Growing up is one thing, but growing up in Nigeria? Now that’s an adventure! If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that we’ve been lied to, repeatedly. From harmless love disguised in childhood myths to well-meaning parental “gimmicks,” we all have fallen for a few tall tales.
Myths have always played a role in human culture. Some are plain cautionary tales, designed to keep us safe; like the not-so-gentle warnings all Nigerian parents told their kids that sitting too close to the TV will ruin your eyesight. Others exist purely to entertain (or so I want to believe, LOL), like the belief that drinking Coconut water makes you a dullard or similar, “If you eat the eye of fish, you will become an ‘Olodo’”.
Although these tales varied from area to area, some of the most famous stories had similar plots and characters. After this article, we all need to come together to decide if we’ll forgive them or not. But before then, let’s highlight a few of the many lies we were told:
- The Football Story That Never Happened: If there were an award for the most ridiculous childhood myth we all believed, the 99-1 India vs. Nigeria football story would take the trophy. The story had everything: magical footballs that turned into Lions. And of course, the bizarre twist, that when Super Eagles Green Eagles legend Peter Rufai Dodomayana, tried to catch the ball stubbornly, it turned into fire. It made zero sense, but we believed it anyway.
- White Birds and their magical manicure powers: As kids, we truly believed that singing to an egret, the elegant white bird often seen near grazing cattle, would give us white spots on our nails.
Leke-Leke, please give me one finger, Leke-Leke, please give me two fingers… Leke-Leke, please give me ten fingers!
If you sang this like me, you probably spent a good chunk of your childhood chasing after those birds, hoping for a magical manicure.
- Sun and Rain: Rain and sun together? Forget science! This had to mean only one thing! A Lion was giving birth! It was the best explanation we got for a rare weather event, and honestly, as kids, it made perfect sense hearing this. And if we were being honest, some of us still say it till today out of habit!
- The Greatest of all lies… We all heard it growing up: “read your book o, so that you that you will wear scos-scos shoes, and you will have an easy life”. What they did not tell us is that we will be running, jumping buses to get to work early and spending most of our lives in traffic (Abuja people cannot relate), watching the Dollar-Naira rates racing up by the day. Ohhh… the plenty bills waiting for us. And the not-so-best part? By the time we finally “grew up,” the economy had already waved us a not-so-friendly goodbye.
While some myths fade with time, others stubbornly persist, gaining new life in the digital age. The internet, with its boundless reach, has accelerated the spread of misinformation (Facebook, WhatsApp forwarded messages, and our parents left the group chat).
Once upon a time, we believed in fire-footballs and trees growing in our stomachs. Now, it’s investment scams and AI tricking us.
We’ve all been there! What’s the most outrageous story you’ve ever fallen for? A myth you swore was real. Tell us, we promise, no judgment (okay, maybe a little laughter).
Write back and add yours, I cannot wait to read from you.
