Night of Nigeria
By Nick Rabinowitsh
Feb. 20, 2003 9:00 p.m.
If you’re Nigerian, you’re family. If you’re
not Nigerian, you can be family too.
This Saturday, a completely new way of celebrating Nigerian
culture is coming to UCLA: the Nigerian Student Association Culture
Show. So get ready for fried plantains. Get ready for beef skewers.
Get ready for chin-chin (dangerously addictive; you’ll have
to go to find out what it is).
In addition to great free food, the show includes traditional
Nigerian drumming and dancing, original poetry, a fashion show, a
masquerade, and even a short comedic Nigerian drama piece written
by third-year biochemistry student and director of the show, Ethel
Odiakosa.
The culture show is the first of its kind for the NSA. It was
dreamt up by third-year neuroscience student Akachi Azubuike after
seeing similar shows put on by other student groups. The show aims
to spread the word about the relatively young organization, now in
its fourth year.
The show doesn’t take itself too seriously. For example,
one of the transitional breaks between performances consists of a
“You know you’re Nigerian if … “ session.
Including, “You know you’re Nigerian if the fact that
Nas Escobar is half-Nigerian makes you happy.”
Much of the show deals with the generation gap between parents
born in Nigeria and their children raised in the United States. The
drama piece is a distinctly Nigerian take on a sort of “My
Big Fat Greek Wedding” story, with the same comedic clash
between traditional parents and youth somewhat distanced from the
ways of the homeland.
“I like the skit because it’s pretty typical of life
at home,” said Azubuike, who plays the strict and traditional
father in the play. “It’s so honest and
exact.”
Because much of the content of the show is written by students,
it offers a fresh perspective on Nigerian culture. It portrays
traditional Nigerian culture, as well as the perspective of
Nigerians living in the United States who identify with both
cultures.
The show also focuses on the family aspect of Nigerian culture.
One of the poems in the show mentions that Nigerians will call any
other Nigerian “cousin,” conveying the sense of family
unity Nigerians have regardless of how well they know one
another.
“All Nigerians have a lot of similarities, like the way
they’re brought up and the expectations they have in
life,” said Ikemefuna Asimonye, a fourth-year communications
studies and ethnomusicology student and NSA vice president.
“I love the way we’re brought up to respect elders and
knowing how to greet our parents and that we have to bring up
children behind us. It’s a very communal culture.”
The NSA has had three main goals since it was founded in 1999.
They include educating the UCLA community about Nigerian culture,
building a Nigerian community both within and outside of UCLA and
raising money to donate to the Nigerian Red Cross.
Although the group currently has about 50 members, the group
still aspires to become more well-known at UCLA.
“It’s still a baby,” Asimonye said. “We
started from really humble beginnings, just 15 members in the first
year. We had to pave a lot of foundation for the group, letting
people know that Nigerians exist on campus, and we’re still
continually trying to get the word out.”
Letting people know about the culture is important to the group
““ Asimonye sees Nigerian values as having strong foundations
in hard work and the drive to excel.
“I’m first-generation American, and most of our
parents started off not wealthy,” Asimonye said. “They
have all done very well for themselves, so there is a push for us
to build on their achievements. It’s very
inspirational.”
The NSA Culture Show will take place on Saturday at the Ackerman
Grand Ballroom. Food will be served at 6 p.m., and the show begins
at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
