Rasheed

Rasheed, 27

Nigerian ethnicity: Yoruba

City/County grew up in: London

City/County of residence: London

*audio below

Describe your heritage

I am a Black British Nigerian, born in England to Nigerian parents.

What to you, makes you Black British Nigerian? How do you define it?

It’s easy for me because I speak Yoruba and I speak English, so it reflects both sides of the cultures. I enjoy Nigeria’s culture; I go back to Nigeria frequently and I actually love Nigeria’s culture, but I also do really appreciate the British culture as well. Bringing those both together, that amalgamation to me, makes me British Nigerian.

What challenges do you/have you faced that relate to your identity as a Black British Nigerian?

To be honest my challenges arise mostly in Nigeria. So I went to Nigeria last year to do NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) , and…yeahhh… in short, they could tell that I wasn’t from Nigeria. But other than that in the UK I don’t really experience anything particularly. Because I speak Yoruba, the aunties don’t say “Oh you don’t understand Yoruba”, “You don’t speak the language”, and because I speak English, no-one says “You can’t speak English well”.

What do you love about being Black British Nigerian?

Oh man! I love the fact that I can experience both; I can taste the UK’s experience and I can taste’s Nigeria’s experience, and I don’t feel lost anywhere fully. I can have bangers and mash in the morning or I can have eyan with efo riro in the afternoon. I literally have the best of both. Honestly.

Do you think this country values your identity?

I feel like there’s a lot more that the UK especially can benefit from us or me as a Black Nigerian. I feel like as Nigerians we tend to be hard workers, we tend to be fully focused, but I don’t think they utilise or optimise the demographics they have, in short.

What does the future look like for Black British Nigerians - what are your hopes for us?

It’s a weird one, because one part of me wants to say we should all go to Nigeria and build up Nigeria (if I’m to be extremely honest, we have all these skills).

My hopes for our future as Black British Nigerians is that we can travel back and forth freely. I don’t want to act oblivious to the fact that when we got to Nigeria, we’re too British to be Nigerian, and when we’re here we’re too Nigerian to be British. But maybe forming our own…(I don’t want to say forming our own sort of community because that’s further segregation from either culture)…but being able to travel back and forth, being able to be Black and British in Nigeria, be Black and British, in the UK fully and unapologetically.