Ibadan, Nigeria

What I like the most about the city of Ibadan, which is in Oyo State, Nigeria, is the atmosphere during any festivities, such as “ileya,” when Nigerian-muslims honor Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, or Christmas, when Nigerian-christians commemorate the birth of Jesus. My family serves as a microcosm of how other families in Ibadan celebrate, wearing uniform tailored clothes and eating lots of finger food such as Amala with ewedu. My mother’s family sold traditional clothes in Ibadan so they usually provide the traditional fabric (known as Ankara and/or Lace) to local tailors to create a family uniform for special occasions. My father’s family sold goats so they usually butcher some to feed the family for the celebration. Although Ibadan does not have high-rises because it is dominated by small businesses, the city has Gbagi Market, which is well-known within Nigeria and neighboring countries. The Market is dominated by fabric merchants but you will also see spice traders/sellers, canteen, and much more. I honed my negotiating skills at Gbagi because most of the goods do not have sticker prices. Ibadan is the 19th most populous city in Africa, which means that it tends not to have enough real estate for everyone to afford due to demand. Those who have the financial means can expect to have a bungalow design house, enveloped by gates and walls that are typically bigger than the house; Those who do not can expect to own a room or apartment within a large housing complex. Also, almost every neighborhood in Ibadan has a record store that blasts music really loudly. You may even hear young islamic boys perform Adhan (i.e. a call to prayer) if you live near a mosque like my family does. It may seem like there is a lot that goes on in the city of Ibadan, which is true, but it gets fairly peaceful on the weekends due to the emphasis on family time in our Nigerian culture.