₦airaland Forum

By Ekaete Bassey


Youths in every nation have unique ways of expressing some things. A foreigner may find it hard at the beginning to decipher such words but may eventually succeed if they persevere over time and give their best shot at learning it.

Below are 13 uniquely interesting Nigerian slangs trending on the streets:

· E Choke

This was introduced by famous singer Davido. “E Choke” literarily means “It Chokes”. However, in the street language, it is an exclamatory remark for something overwhelming or extremely impressive.

When Nigerians see something or someone that goes beyond expectation, this slang is a way of expressing their surprise though it may be a bit exaggerated.


· E Restrict Airflow
This has the same meaning as “E Choke” but was initiated by another artiste Wizkid. Choking and having a restricted airflow have literarily the same interpretation and effect and the slangs have been used by Nigerians interchangeably.

“E restrict airflow” has also been used as a follow-up response to “E Choke”.


· We Meuuve

What started as an imitation of BBNaija 2020 star Vee Adeyele’s accent when she had a quarrel with her lover, Neo Akpofure during the show eventually became a popular slang.

Vee was heard telling Neo to “meuuve from the door” (move from the door) when the latter was trying to prevent her from leaving the room.

The words become better accepted as a motivational phrase and a way of Nigerians saying “life goes on.” Many tirades of woeful stories often end with “… but then, we meuuve!”


· KPK/OPP

When Nigerians say KPK, they are saying “Ko Po Ke?” Translated to English, it means “is it not plenty?”

This originates from a song by Chisom Ezeh popularly known as Rexxie, featuring Mohbad. In the first line of the song, Rexxie said: “Ta lo sope ko po ke?” which means “who says it is not plenty?”

If a beautiful picture is seen online and the viewer comments with KPK, he/she is saying, who says this beauty is not plenty or is this not plenty?

The standard response to this question according to the original song is OPP (O Po Pa) and OPG (O Po Gan) and they mean “it is very plenty.”


· Tule

“Tule” is another of Davido’s many slang. In a video the pop star made, in reaction to the news of his rift with Burna Boy in Ghana, was seen shouting “Tule Joor, Tule Jare.”

“Tule” is a Yoruba word that means “free me, release me, or leave me.”

The word found its way unto many lips when many Nigerians started shouting “Tule” on social media for N2m cash that Davido promised to whoever could replicate his original video.

In the street vocabulary, “Tule” is used to tell people to drop a topic or leave you alone and stop bothering you.


· Who dey Breeett?

Who dey Breeett? is another slang invented by Davido that simply means “who is breathing?” in Pidgin English.

As simple as that sounds, it is actually questioning why anyone would be taking in the air freely after seeing what has been shown to them.

This is sort of related to another of the artiste’s slangs, “E choke” because when you see a beautiful photo for example, you are expected to “choke” on-air, hence the question, “who dey breeett?”


· Ma Fo

This is one of singer Naira Marley’s slangs that have stood the test of time and are still as famously used as the first day it was said.

Literarily, this is a Yoruba term that means “Don’t break” but in the real sense, it is saying, “don’t be intimidated or don’t be bothered.”

It can be simply used as “Ma Fo” which can also mean “don’t worry” and it can be stretched to a street line, “Omo Iya mi, ma fo, mo wa pelu e” which means, “My brother/sister, don’t be bothered, I am here with you.”


· Chop breakfast/ serve breakfast

It literally means we will all (eventually) have breakfast. Colloquially, it has come to mean this life na ‘turn by turn’ and everyone will definitely have a taste of everything, especially heart break.

On social media, when someone says “She don chop breakfast” or “She has been served breakfast”, it simply means her heart has been broken.


· Japa

This is a Nigerian slang derived from the Yoruba language which simply means ‘to run swiftly’ out of a dangerous situation.

To japa means to abort, run, avoid, terminate, retreat or remove yourself from a situation. If used in a sentence, it would be articulated like: “His girlfriend told him she was pregnant, that is why the guy japa”.

More importantly, it means to emigrate. “Almost every youth wants to japa from Naija.


· Sapa

The word ‘SAPA’ has been the most used word on social media lately and people have also used it to sing.

It is a term used in Pidgin English to describe a state of being extremely broke or poor, usually after spending extravagantly.

We can also call it spirit of poverty that targets one almost all the time.


Aza
This is a slang that simply means bank account digits. When a Nigerian says “send your aza”, he or she simply means send your account number.


Ment

Original word is ‘mental’. As a slang, it is used to question a person’s sanity or to say someone is outrigh mad. “You dey ment?” Or “All of una don ment.”


· We outside

This is a slang that simply means to be down alone or with buddies doing crazy stuffs in the streets. It’s used to say people are having fun outside the country.

When someone posts with friends or alone and captions it: “We outside”, the person is simply saying “We are having fun ‘outside’ (abroad).