Little Lagos in south London
In the first of three pieces on his impressions of African immigrant communities in the UK, the former editor of the BBC's Focus on Africa, Robin White, describes the Nigerian Yorubas of Peckham in south London.


The African immigrants I've come across in some two months' of travelling in England, Wales and Scotland are hard working, idealistic, and bright - a long way from the popular view portrayed by some in the UK.

And everyone I met that I asked said they wanted to go home. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but - when their countries are at peace, when they've made a bit of money, when democracy returns - they will return.

Here are some statistics: Africans in the UK now outnumber West Indians.

In 2003, 41% of all Asylum applications were from Africa. And that's just the official figures.

Add to these all the illegal immigrants who somehow made it here from the continent, and it's clear that Africans in the UK are a formidable force.

Yorubatown

It some towns, they're very visible. Peckham in south London, for instance, looks very like Lagos. I used to live there, and over the past 10 years it has been transformed - into a Yoruba heartland.


Peckham is where the living meet the dead
Yoruba taxi driver Olusola Dixon
Many of the shops are Yoruba owned and you can buy any Nigerian food you want - and it's fresh from a farm near Lagos.

Nigerian churches and mosques flourish and compete for worshippers.

The successful churches run several Sunday sittings. Newcomers are welcomed with open arms and everyone is given an envelope with instructions on how to donate money for the church's upkeep.

"Peckham," I'm told by Yoruba taxi driver Olusola Dixon, "is where the living meet the dead."

It is where Nigerians can bump into a distant Nigerian cousin who they never even knew was in the UK.

Yorubas, of a certain age, claim to love their culture and their language. And there is lots to love. The language is rich and there are 401 Yoruba deities to be worshipped.

Dying language

The trouble is that many London Yorubas have neglected to pass their traditions on to their children. A few insist on Yoruba being spoken at home, but many have given up the struggle of teaching Yoruba to unenthusiastic children, and English has become the family language.

True, they take their children home on holidays; true, a few surreptitiously slaughter chickens for the deities in their back yards. But basically Yoruba culture and language, as known in Nigeria, are on a steep decline.

Dubi Imevbore, an expert on Yoruba language, deeply regrets this.

He says that if a language dies, so does the human spirit. A people without a culture will lose their self respect, even go mad.

It doesn't take long to discover that many Nigerians in London shouldn't be here at all.

Some came on student visas and never went home. Some came on holiday to visit relatives and "missed" the plane back to Lagos. Some smuggled themselves in and have been in hiding ever since.

But being an illegal immigrant is not an easy life. Because they can't work officially, they have to take the worst paid jobs at very unsociable hours and live in squalid flats - at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords.

Many would like to go home, but they're ashamed to admit failure to their friends and families back in the motherland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4182341.stm

I visited london and went to peckham. Oh my goodness. i could have sworn i was in lagos. oshodi for that matter. people were milling around, sellers had their goods and wares on the streets. It was awesome. Felt just like home.

spoilt:

I visited london and went to peckham. Oh my goodness. i could have sworn i was in lagos. oshodi for that matter. people were milling around, sellers had their goods and wares on the streets. It was awesome. Felt just like home.

Right on! I even bought guguru as I walked long the road. Plus the Nigerian-owned stores with yoruba names. Infact, i think i should move there, I wont miss naija so much.

hahahahahaahahha. . . .lagos no b small tin ooooo

Hesperus:

Right on! I even bought guguru as I walked long the road. Plus the Nigerian-owned stores with yoruba names. Infact, i think i should move there, I wont miss naija so much.

Walking by those restaurants i could see the moimoi and jellof rice from the road. It was torture all around. I had a blast. i considered moving to london for the longest time. It felt more homey than the U.S but life is hard in london.

i co-sign the article/write up but the writter may have omitted or overlooked another issue. peckham is one of the most dangerous areas in England and and London.

spoilt:

Walking by those restaurants i could see the moimoi and jellof rice from the road. It was torture all around. I had a blast. i considered moving to london for the longest time. It felt more homey than the US but life is hard in london.

Too hard infact! Enough of my friends are moving back to naija. Me,am outside London and comfortable where I am. Abeg, no be by force to de city.

