Why I Left Europe for Nigeria - Nwanyiocha Janine

In a time when a lot of Nigerians are trying to japa from the nation, a Swiss woman named Janine Udogu who is popularly referred to as Nwanyiocha or by her traditional title 'Lolo Anyanwu Ututu I' is speaking about her journey from Switzerland to Nigeria in a new interview with Vanguard and explaining why she is showcasing the nation to the world in a bid to fight against misconceptions people have internationally about Nigeria. Here's what Janine had to say.

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Speaking about how she moved to Nigeria after marrying her husband, and also explaining why she uses her platforms to showcase the nation, Janine said:

JANINE: The story is one sided about Nigeria in Europe and in my country. What pushed me was when none of my family members wanted to attend my wedding in the village for fear of security issues and all the horrible stories they hear. I came here every year on holiday. The way I see Nigeria and the way it is seen outside, I felt there was need for somebody to change the narrative a bit. It’s not like I wanted to be active on social media, but when I realized people were eager to hear my story, I decided to use the platform to showcase how I see Nigeria.

It was part of the agreement when we got married that it would be a priority for us to bring up our kids in Nigeria, knowing their roots, their language. My husband was married before to a Swiss lady, and she never really encouraged him to bring his child home. And him being the first son, it was obvious that any other children should be here, at least to know their language, know where the house is in the village and all that.

The Swiss were a bit worried, concerning security, access to health care and all of that. That made them to ask me, are you sure you really want to do this? For Nigerians, it was very difficult for some people to understand how I could want to live here when they are trying everything possible to get out of Nigeria. But that’s the issue of having multicultural children. In Switzerland, they call my kids black; when they come here, people call them Oyibo. I think it’s important for them to know both and be proud of it, to say – Yes, I’m black, yes I’m white.

Speaking about what she loves most about Nigeria, especially the Igbo culture which she's married into, Janine said:

JANINE: I really actually love everything about the Igbo culture, because it is very different from my own. People are very ambitious, hardworking, and confident and always willing to help a friend in need. They stand up for their rights and are not intimidated by others. I feel inspired by their way of living close together with their family and connecting to their Roots. No matter where you go in this world you will always find Igbos building a community and getting together on a regular basis to live and celebrate their culture. Igbos are proud of who they are and if you ask them, almost everyone will tell you that in their next life they would want to be born Igbo again.

And when it comes to backing your child, I was really impressed by this simple and effective way of baby wearing. I actually brought along my stroller to Nigeria thinking that it would help me to walk around in the village, but facing all the sandy roads, I decided it would be better for me to test the rural way of baby wearing, and that was the beginning of a love story. I was so impressed by this very simple but effective way of carrying a child, that I decided to bring some of the wrappers to Europe and show them to my friends. I don’t know why we like to make things more complicated here in Europe sometimes, instead of using this very effective method of carrying a child, we prefer to buy huge backpacks or special strollers for our children. I think this is just one thing we could learn from the Igbo and indeed the African people among many other things.

What do you think about what Janine had to say? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment either below or on my Jide Okonjo Facebook post.

That's All.

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