Ernestine Johnson,
Black, smooth, bold, sweet-accented
Standing, a goddess from an Egyptian tale
Rooted in the deep trails of Los Angeles
Tall, straight, frank
As she vomits goblets of hot words
Syllable-by-syllable
Doing the ritual “The average black girl”

From Ijebu to Los Angeles
I fax my liquid fire of respect
As you remind me, once again,
That stereotypes exist only in the minds
In the skewed minds of observers
Who say the average black girl
Is rude, dirty, nihilistic
Having lost memory of how they were made so

Who is this average black girl?
Is she Oprah Winfrey? Michelle Obama? Queen of Sheba?
Josephine Obiajulu Odumakin? Obiageli Ezekwesili? Dora Akunyili?
Are these ones not also black or
Are they a little above the average black girl?
Who is this average black girl?
A girl who simply has been made to bottle up her anger
Only releasing it at episodes of rudeness and non-conformism?

“Hmmm, well…” they say about me,
“You’re not exactly like every other Ijebu boy”.
“Every other Ijebu boy is stingy,
He would one day murder his wife.”
Then, who am I; americanised Ijebu boy
Or a total stranger to his motherland?
We hear of such stereotypes of other tribes too,
Like humans are some kinds of stones, rigid.

Having established the great exploits of the average black girl,
Surpassing what even the perceived ‘advanced species’
Are capable of,
Ernestine Johnson concludes in her masterpiece
“I’m not the average black girl,
I can only aspire to be”.

When it’s said, “you’re not like every other Ijebu boy”,
now I cringe. Why not?
Why will I not want to be like
Wole Soyinka, Obafemi Awolowo,
Tai Solarin and Oladipo Diya?
These ones sacrificed their lives for millions
and, for the records, they left their wives alive.
Why will I not want to be like my father, Adebowale Jaiyesimi?
If he murdered his wife, I’ll not be here
And his last born will not be my mother’s best friend today.
Who is this ‘every other Ijebu boy’
If not that guy posed for great exploits,
sacrificing his comfort in the process?

Like Ernestine Johnson,
I’m not like every other Ijebu boy,
I can only aspire to be.

Image Credits: Chester Chronicle dot Uk

Image Info: A still from Tayo Aluko’s play, Call Mr Robeson

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‘Lakunle Jaiyesimi is a teaching Pharmacist at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He blogs at here