThe good old days.
Thank you mama tee for this post
Oh I miss goddy goody and gold spot mehn
DeleteI loved Limca and their adverts
DeleteI remember the days of Fido dido adverts on TV (side eyes at sexy daddy)
Deletemao
DeleteYou just reminded me of Sexy daddy and how bvs called him different names like mosquito, fido dido hahahaha
Good old days. I remember this song for coca cola advert. I am the hope of the world,I am the hope of my nation,I am tomorrow's people,I am the new inspirationnnn and we've got a song to sing to you,we've got a message to bring to you,blan blah blah. Finish the song if you know it. Sometimes I reminisce on the good old days,wish u could turn back the hands of time,but one generation goes,another generation comes
DeleteWhen you do birthday, them carry tray put rice and stew and children be eating it from there. IF you carry spoon, oyo because na five finger sure pass.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm wickedness is everywhere. Village people come strong full everywhere.
May God help us oooo Amen
Lols. Some kids will be swallowing the rice without chewing it.
DeleteAm in the category of rice swallowers even uptil today I don't chew Rice,Bad habit
DeleteWhen children use to cook at the backyard with empty cans filled with grass and use sand as garri. Now we have blocked our kids from knowing each other with high fence and an instruction that the kids should not go out of the house.
ReplyDeleteWhen you will come back from school and your mum is not at home, then your next door neighbor will bath you and give you food to eat.
Not now that fear of evil neighbors has made parent to ask their kids not to even take water from their neighbors.
The world has really changed.
My sister, do you blame any one for their present behaviour? In the olden days, there was no evil as such. People don't think evil against their neighbours. In those days did you hear of ritual killings, corruption jealousy? We live in fear these days. May GOD help us.
DeleteLife was too sweet then, I don't just know now again oo. Fear everywhere
DeleteThis really brought back old memories
ReplyDeleteAaaawwww memories. When families would come visiting from other states we would be treating or looking at them like they came back from Mars. The evening they came they would gist till the early morning. But this days, if you like come from the abroad they would treat you like normal, no surprise look, no fanfare, as a matter of fact, I wan go sleep. Shebi you still remember where kitchen deh, I don covet your food keep. The visitor sef go say I don tire I wan go sleep we go yarn tomorrow. No room for midnight talk lol.
ReplyDeleteHahahahahahahahaahha
ReplyDeleteMama tee nice write up
Let me add mine
When we would watch Tales by moonlight on NTA network every Sunday evening by 6 pm and then News line by 9 pm. Now I can't remember when last I watched NTA.
Aaah tales by moonlight
DeleteNepa light was top notch in those days and we will make sure we come home from Wherever we went and watch it
I can so relate,especially d kids that stayed with their grandma's in d village,d elderly women bathing baby can annoy me,i remembered when my aunt gave birth to her first child,if u see how these old women bombarded d house eerh,one of them would eat and keep the bones in a paper and keep it till she left,i wonder what that means,d kind sun wey go beat us to and fro when going to houses during Xmas untop the money wey we go take buy snake balloon, abi na d day my dad struggle to buy Xmas cloth send and we hawk go houses as usual con go do dancing competition,na so i dance tear cloth,i wept like crazy that day, if pictures dey rampant like dis during my time,shame for don catch me cover my face fully with niqab cos na only pant i dey wear dt time so as not to wash clothes on weekends, when others are washing,i will just bring out d 5or 6 pants i wore for d week to wash,childhood can sweet sha
ReplyDeleteKwakwakwakwakwa
DeleteYou used to wear only panties throughout the week so as not to wash clothes on weekends. And when others are washing clothes you will bring out your 6pants and wash?
This very funny
Lols. I hardly see kids run Around the streets with only pants these days. Good old days
DeleteLolzzz
DeleteI remember those days if a neighbor is having a party, he/she will share rice and drinks to all close by.
ReplyDeleteThen I usually carry the food to the neighbours because i know I would be gifted N1 note.
Or when a visitor comes around the first thing you serve them is a picture album and drinks.
I really miss those days.
Omg! Memories. Hahahaa! Those were the days. I remember 'running man ' dance. And watabambam, junior and pretty's Bolanle is still somewhere in my phone sef lmao
ReplyDeleteI saw one of my birthday photos taken then with all our neighbors' kids. On the table was a pack of cabin biscuits with soft drinks like Tandi,fanta, Crest, coke and even Schweppes by the side. Lol.
ReplyDeleteWe had this B/w TV that used to be inside a cupboard. We only watched it when dad was around cos he ensured it was always locked.
I remember one of the houses we lived in while growing up. The living room was so large with 3 wide windows. My brothers and their friends turned the place to football field whenever they came back from school. What of the rooms? Hmm...the rooms and kitchen was same size. Looking at buildings today, I'd say the standard of measurement has really evolved.
I remember Christmas those days..had this unique 'smell' in the air. When Christmas carol made sense in the house. I wonder if people still play carols at home. These we just go for carol service... that's all. Chickens then were natural (not these balloons we buy these days). I usually ate the feet (but now I despise it with passion).
My dad had this camera he used to take us pics whenever we went on an outing. I only saw the negatives of all those pictures (for many years) till the camera was stolen one day. Dunno why he never printed them out.
