Tayo Olafimihan, 23, was born and raised in the West African country of Nigeria. He moved to Ottawa in 2004 after spending a few years in Alberta. Tayo is a student of the Photonics Engineering program offered at Algonquin College.
Between assignments, exams and studying, Tayo leads the Black Students Association of Algonquin College as the association’s President. Although the city of Ottawa is different from what Tayo is used to, he appreciates the diversity and people of Ottawa. “There are interesting personalities spread out all over the town,” he says. Tayo stays well connected with his culture while in Ottawa. He spends time with many of his Nigerian and African friends. Although language barriers do exist between Africans, Tayo says that you can always find a way of relating to other Africans. As well, he calls his family back home on a regular basis.
As Tayo talks about his country, a constant smile rests on his face. He is proud to be Nigerian; there is no doubt about that. Nigeria has three main tribes; the Igbo, the Hausa and the Yoruba, which is Tayo’s tribe. Each tribe has its own set of characteristics, Tayo tells us. The main food of his tribe is Eba, which is ground cassava that they make into a paste and eat it with soup. “We love meet and fish with our soup,” says Tayo. Music is also important in his tribe. “We have a really high tempo kind of music that we listen to in my tribe,” he says, “with lots of dancing and lots of body movements; especially from the females.”
Nigerian cities are diverse; some neighbourhoods have big houses, others have small houses. It all depends on your status. So what are some of the common things you will find in Nigerian cities? “We always have food spread out all over the place,” Tayo says. From the suya spots where one buys sliced meat on a stick to groundnut stands, you can find any kind of food you want!
As Tayo says, “there’s a lot to miss about Nigeria but to explain it in words, I can’t.” Without any hesitation, Tayo misses the lifestyle and the culture of family and respect that exists in Nigeria. “Nigeria is a fun place to be,” he says while laughing.
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