Nigeria

My exuberant Nigerian colleague Goodluck and I have both moved on to other workplaces, but I remember his engaging conversation and never-ending energy. I would love to be working with him again! Over the several years we worked together, I learned quite a bit about Nigeria. When my bookgroup read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Goodluck’s wife joined us for the discussion, bringing insight we otherwise wouldn’t have had. To get a taste of more Nigerian humor and straightforward talk, read Adichie’s book or at least see her TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc

Besides Americanah, I have also read Half of a Yellow Sun by Adiche. The movie based on the book is available online, along with works from other famous Nigerian writers.

· Movie version of Half of a Yellow Sun: https://tubitv.com/movies/627592/half-of-a-yellow-sun

· The classic, not only of African literature but of world literature, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: http://marul.ffst.hr/~bwillems/fymob/things.pdf

· An interview with Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wosbdri9dRc

· Booker Prize winner Ben Okri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjkHM6RBLWM

· Nigerian tagged works on Words without Borders to introduce the new generation: https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/find/countries/tag/nigeria

Nollywood, the Nigerian filmmaking industry, puts out about 2,500 movies per year. About forty of these Nigerian movies and series are on Netflix. This week I wanted something fun, so I watched the romantic comedy A Naija Christmas (I have no problem watching Christmas movies in May). Here is a website with recommendations of what to watch: https://www.lunchbox-productions.com/best-nollywood-movies/ and this 2007 documentary gives a look at how the industry started: https://tubitv.com/movies/522370/this-is-nollywood.

Nigerian food is almost as easy to find as the books and movies. I spent six weeks for work in Bakersfield and wandered into an African grocery store looking for something I hadn’t eaten before. The friendly owner told me to come back the next day and she would have jollof rice for me. Since jollof rice is mentioned in so many books I have read, I was thrilled to try it and it is delicious! Here is a recipe: https://food52.com/recipes/61557-classic-nigerian-jollof-rice

I have also eaten the very spicy fish pepper soup at Veronica's Kitchen in Inglewood with Gladys and Phyllis (try this version https://lowcarbafrica.com/fish-pepper-soup/) and the Nigerian honey beans at Aduke African Cuisine on the way home from LAX. I called from the parking shuttle so they would be ready when I arrived. It was a great meal to eat after a long flight (more information here https://daddysnom.com/how-to-make-nigerian-beans-porridge/). Nigerian Chef Lola adds even more recipes to try: https://cheflolaskitchen.com/african-recipes/

As the most populated country in Africa, there is plenty to do. In talking with another Nigerian acquaintance recently, I learned that tourists go to Nigeria for the food, the music, and to hang out. While you are trying the food above, also listen to the music below:

· Dan Maraya Jos musically storytelling in his native language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6ZRdll5Hl0

· Tiwa Savage in a beautiful Tiny Desk Concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S53BdCfsjw

· A program surveying rap from Nigeria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0WdLDUwgI

Art in Nigeria ranges from the ancient to the contemporary.

· Terracotta heads at Nok: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-africa/west-africa/nigeria/v/ife-uncovered

· Nine contemporary artists: https://www.afr-i-cancontemporaryart.com/artists

I also enjoyed seeing the three segments on Nigerian animals in this CNN series: https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/03/29/inside-africa-nigerian-wildlife-spc-a.cnn/video/playlists/intl-inside-africa/ and the Queen Amina video from Experiencing Naija, which is great for inspiring young girls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZFVcEkbnT4

The Crazy Tourist lists great places to visit in Nigeria: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-nigeria/ and I want to go! I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Nigeria and throughout the world.

Photo credit: Seun Idowu https://unsplash.com/photos/0EhDwwtMDks