Good Evening, Good evening, Good evening, Ha ha, That was my Nickname! really! who gets a nickname “Good Evening”? Well, I did, and who gives a person a nickname “Good evening”? well, Nigerians!. I only spoke English.
I was 8 years old when I left England to live in Nigeria. I had never been there before, In fact, I hadn’t lived around that many black people, apart from my Dad and my uncle Tony and his family, who I spent vacations with. I had just left a foster home in Birmingham England run by Mrs Rogers. I had been in one or the other from about 2 months old, the closest black person to me was Mark at my foster home. Yet I had an older brother whom I barely knew!
For the first time, I was living with a family in Nigeria and they were relatives of mine! I lived with my aunt and uncle and their 4 sons in Lagos the capital of Nigeria at the time. Shiro Street Fadeyi to be precise.
For a person my age who had never lived in a family unit, it was a huge blessing, don’t get me wrong, I did have to deal with the culture shock, my cornflakes and baked beans ran out in no time, there was no fish and chip shop down the road, the wall geckos and lizards tormented me, but I don’t recall ever missing England. I did miss my dad who stayed in England for another year. At that time I had no idea who my mother was, I had established no roots. I was a product of the first generation of Africans embracing the new western world and the emerging global economy. So like many other post-colonial Africans, Mom and Dad left Nigeria to study in England, the new African economy needed doctors, lawyers, and engineers. So the plan….Get that education, go back home to Nigeria, work and live happily ever after. Simple right?
I was born Adebisi Adelaja Ibikunle Odeyingbo on the 14 of February 1966 in Kings Cross London that was my beginning. Since we all have beginnings our first show will be centered in the context of beginnings. Things might get a little dark. I said good evening!
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