##Continuation
Growing up in an African home can be compared to sitting down for an examination you are not prepared for. For crying out loud, we were not given an opportunity to choose our parents before we were born. Nigerian Mothers deserve the award for being the best in being passive-aggressive; instead of them to tell you exactly how they feel, they device other means of passing their message across. If your Nigerian Mum tells you ‘do what you want’, just know that she is already pissed and that despite the she already advised you on the path to follow, you were adamant on doing it you way, abi, afterall you are already an adult?
Nigerian mum feels so uncomfortable when they feel their children are having too much ‘too much fun’ and you would here statements like ‘I did not say you should not go out oh, but…’. When you have gone out twice in a week already and you are about going out the third time, that is when your mum will remind you that the town or area is not that safe enough for you to move around.
Nigerian mothers are special. This is because there are so many unique things about them. One of which is the way they make conversation with their children, mind you we love our mothers. An incident happened when I was quite young; a visitor came in while we were eating and my mum went to the kitchen to dish out her food, which was the serving of rice in the pot. After eating my food, I was not satisfied, so I told my mum that I was still hungry right in front of the visitor, she kept on making funny movements with her face, especially her eyes, but I did not get it. She rolled her eyes severally and when she found out that I was bent on getting my plate filled again, she told me to wait for her in the kitchen. Oh, if I had known, I would have just cleaned my mouth and run out to play like my siblings did. The next thing I saw was my mum in the kitchen twisting my two ears and telling me that I lacked manners. That day I saw red, blue and pink, I did not regain my hearing till the following day. I am sure you can relate to this; I know I was the only that passed through this while growing up.
If your mum has visitors, you need not be told to leave that vicinity. Yet some kids still stay to listen to their conversation. Trust mothers, the way they will roll their eyes, your sixth sense will tell you it’s a signal for you to leave and if you do get the signal, she will pinch you if your are close to her. And if you still do not leave, you will definitely receive a slap after the visitors had gone, that will take you back to factory settings. Mothers are awesome.
When we were quite young, friends would come to our compound to play football. There was a certain time, they played ball and others left for their homes because it was already running late into the night, but this our Yoruba friend stayed back and kept playing. His mum appeared from nowhere and gave him a resounding slap. Jeez, I heard the sound right from our sitting room. Yoruba mothers are best when it comes to child discipline, they produce the best range of slaps; igbati, ifoti, igbaju, igbarun, iforun etc these slaps will make you think you were adopted.
All in all, Nigerian mothers are the best. They go the extra mile for their kids at making sure their children gets the best in life. It is their discipline that molded and transformed us into the responsible young men and women that we are today. The holy book says, ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. Mum, we love you.
Annabel Nzegbule
##EMBA 28
