Mọ́rìnọ́lá

“Walking into wealth’.”

 Writing is something I recently realised I like to do; I did not hate it, but I was not a fan of it. That probably makes sense because I really did not like to read either. I tried it as a kid and my mum would always push me to read, but I never really understood the concept of ‘reading for fun’. It’s ironic because I always said I wanted to be a lawyer; I had my future planned in primary school: ‘I was going to study Law at the University of Cambridge’. To an extent, it was easy to come to that conclusion, both my parents are lawyers, and every kid wants to be like their parent, right? Well, I got the Law part down, the Cambridge thing… not so much. It’s funny how things you once despised creep back into your life and you actually begin to see its appeal. It’s like how children cry and pick out their greens and suddenly in their 20s, they’re having salads for lunch. You can say that writing is my salad. 

 I have always had a creative mind; when I was younger, I dabbled in everything. I was in a dance club, I wrote really terrible music, I played the violin, I tried acting; it ended as quickly as it started, and of course I can’t forget my time in a martial band. When I say I tried everything, I mean literally everything. Because of this, I’ve always known I want one foot in entertainment. It crushed me to face the hard truth about my non-existent acting talent, but in spite of that I realised that I can spot good acting. It is not all bad anyways, at least I get to live vicariously through others.

 I am and will always continue to be fascinated by Nigeria, she’s my home. My relationship with her is quite toxic, I love her unconditionally, but I don’t necessarily like her. There are a lot of things wrong with Nigeria, but there are some things you cannot help but love about her. Nigeria is so big that sometimes we Nigerians tend to interpret her from the little corner you experience her from. Perhaps growing up in Lagos and going to secondary school in Enugu helped me understand her a bit more; or maybe having an Igbo dad and a Yoruba-efik mum played a crucial role in that too. What is certain though, is that Nigeria is complex, and for years I have been searching for the best way to explore her complexities. 

I wanted to start a blog for many reasons, the most important being that I feel like s is the best outlet for me to say what’s on my mind. This blog has been in the works for the longest time, I guess I’ve been stalling because I was shy, I still am. However, I’ve realised that fear is nothing more than a state of mind. This blog is about navigating my experiences as a Nigerian, who has lived in Nigeria, I hope to explore all the things I love and hate about her. Therefore, there isn’t one set thing I’ll be discussing in this blog. One day you could come here and find a movie review, the next you could find a rant about Nigerian politics, or a piece on being a young Nigerian woman in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, my blog is going to be a little chaotic, just like Nigeria. As Chinua Achebe rightly said, while “Being a Nigerian is abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting”, it is also very varied. Hence, I will not cover everything, but I definitely will try.

 Aside from starting this blog, the hardest thing to figure out was its name. I brainstormed for weeks maybe months if we are counting and I couldn’t find anything that I connected with. 

 Mọ́rìnọ́lá was my grandmother’s name. For some time, I had it scribbled in my journal, I wasn’t sure about using it. I spoke to my mum and aunt to get their take on it and they gave me some much-needed validation. Mọ́rìnọ́lá is special to me because it represents strength, beauty and elegance which is everything my grandmother embodied. To say that she helped shape me into the woman I am today is an understatement. This blog is my way of honouring her name and celebrating her legacy. When I think of what she would want for this blog, I know that she would want it to positively impact others. Hence, I will write with Nigeria as my foundation and in dedication of my grandmother, Mọ́rìnọ́lá.