Mmmmm....Blessed memories. Apologies for my epistle.
When we used to dance with a traditional pot instrument during Christmas and after dancing they will give us 10kobo and we'd cover a whole village.
ReplyDeleteIs it when we used to play 'oro' mostly around 7pm till 8pm and nothing like night bathing. Choi.
Mama Tee welldone. This post brings back memories.
ReplyDeleteBirthday - In the absence of rice and stew, they use cabin biscuits. Plenty cabin biscuits in a flat plate and minerals on both sides to snap birthday pictures. I see some old school pictures and laugh so hard.
Ogbanje- I think That ogbanje thingy is the cause of why so many people have marks on their face in those days. I also wonder where it disappeared to.
Tooth - I remember my cousin telling me to put my tooth inside nylon together with 7 pieces of goat shit and 7 small stones, tie it and throw on the roof.
Christmas - I remember how they use to sew 'anko' for us the children including my cousins. They will buy one material and sew it for all of us for xmas. As I grew older, I started rejecting it. I would not wear mine on the day my younger ones will wear their own.
Lols @ anko, I so much hated that anko thing eh, and you know in those days tailors were not this creative, they will just sew anyhow styles for everyone mostly skirt and blouse or one kain gown like that.
DeleteOgbanje aka abiku is simply sickle cell anemia. Childhood convulsions is usually caused by fever in under 5 children. And. You know paracetamol was only just discovered, so any malaria or fever , convulsions will come calling. Then it was only anagil
DeleteOMG
DeleteSS is ogbanje? See what backwardness, lack of enlightenment and low technology caused, so many families lost babies back in those days to this sickle cell
Then, we were made to believe that when a child drinks coconut water, he/she becomes itibolibo and when we eat a big kernelnut, we will fall into the toilet. 😂
ReplyDeletehahahahahahah. The coconut water self uptill now even if i drink it, i go still remember that saying
DeleteLols. Our own was fish eyes. We were not allowed to eat fish eyes. They said anyone that eat fish eyes will become olodo.
ReplyDeleteSo funny but good.took me back to old days when we buy two attached bread for #50
ReplyDeleteMc pinky
bread onibeji, lolzzzzzz
DeleteGood old days of Tandi gurana,gold spot, petit,witness gala.
ReplyDeleteGood old days of interesting movies like Iru Eshin,koto aye, palace, passion and when you are mine.
Good old days of kito,trekkers with ankle socks.
Ekana gowon,balewa,lolly,.
Every generation will sure have something to say
You forgot 'Look' sandals. Lols
DeleteThe good old days when you have to wait at a neigbour's house for hours expecting a call from the abroad
ReplyDeleteLols
DeleteGOOD oLD DAYS WHEN PARENTS USED TO WORK 9-5 AND COULD GET HOME EARLY TO SEE THEIR KIDS PLAYING OUTSIDE.
ReplyDeleteFew women worked 9-5 back then. They were mostly teachers, nurses, civil servants and business women.
DeleteAll I remember are the sexual abuse by neighbours and my step dad.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood in those days you are talking about was bitter.
I still hate my mum for doing this to me.
She ruined my life when she left.my dad.
She remarried, had other kids and focused all her attention on them while my life was been ruined
Anon pls forgive her. May God heal you.
DeleteForgive her dear..
DeleteMay Jehovah heal you
#sad
DeleteSweet memories..days of tree top and during xmas u will see us with hair like chicken wey rain beat courtesy of aunty wash wash aka soda relaxer
ReplyDeletehmmmm.... the goodold days.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post.
Hehehehe
ReplyDeleteI used to go to a business center across the street to receive a call from my then boyfriend. Those were the days of Telephone with wire(land line). Early 90's was sweet.
I remember when my milk teeth would fall off n i would b told to run round d compound 7 tyms n dance b4 throwing d teeth on d roof so dat lizard can eat it n my teeth will b fine. I also remember screaming "aeroplane bye-bye whenever an aeroplane or helicopter passed by, mummy/daddy oyoyo whenever i hear dea car horn n dem dem dem!!! Whenever my siblings spoil something. Mehn growing up in a neighbourhood is bae. I remember games like swell, ncho, tenten, catcher, police n thief, riding tire, mr. Wolf, hide n seek, drama, football(boys vs girls) n rescue (rescue occurs when your house maid or d neighbours housemaid refuses to let u or ur friend cime out n play so u have to create a distraction so that d house key can b stolen n used for d rescue operation)
ReplyDeleteMemories.
ReplyDeleteThe days we go to the villa for Xmas and embark on the Real Ultimate Search in the bush. Plucking cashew, mango, icheku, utu and all sorts.
We arrive at dusk with many buckets loaded with goodies.
Now they sold all the farmlands and bushes.
Long hisssssss.
The Good old days when around Christmas time we would abandon our traditional church and go to the churches which had "abroad connections / leaders / head offices" so we could receive gifts at Sunday school 🙈
ReplyDeleteThose were the days. It was fun then unlike now. Kids can't play outside again, all they know now is social media. I remember when we used to do birthdays and wrap cabin biscuit with sweet in brown papers. I remember when I use to go to the next house to listen to old stories with other kids from elderly people in the evenings. It was fun then... I really would love my future kids to experience this pure joy
ReplyDelete