‘EDAKUN’....

Before I begin to tell you my story today, I would like to say thank you to all who gave me feedback to my last post “This is Sabo”, I really appreciate you all.

 I was born in the city of Ibadan, born and bred in her. I didn't understand the language early enough and sometimes I was nonchalant about it. Not because I was proud, not because I hated the people but because I was just felt I didn't need to understand the language. It wasn't until the folks around me began to stylishly throw fancy insults at me. When I realized, I made up my mind that I had heard enough. So I started learning the insults.


 I started with this one and I thought I was cool. (“Alaboyun oshi” [meaning: Foolish pregnant woman]) the person in question was not even a woman, and was not anywhere near pregnant. By the time I realized my mistake, I was the butt of the joke…….again. But as fate would have it, I became a sponge, soaking up everything I could hear, reading Yoruba books and even saving up my money to buy some of them. I was crazy about Yoruba literature (but I did not like the amin i.e. the marks on top of the letters. So please bear with me). But one question I asked myself is, “why do we always feel the urge to learn first in any language, the insults?”

Living with us in my house is an 11-year old boy, who we didn’t know from Adam prior to his staying with us. Recently my mother enrolled him in a public primary school. He cannot speak English or Yoruba, but he patches it up here and there. But by some divine unction, grace and anointing from heaven my mother understands him very well. That must be the only explanation. She takes good care of him. Before he goes to school, she fills up his food flask with good food. On this day, she gave him Yam and egg sauce.  When he returned, she would ask him the normal routine questions you ask kids when they return from school. “How was school? What did your teacher teach you? Do you have any homework?” e.t.c and then she asked him if enjoyed the food.

The boy said “No”. She was shocked because she had packed just enough to satisfy him.

“Why?”, came her reply. Then he said someone ate it with him.

 “Who, and how did the person say it that you understood”. She was saying this because she heard most of the children at the school spoke Yoruba, even the teachers taught in the same. His reply sent all of us reeling with laughter on the floor.

 He said, the boy gestured pleadingly and said, “Edakun…… mi ti jeun lataro”. [Please, I have not eaten since morning]

‘E da kun’ in Yoruba  simply means ‘please’, so does ‘ejowo’ or ‘ejo’ for short but ‘edakun’ is spoken mostly by the typical elderly people- the papas and mamas and the rural people. ‘Ejo’ is commonly spoken by the younger and less typical folk. What made us laugh was not the fact that someone pleaded for food but that coming from a child the word used was too deep Yoruba. After the successive laughter had died down, I asked myself “HOW MANY MORE ‘EDAKUNS’ ARE OUT THERE, BEGGING.  Children, some of whom have their parent still alive and some who do not. I realized that some of these children have parent who do not deem it fit to wake up early and feed their children. Sometimes it is poverty I agree; most times it is absolute neglect!!! It is as if they believe that if they care of the children Hitler will resurrect.

              Nonetheless, there are millions of ‘edakuns’ out there, who have no means to survive.  How many will the Haves provide for? Has the milk of human kindness dried up? I may not like his style of government but Governor Rochas Okorocha has my applause for his provision of food for primary school pupils in his state. It is true that the Government is the highest power in the state, but they cannot be ubiquitous. The individuals can affect lives more intimately than the government. If this were a saner society, there would be welfare schemes for underprivileged kids. How can a child concentrate in class when he goes to class looking for some to say ‘edakun’ to before he can eat or read?  ‘Edakun’, good people in the name of charity and love help the hungry child where you can, ‘Edakun’.

 God help us.

P.S: When the boy with us got to school the next day, he bent his head and ate his lunch under the table.  Perhaps he feared that too much ‘edakuns’ can give a little boy ulcer.

Till we meet again,

Yours truly,

Anosime