The very first blow out birthday party is the one that sets the tone for many more to come. For me, it was months after we had relocated from Kansas City, Missouri, to Lagos Nigeria, and my mother decided that a splashy combined birthday party for her 9-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son would be the best way to initiate potential friendships as the newbies in town.
It’s hard to forget the anxiety in the air right before the doorbell started ringing nonstop, as we anticipated the arrivals of attendees; young and old, and wondered whether or not our theatrical attempt at winning over the interests of assigned revelers would prove to be as as successful as we hoped.
The party itself was a smash hit, but less than a handful of those kids that I was introduced to actually made the cut to my adulthood. It’s not that we’re enemies per se, but one of the benefits of getting older is being able to decipher between what’s real and what’s not.
There was always the pressure to have an army of friends, and that was enhanced by the culture of Nigerians, who tend to judge your reputation based on popularity, and that’s mostly tied to the amount of people who openly claim you as someone they cherish.
This explains why the party scene is a vibrant display of riches, not just in the form of venue, food and…
