LamikayTy

My earliest memories of Granny are her white Toyota Crown with registration number LA7491KD rolling past the gate, down the slope to the bungalow at 1, Oyedele Ogunniyi St. Our (Tomi, Seun and I) cries of delight in a sing-song “granny,granny,granny,grannnnnnnnnnny…” would welcome her as we bounded to hug her the moment she opened the door. It was an almost daily ritual especially during the holidays, and looking back now I am sure she was as delighted as we were to see her.

Granny was a landmark in all our lives …Our teacher, our Grand mother and big mother! Our nurse, our priest, our friend…

I cannot forget the smell of the inside of the car or the sometimes oppressive heat as we waited ‘patiently’ for her as she went about her business in it. From Flour Mills in Apapa, the logs floating on the water near Oyingbo, the various petrol stations where Eldo bread was sold and round and round Lagos. Her Toyota was a moving history lesson class. Every event was an opportunity for a history lesson.

Remembering her,

• I remember the styles she wove on our heads. Ipako elede, koroba in didi! And she continued until her arthritis prevented her from plaiting.

• The very many assignments (called Homework then) and the numerous books we had to finish even before the start of a new term: Larcombes, Macmillian, Alawiye.

• Her dislike for foods she termed ‘junk’ (biscuits and sweets) and how she rationed what our parents had sent admonishing as she gave that these foods are not wholesome and would spoil our teeth. And how we couldn’t leave the table until we had finished up the wholesome meals she served.

• Her acute hatred of noise and the knocks we got for making unnecessary noise.

• The knocks and twisting of our ears when we had misbehaved.

• Our tiny voices as we called out to her after using the loo ‘Granny i’ve finished’ waiting for her to help clean us up and the lessons we got when we wasted tissue.
• Her room with the long dressing table and a trove of treasure on top & underneath it (I found a pair of clogs once that she might have worn in 1960 and which as a teen I ‘rocked’ throughout my gap year before university!

• Our frequent journeys to Ilesa especially on the last day of school term must have been nerve racking for her but Granny was strong and she smiled through it. Our songs about everything. (when we arrived at certain places, we would form songs such as “We are at Ile isa, we are at ile ile isa” or “Diganga hotel, Diganga hotel, Diganga hotel” (at Ile-Ife) and several other landmarks on the long route)

• The yearly ritual of delivering ‘wrappers’ or ‘covers’ in Ankara to all her grandchildren with the roman numeral of the grandchilds position in her home sewn to the corner of the wrapper was looked forward to. (It also helped to fish out culprits the morning after the bed /beds were bathed in urine and no one owned up)

• The visiting days that were made fuller because Granny came in from Ilesa and the surprise visits on non-visiting days and of course no one dared to turn Granny away without allowing her see her grandchildren.

• Her steady stream of letters to all of us in boarding house. I received a letter from her so frequently that her brown envelopes and Return address P.O Box 904, Ilesa at the back became a trademark and I was sure to know a letter from her was waiting for me even before I saw it. Her list of 10 Dont’s which usually ended letters received just before examinations starting with 1. Do not forget to pray before you start each paper and ending with 10. DO NOT CHEAT! (In Block letters).

• Our birthdays and the cards that arrived unfailingly the morning of the day even if she was miles away. They were (of course) always signed by her. If she was with us, a chicken or two was sure to be slaughtered.

• Her notebooks and files which held records that were so old it was hard for us to imagine. Our parents report cards inclusive!

• Her joy and reaction when she learned that (in her words) ‘we had become women’! Why had we not told her so she would have slaughtered chickens for us? And her strong and stern admonition to keep away from men. All men!

• Her steady presence and demeanor and her love for books and education. The time she spent with each of us.

• Her joy over our various results and her advice to improve.

• The packed meals I got often after spending weekends (away from my University at Ife) at Ilesa and her constant worry when she thought I was losing weight and when I was ill.

• Her ‘tirororoing’ songs! (I’m sure Tomi, Seun, Deolu and Damola remember)

• Very many loving memories.

• None of us can forget what or where we were when we heard the news ‘Granny is gone’.

I remember Granny today with fondness, love and a little ache. Granny THANK YOU!

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