MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES - A NIGERIAN PARENT TALE WITH THEIR STRICT FORM OF DISCIPLINE

source

I feel I have lost my childhood, growing up is not that easy as it seems. Although it comes with it’s privileges, my childhood wasn’t that a memorable one as soon as I aged. My parent’s especially my mom made it a routine when we were young to go on site visits or the park, well this was during special occasions such as Christmas celebration, Easter or the new year.

But as the economy of my beloved country began to decline and the family expenses began to increase, my mum regarded that outings as unwanted expenditure even if it’s planed for.
A Nigerian parent will see spending above a $100 bucks on a game console, is totally not needed, they rather spend their money on books and tuition fees. Any other thing outside your education you have to earn it, that’s why I didn’t have any game console when I was little, ranging from the era of Sega, Nintendo, Nintendo switch, PlayStation or even the Xbox. Yeah I know! My childhood was boring.

source

I bought my first ever game which was a brick game, I only had the privilege to paying Tetris and it was too basic. Well I was proud of myself because I served up for it, my lunch money was spend judiciously for it. As I grew other I wanted cool stuffs other kids had, so on a faithful morning after the morning devotion I walked up to my dad that I needed a Job.
His response to me was “Son what do you need it for, ain’t I providing everything you need in school”. The response to him in my head was I just needed to make my own money to take care of my needs. I wasn’t able to say it out because it’s just going to put a end to a conversation that has hasn’t begun.

He walked straight to the kitchen and called my mum then it became a round table, they where on the side that money is going to influence my thought process. That if it’s happens that I make too much of it I might drop out of school. Well to be honest with him I would have, eventually he succeeded in killing the idea, and that’s how owning a game console died.

GUNS & ROSES

source
one of the most deadliest weapon in hands of a Nigerian Mother

If you are raised by a Nigerian parent is either you have been beaten by spatula, or had a slippers thrown at you. Before now I saw this things as torture, I grew to understand that, that’s their own way of understanding how to raise a child. It will definitely pay when you leave outside your comfort zone(family house) there is no way you won’t succeed. Due to the trainings in which we have to endure from both sides especially the woman of the house.
Allow me to paint a picture of what am talking about, so on this faithful evening after I came back from school with a migraine, which I needed just to take drugs and rest and it will go away. My mum desired to send me on an errand, which the lady sold the opposite to me and I was cautious about what just transpired. So I went home with it and took it to my mum, she saw it and asked me to make a return of it.

On getting to the store the troublesome woman refused to accept it, she said it has left her shop that she can’t take it back. My mum was very angry, she started exchanging words with her in a transfer of aggression she hit the middle of my head with her heels.

Sweet Christ I felt the shock run through my body and response to her I gave an insulting word, well do be honest that was the end of my career. I ran home thinking my dad will stand for me, but he left me on my own.
I went to bed without food that night, then the morning of it I received a proper beating with belts, slippers and spatula. It was more like a deliverance session for me, I can never forget it took the intervention of neighbors before it stopped.
For the next few weeks I was giving the silent treatment, until I had enough of it and I apologize. Since that incident I count my words when am speaking with my mum, mums actually play in major role in bring up the male child especially the stubborn ones.