NEW MESSAGE FROM HUSHPUPPIE

NEW MESSAGE FROM HUSHPUPPIE

ByMoyo Okediji

Scammer: Hello, how are you doing?

Me: Very good. How about you?

Scammer: I’m fine, thanks for asking. how’s your day going so far?

Me: Excellent. Who are you?

Scammer: I’m Susan, from Idaho but currently living in Jacksonville Florida. I’m a registered nurse working with the UN nations overseas.

Facebook suggested you as someone I may know so I viewed your profile and decided to send you a request out of curiosity hoping we could get to know more about ourselves and maybe become friends.

Me: That’s great. Where are you currently working overseas?

a picture showing moyo okediji in front of one of his art piece poised for the camera

THE PARABLE OF THE TOO BIG TO FALL

ByMoyo Okediji

When young women went to the river to fetch water, they would disappear.

The king’s royal beads even went missing.

People were worried. One of the wise men said, “Let’s approach Ọlọ́run to give us a police boss.”

But who could they trust? One of them must be the thief.

They decided unanimously that the only trustworthy person in the entire community was Ijapa.

Ijapa gave them only one condition: “Nobody should visit my house without letting me know in advance that they were coming.”

GENDER WAR

GENDER WAR

ByMoyo Okediji

GENDER WAR

You naw go commot road? Abi you naw see?

Na ya papa road?

See trouble o! Becos dem buy you cellphone nau, na im make you come tanda for highway dey take call?

Na only where I stand you wan pass? You no see road everywhere?

a picture showing moyo okediji with a big smile on his face

PARABLE OF THE ARÁ AYÉ AND ARÁ Ọ̀RUN

ByMoyo Okediji

Once upon a time, the Ará Ọ̀run known as the Egúngún visited Ayé for the first time and saw Ará Ayé, known as Ènìyàn or human being, for the first time.Ará Ayé also saw Ara Ọ̀run for the first time that day.Intrigued by the appearance of Ará Ayé, the Ará Ọ̀run the Egúngún wanted to take Ará Ayé back to Ọ̀run.But scared of the colorful attires and striking sculptures of the Egúngún, Ará Ayé began to run when the Ará Ọ̀run approached.

a picture showing moyo okediji poised for the camera in a greyish coloured coat and a black turtle neck.

MADE IN LAGOS

ByMoyo Okediji

1234. That was what my clock read. Thirty-four minutes past midnight.Perfect math, I thought. I got up to take a walk. I plugged my ears with my earphones and turned on Apple Music 1. I stepped out into the darkness of the night. The Apple Music Radio deejay started playing some tunes. It was streaming all over the world from London.

picture of the supplicating hands of Oloye Osara of Ile Ife, an important divinity associated with the Yoruba creation narrative.

The Miyetti Allah cattle herders.

ByMoyo Okediji

Miyetti Allah cattle herders want grazing grounds in the south?

I have not touched beef in more than a decade.

But fair enough.

We the Orisa devotees in Yorubaland have a simple request as well–in the interest of peace, progress and prosperity.

We want to have 100 square miles in each northern state reserved for us as our Igbó Orò. We need the space to break kola and worship our orisas.

a picture showing moyo okediji standing next to his artwork

Sisi Eko, Lagos Lady Waiting for Okada

ByMoyo Okediji

Sisi Eko, Lagos Lady Waiting for Okada

Does anybody understand the meaning of the word “Okada?”

How did the use of Uber bikes start?

The first time I saw the Okada Uber was during my NYSC at Awka in 1977.

In the whole of the southwest of Nigeria, nobody used a bike for a taxi.

We used luxurious cars for taxis in the southwest.

ÒTURÁ ÒDÍ/ ÒTÚRÚPỌ̀N ÒTURÁ

ÒTURÁ ÒDÍ/ ÒTÚRÚPỌ̀N ÒTURÁ

ByMoyo Okediji

This morning, a friend from Nigeria called me and asked the question: “What will happen to the politics of Nigeria, to President Buhari, and the 2023 elections in Nigeria?”

“I don’t know,” I responded.

“But Ifa knows, right?” she asked. “Isn’t Ifa supposed to know everything?”

“Okay,” I responded. “I will ask Ifa and let you know later.”

I brought out my laptop and used the Ifa computation system.