Aside the word, japa, two other Nigerian coinages have managed to find their way into global colloquialism. And if they are not yet in the English dictionary, be rest assured that they soon will.
The words are: ‘Nyash’ and ‘Wahala’.
Coined from the West African pidgin, a local corruption of the English language, it is widely spoken predominantly in parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
In these countries and beyond, pidgin is spoken with distinctive inflections that vary from country to country.
And the two words - ‘Nyash’ and ‘Wahala’ have come to become omnipresent in the daily lingo of the people from this region.
To canonize pidgin, King Charles III liberally injected it into his banquet speech at Windsor Castle in honor of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was recently in the United Kingdom on a state visit.
In a masterful end to a well scripted and equally masterfully delivered speech, the English monarch said in near perfect pidgin: “Naija no dey carry last”, to the uproarious applause of the large Nigerian audience in the room.
Back to the ‘Nyash’. And to the ‘Wahala’.
In pidgin, ‘Nyash’ simply means the backside of the human anatomy and particularly and pejoratively used to refer to that part of a woman’s body.
And to those more won’t to commit the ‘sin of looking’, you will but agree with me that most Black and African women are generally well endowed.
However, those of our women unfortunate to have a natural deficit in the ‘Nyash department’, have resorted to cosmetic argumentation to help enhance their physical persona.
Whereas ‘Wahala’ on its own means trouble. It clearly has a definitive Yoruba origin.
Wahala’ as a word is derived from Yoruba urban street culture which has since been grammatically inducted into the pidgin vocabulary.
Thematically, it will interest you to know that I am staying with the ‘Nyash’ for the purpose of this article.
Not for good reasons.
Lately, the number of deaths of our young women who have lost their lives while under the knife has become alarming.
Although, there are no verifiable numbers of women who have been casualties of the ‘Brazilian Butt Lift’ (BBL) worldwide, this surgical procedure has the disrepute of having the ‘highest mortality rate of any aesthetic surgical treatment’.
Verifiable information about BBL also cataloged dizzying numbers of patients who have developed permanent complications from this procedure.
This year alone, Nigeria lost four high profile personalities to BBL. This has sparked intense debate about the ‘unregulated cosmetic surgery boom’ in the country, according to online news reports.
Similar cases have also emerged across the continent - Ghana and South Africa - and the rest of the world.
On a personal note, and as a father of a daughter and an uncle to my many nieces and cousins, I have a dog in this fight.
Like most concerned parents, I would like to see a measure of regulatory oversight in the cosmetic surgery industry especially in Africa and particularly in Nigeria.
It is on record that Nigeria has arguably one of the worst health care systems in the world. Ask Chimamanda Adichie who just lost a son.
And as far as I am concerned, I am of the opinion that healthcare issues should be addressed as civil rights matters. A subject matter for another day.
Black people all over the world more often than not get the short end of the stick when it comes to healthcare.
Remember COVID?
Available statistics show that more Black people died needlessly from COVID than other ethnics due to discriminatory practices and (wait for it!) racism.
In most parts of Africa, perhaps with the minority exception of South Africa and Egypt, the healthcare sector is irredeemably broken.
Alongside, education and food sufficiency, healthcare delivery must be prioritized in every African nation.
We cannot afford to have our young people continue to die avoidable deaths when their rulers and family members japa abroad for medical treatment. Even for minor ailments.
That is the real ‘Wahala’.