Growing up for me as a kid was a potpourri of experiences growing up. Depending on where i and my siblings were and regardless of our socioeconomic statuses, i saw things work as they were said and meant to work. The portable public water taps gushed at almost every close distance between two to three electric poles. Drinking water was sold in sachets and not plastic bottles. There was no need for much clinical inspection as the quality was safe. The Trains and the railways functioned properly alongside planes belonging to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) which later metamorphosed into the present almost extinct Nigeria Airways and very well-managed road transport companies like the Midwest Line (later named Bendel Line, now called Edo/Delta Lines); Izu Chukwu, Ekene Dili Chukwu, The Young Shall Grow and the likes.

Toys were bought for every kid in the family excluding me since i was the eldest. Never minding the absence of self-owned toys i was contented with playing with my kites which i made from old newspapers or polythene. Then, craftsmanship for kids was almost a reflex. I and my siblings made cages with trap-doors to catch birds after we put water mixed with sugar into their eyes with the belief they would come home after flight, or made mini-cars out of old and discarded motor bearings. ‘Borris’ as we called it, was mostly driven on hard surfaces as there were no tarred roads around the neighbourhood. During festive periods, home decors were changed and new clothing were acquired. Folks in the middle class bought their first cars and they were brand new. Second-hand (fairly used) cars were ridiculed at and were mostly used by people who returned home from the overseas.

During birthday parties for most homes(including mine), food and refreshments were served for groups of invited kids. Rice dished out on trays with the sauce spread on it and parts of garnished chicken beautifuly arranged on them(only to be re-arranged while eating) were sumptuously relished by kids attending the event. In wealthy homes, they had refreshments servedv per plate, and they were not so many of such around then.

Growing up, we had snacks like Gala sold at almost every kiosk(then they were bigger and more filling) and the Xmas breeze was smelt at least one month before it arrives. My family couldn’t afford a live chicken or any poultry like guinea fowl so we settled for bush meats (grasscutters). We were even fed right inside our schools, with fruits served after meals. Although there were not alot of nursery schools, the predominantly public primary schools had better motivated and trained teachers. Independence and Children’s day celebrations where like Xmas. We created words AJE BUTTER and AJEPAKO, because then, butter was not sold in sachets as it is sold these days (to ensure affordability). Even primary school certificate holders spoke better and wrote better than some secondary school leavers we see around these days. A youth Corper? He was almost living like a king during service as he could save enough to purchase at least a VW Beetle (about 600 Naira) those days. Clamour to go abroad? No way! Most people barely knew where The US embassy was, not to talk of where the British High Commission etc was. Then the dollar was a little over 65 kobo to the naira while most travellers went abroad for education in famous institutions like Harvard or Cambridge. The UK could be visited for holidays and you needn’t have a visa for that. I remember clearly my grandma sending money overseas for my uncle’s upkeep in Middlesbrough polytechnic from the proceeds of her sale of fruits and traditional soap in Benin City. Growing up was far better those days for most people who didn’t own cars than for many of those who own jeeps these days.