I love Peckham to visit but not to stay. I think it's amazing to have a community of people you can call people from your own roots. I am sure it's a difficult place to live. I don't know why people are suffering themselves to come abroad only to come and suffer much more.
When I was in a hair salon there last week, one lady came in selling naija food and I felt so bad for her. I was sure this was a woman who had a pretty decent life back in naija only to come and be selling a pack of food for 3 - 5 pounds. It's very disheartening.

Kai, London sha! After all's said and done, its still good to know dat there's a place you can somewhat identify with, even across the miles from home.

@ moonstone, I thot u were in US?

Hesperus:

Kai, London sha! After all's said and done, its still good to know that there's a place you can somewhat identify with, even across the miles from home.

@ moonstone, I thot u were in US?

Yeah but i was on vacation in London. Just got back last night. I love London like crazy when I'm not staying too long.

Moonstone:

Yeah but i was on vacation in London. Just got back last night. I love London like crazy when I'm not staying too long.

Really, how was it? Cos this is about the worst time for anyone to come here! Cold and boring.

Hesperus:

Really, how was it? because this is about the worst time for anyone to come here! Cold and boring.

Exactly!
I had fun with a few friends. It was cold so i didn't go out much. I hope it'll be warmer in March. . . then I'll have fun

Moonstone:

Exactly!
I had fun with a few friends. It was cold so i didn't go out much. I hope it'll be warmer in March. . . then I'll have fun

U coming again in march? Would be nice to put a face to the posts. where in london will u be at?

Hesperus:

U coming again in march? Would be nice to put a face to the posts. where in london will u be at?

Probably. I don't know where I'll be yet but I'll let you know when I get that info.

Hesperus:

U coming again in march? Would be nice to put a face to the posts. where in london will u be at?

Live toasting on nairaland. This website is going places.

Moonstone:

Probably. I don't know where I'll be yet but I'll let you know when I get that info.

U just got urself a new (girl)friend, Hesperus. Congrats!

SE15!!! ;d

Moyola:

SE15!!! ;d

u wan give us your address

Yu wannit?

SE15 4QU

@ Moyola

I might have walked past u,SE15 5TE By the Peckham Library.Pecks is home for Ghanarooss too u knw

follypimpi:

@ Moyola

I might have walked past u,SE15 5TE By the Peckham Library.Pecks is home for Ghanarooss too u knw

Nope! ah dun live in Peck.

Now these Nigerians are gonna really turn London into another big, dirty third world slump like Lagos. The British better catch a wake up.

Wohz ya own?

Mpele:

Now these Nigerians are gonna really turn London into another big, dirty third world slump like Lagos. The British better catch a wake up.

Mpele you should go back to your South Africa before i get hood of you

Mpele:

Now these Nigerians are gonna really turn London into another big, dirty third world slump like Lagos. The British better catch a wake up.

Wahlanya le ngulube le, sis man. Amahloni ayazisa konje, yini indaba yakho namaNigerians Yhini waza ngodlame manje? 2 name a few slams eMzantsi, iSoshanguve, iSoweto, iAlexandra, kwaLanga, uMlazi, iNew Brighton, eMdantsane, r dey any better than Lagos?

uNkulunkulu abe nawe mfethu, nxxxxxxxxxxxxx! U don't have 2 at all

i dont care what anyone says, but turning an orderly neighbourhood or town into a slum is total BullS**t. the reason these nigerians went there in the first place, was coz of the sanity, cleanliness and functionality of those areas. If theyr so crazy bout having iya basira spilling greasy water on the street while they walk by, or have make shift stalls on the streets selling fresh fish or better still an akara frying lady at the street corner amidst the noise pollution of loud talking people and cars honking for no reason; then i suggest they go back to lagos.

if peckham was just like lagos in the first place, none of em would have spent those days sleeping at the embassy,
people from third world countries tend to manifest the very values which make thier countries "third world", when they gather as a community in developed countries.

and when the citizens complain, everyone screams "racism". before any of u says anything,

just tell me how you'd feel if you own a three bedroom apartment, and decide to put one room out for rent, and your tenant happens to come from a family of slubs, thereby he never cleans his room, messes up the walls n fittings in it, leaves decaying food lying around in the room, and now when u walk into your house, theres always that stench emanating from his quarters, and stinks up the whole house.

tell me if you'd appreciate that!

all i'm saying is; we dont need to manifest our negative values in order to connect with our roots or origin