After fulfilling the CDS ritual on this lovely Thursday morning, I was heading home when I decided to make a quick detour to satisfy that morning's puff-puff craving. Going home to make the puff-puff myself was going to be a longer process that would first require a trip to the supermarket; one I wasn't 'gingered' for, so that was out of the question. So, I kept skimming the streets. With my keen eyes moving from left to right in search of guiding clues, like a woman covered in dough, a firewood spot or a big frying pan, anything! I just wanted some puff-puff! It felt as if they had chosen this day to strike or something, 'cause puff-puff is very popular in this town, so why couldn't I find any today? The craving was so strong that when I couldn't find the fresh-off-the-fire ones I'd usually go for, I settled for the hawked ones.
No, this post isn't about puff-puff, I'm going somewhere with this, I promise.
Two girls had walked past me. They looked no more than 8-10 years of age. One was hawking puff-puff, the other, newspapers. After paying for my puff-puff, we exchanged goodbyes. Then something I found interesting followed. The girls said to me, "Aunty, ejo, e mu wa f'ona". They wanted to get to the other side of the road and needed my help doing so.
It was this moment that helped me understand something I had noticed in months past. The culture here is a very 'learn-on-the-job' one, and age is indeed just a number. Parents don't care if their children are old enough to cross the streets, all they care about is that puff-puff and newspapers need to be sold. So, you must become old enough; you must find a way around it. Here, you'll see 8-year olds putting together the firewood, fetching from the well, holding down the family business in their parents' absence. The children learn to be tough at a very young age. What am I even saying writing? Half of the students at my school don't even know their age! That's how unconcerned with age Iwo-ites are. I discovered recently that each of these students has an after-school hustle. Today, I'm bumping into Kudirat at the market where she sells fufu in the evenings, tomorrow evening, I'm seeing Taiye helping his mechanic uncle out at his uncle's 'shobu'(shop). While on one hand, it surprises me, and maybe even worries me a little to see young children taking on huge responsibilities; on the other, I guess the good side to it is that it prepares these children for the future; you know, stimulates their mind. I reckon if the school thing doesn't work out in the future, they won't be completely stranded.
Welcome to Iwo where whether young or old, the hustle must continue.
PS: It's a town, not a village :P
