The colonizer still lives in Nigeria through me

‘My life has been shaped by systems far from my cultural heritage.’

Originally published on Global Voices

Nigerian map with a silhouette of an African woman's face with a Union Jack. Illustration by Pamela Ephraim. Used with permission.

I know the exact village in Nigeria where my father was born, but nothing about it feels like home. I don’t speak the local language, I dislike the taste of traditional food, and whenever I visit, I feel more like a stranger than someone descended from that land.