An Ode to Iya Ibeji.

"Ninu, please, let me in on what your interests are. I'm willing to go as far as the moon leads me to see the success of it."

An Ode to Iya Ibeji

I was raised by an unconventional Christian/Yorubanglish mum. My mum, to the neighbourhood, relatives and family friends is 'Iya Ibeji' which denotes 'mother of twin children' but is 'mummy aka Mamaphilacobapara' to us, her wonderful kids.

She is 'phila' because she is an innate giver. She is the kind that feeds you(with love, food, service, etc) even when you've evidently been fed to the fullest.

She is 'coba' because she would somehow eventually rat your transgressions out to Dad! It would just always slip out of her mind to my Dad's ears.😂

She is 'para' because one of her superpowers is shouting and amusingly, that's the rare moment my mum unleashes the Yoruba root in her. The Yoruba would smoothly roll off her tongue as she calls you to order.

Iya Ibeji' is one whose preference lies in conversing with Pidgin-English with us. My mum and I speak so freely to each other that if no discrepancies existed in our physiques, you would have come to a conclusion that we are sisters. But you know, parents will always be parents 😂...There are these times when we step out of the house or when I have friends over that I hate to hear her speak to me in Pidgin but guess what my mum would do? She would then push me aside and instead begin to converse with my pals or the outsider in Pidgin. Isn't that cutely pissing?😊😅

My mum is the best storyteller and narrator. She is that mother that can narrate the story of my siblings and I's lives to you in the most creative manner. You would almost forget that you have a child to feed at home once my mum begins her tales. It is safe to now reveal to you that she is the one behind my passion and energy for storytelling and the subject of writing. I recall the times where I'll sit on the wooden stool in our house, as my mum would take me through the rudiments of literary studies. My mum taught me to teach my brain to house a huge capacity of knowledge at my tender age.

She taught me Oral English, the most humongous and vague words with their meanings and usage. If I had friends over, my mum would set us up for a spiced-up spelling game. Every second counts! But she never dispersed us to play without an added knowledge. She has this fiery passion to touch the lives of all and sundry regardless of the sacrifice she would have to make.

If I were to tell these folks, of all the deeds you've wrought in my life, for my friends, for the people of the earth, pray! Shall I ever find any ink to write more, mum?

My mum is a soprano singer with a 'trumpet' voice as we(my siblings and I) would often say. In my house, everyone has a day where they host the family devotion. I host on Wednesdays while my mum hosts on Thursdays. Sometimes, me being me, would appeal to her to tone it down once she begins her worship sessions. 😂😂

Then, my mum being my mum, would switch to a very lovely(hackshually, annoying because it's supposed to be morning ma'am..where everyone's voice is groggy ba?😑😂)accent. She'd then take her time to preach the word till she begins to get signals from some wonderful 'alagbaras' which denotes 'powerful people'. Undoubtedly, she is a natural teacher with so much doggedness to share her knowledge with everyone.

Have I skipped the part where on some days, a distant cry, on some days, a distant plea or a cry of praises would jolt us out of our deep sleeps? My mum's early morning prayers would get you tiptoeing from your room, searching from door to door, the source of the incessant sound and when you locate it, you would only send up a silent prayer to God for her and tiptoe back to your dreamland. Yeah! That's my mother.

My mother is a poet and a phenomenal writer. I've been sipping her breath, drinking of her milk. Now, I think it's high time I spread my wings to go in search of meat.

Cheers to my mother and to every mother out there🥂😍

Happy Mother's Day Maami🤗