It is December, and as always, I Just Got Back (IJGBs) are now in town to remind us that the weather in Heathrow in different from the one in Honolulu. While IJGBs have knowledge of worlds, we have knowledge of words. Here are six slangs IJGBs have to learn to blend in.
- On God
Nigerians are so in love with God that when they realised God was not mentioned in the first stanza of the National anthem, they created a second stanza that starts with 鈥淥h God of creation鈥. When Nigerians say 鈥淥n God鈥, they are telling you to do your best and trust God to handle the rest. When you ask a Nigerian if clubbing will happen tonight, dear IJGB, 鈥淥n God鈥 = As long as God lives, we will ball!
- We go run am
This is the slang home-based Nigerians want to hear from you when they complain about their economic predicament. As a bag of rice is now worth the same amount as a plot of land in Ibadan, we go run am is the slang you need to comfort home-based Nigerians that help is coming soon. You can also just ask for their account number.
- E be things
E be things is a general slang on the complexity of life. This is what you say when you realise that problems are not tailored to frustrate you, problems just exist and there is nothing you can do about them. E be the things is the hood equivalent of 鈥淲ell鈥 that鈥檚 life鈥. When you get stuck in traffic on your way to pick up glazed doughnuts, E be things is what you tweet to let home-based Nigerians know what鈥檚 up.
- At all at all na im bad pass
This is the slang to use when you are expecting 鈧10m in your account, and you get 鈧1k. It is you saying 鈥淚 know I deserve better, but I will manage.鈥澛
- I can鈥檛 kill myself
After all the freezing cold in Toronto, and the lockdown in London, you are now home to enjoy yourself, but people won鈥檛 stop asking why you like partying so much. To remind your haters that it has been a stressful year, the right slang to tweet post-hangover is 鈥淚 can鈥檛 kill myself鈥. That way, your haters will know you don鈥檛 care. You just want to enjoy the holidays.聽
- Omo
If all else fails, try omo. Omo is “innit” that didn’t see visa to collect. It fits into every context. Omo is the slang for when you see a hot guy/babe. Omo is the slang for when someone hits your car. Omo is the slang for a bowl of Isi-ewu that hits every part of your body. Omo is a sentence, a phrase, a word, a culture depending on how you use it.聽
Which slang did we miss?聽聽聽聽
