Lagos is a fascinating place but every Lagosian
knows that to survive, you must learn the
language of the street. Some of the slangs are
actually words of Yoruba origin but have been
blended into everyday conversation so think twice
before you say you’re not interested ‘vernacular’.
Below are top ten street expressions common in
Lagos.
1. Twale
Twale is an exclamation that is used to show
respect to another person. In Lagos, saying Twale
is accompanied by raising the two hands and
raising a leg. That’s to show the person that you
accord the person some respect. In dangerous
situations, shouting twale can take you out of a
dangerous situation.Area boys are the king of the street.
In difficult situations learning to speak like them can save your life.
2. Eja
Eja is the Yoruba word for fish. In this case
however, the meaning is far from it. it is a slang
for marijuana and is a very common euphemism
employed by smokers. Therefore, you need to
think twice before accepting an offer of Eja as it
may not be Titus that the person is offering you.
3. Akube
If you see those guys and babes who parade
themselves in ‘fitted tops’ and frayed jeans, don’t
think they all do their shopping in those boutiques
in Lagos. Some of them know that Katanguwa
market is the place to get the best Akube. Akube
is slang for grade 1 second-hand wears.
4. Yaba Left
If someone asks you if you’ve been to Yaba left
or you plan to go there, the person is actually
talking about the psychiatric hospital ay Yaba.
The slang is used to mean you need to get your
head checked probably because of something you
did or said!
5. Radionic
A radionic work in his workshop in the floating slum
A radionic work in his workshop
Radionic sound like a word out of Merriam
Webster dictionary and its used as a professional
description of the person who repairs electronic
appliances like television, radio, DVD, etc. Nobody
cares what the real name is since Radionic has
been adopted in Lagos as the professional name
of the repairer of these appliances.
6. Agbero
That’s the name of the guy you see with his
trouser hanging loosely around his waist as if he
needs a belt. He might be brandishing a cane in
one hand and holding a bottle of gin in the other
hand. He probably has a deep baritone and his
base is the bus-stop where he collects (or extort)
money from commercial drivers. He probably has
an NURTW ID but that doesn’t change who he is.
He is an agbero and that’s what he does for a
living. Please don’t call him that name though as
you might be forced to see the stars in the
afternoon.
7. Igbo/Aba Made
That’s slang for counterfeit or substandard
goods. It however does not necessarily mean the
product was made in Aba or produced by an Igbo
person/company. Somehow, the name has been
adopted by Lagosians probably because the Igbos
have been known to be in the business of selling
copy-cat products in Lagos. No seller will
however tell you he is dealing in copy-cat
products so don’t go to the market and say you
need an Igbo-made shoe.
8. Aso-ebi
Aso-ebi is a Yoruba word that means ‘family
cloth’ but its usage is beyond that. It means the
cloth material that is made available to friends
and families to use uniformly during an Owambe.
9. Owambe.
owambe
That’s another name for a party, ceremony,
function, etc where food and drinks are available
aplenty. Owambe is a Yoruba word which loosely
means ‘it’s there’. That means something
wonderful or noteworthy is going on and you need
to be there. Lagosians love the opportunity to
flaunt the gorgeous aso-ebi and enjoy free meal.
The next time you get an invitation to attend a
wedding or burial ceremony, know it is going to
happen there!
10. Egbon
Egbon simply means bro
if you mishehave or trespass.
You will surely hear something like this
"Egbon wa ma lo shi wa wu si eni to ma lu e pa o". Meaning know who you mess with.
Or person you don't know his name, eg, egbon how far na.
No comments:
Post a Comment