It does not matter whether you are a Nigerian residing in Nigeria, an IJGB who only comes back for detty December or a Nigerian permanently residing abroad (hello my brothers and sisters in Canada my future country), knowing these 8 slangs means you have successfully rebelled against the control and subjugation of our colonizers and have freed yourself, forging your independent path as a true nationally conscious Nigerian.
1/ Omo is the official slang of 2020 so if you do not know it or know how to use it in the correct context, submit your Nigerian passport to the 21 Mag’s head office.
This slang is used to express great shock or astonishment. Omo (can be written with more o’s depending on your level of disbelief) is such a profound word, laden with heavy emotions. It is powerful enough to stand alone as a sentence to fully express your wonder at something you can’t wrap your head around. But if you prefer, you can also sprinkle it anywhere in a sentence to let people know you’re utterly shocked.
Me as a baby;
Omooo, I don fuck up, how I take land for Naija ? pic.twitter.com/mLv1JC8bbm— Watermelon Sugar (@AshrafOmeiza) December 14, 2020
Normally it can be used to convey negative and positive feelings—when a person, thing or situation is so pleasant or wondrous it feels unreal or when a person, thing or situation is so unpleasant or shocking, you just can’t believe what is happening before your two korokoro eyes. And sometimes Omo can be sprinkled in your sentences because giving people gist that way is just so much sweeter. This word is just like onions, it goes with everything.
See also: Burst My Head (Naija Version) Unbelievable (Colonizers Version)
2/ When something has K-Leg it means that the situation is suspicious and you’re distrustful of it.
This story get k leg sha. This is obviously made up bcos no Anambra babe fit try this nonsense. Its a good thing this writer wanted to distract us from yesterday hot gist 😂😂😂.
— Mizchievous Oma ⭕ (@hotnifer) September 15, 2020
See also: E get as e be, Comma, E no balance.
3/ God When is a slang uttered when you envy someone’s position in life and wish to be there.
It is peculiar to the Booless Nigerians Association (BNA) and the Nigerian Poor People Society (NPPS).
A member of the BNA has the freedom to say GOD WHEN when he or she comes across a couple doing cute shit on the internet or in real life. Sighting romantic love being on full display stirs feelings in single people, making them want to get boo’ed up too so they don’t resort to asking their creator when they relationship gang membership will arrive.
By saying this slang repeatedly, refusing to go out, ignoring dm’s, they are speaking to the universe to ensure that the partner of their dreams magically appears to them.
See also: “God, am I not your child?” “Sis, what did you say in your prayer?”
As a representative of the Nigerian Poor People Society, God When is the prayer we say a million times everyday to remind the almighty that we too are his children and we did not come to this life to suffer, so He should grant us the dollars, benz, luxury vacations and designer items that rich people are acquiring. Normally, members of the NPPS think they are doing okay with their lives then boom! we open Instagram and with each press on the like button, we whisper in our hearts or comment publicly—desperately in need of divine intervention to lift us from the clutches of brokenness—God When.
4/ Abeg is commonly used to plead for something you want. By saying abeg, you are begging someone to give you something or do something for you. Basically just saying ‘please’.
Me during sex
Guy small small hit am abeg. If na so the others hit am, you no go meet am like this pic.twitter.com/C6uU5x8ASf
— N. (@EdoFirstLady) December 14, 2020
See also: I take God beg you.
It is important that you do not mistake Abeg with Abegi. They are two completely different words.
Abegi is used to dismiss something someone has said. It can be written with more i’s at the end (and when pronouncing it, you can stretch the end syllable) to portray the intensity of your dismissiveness when someone says something you don’t entirely agree with or something you do not care to hear or know about.
Awon “She slept her way to the top”
Even to do that one e easy? Abegii.— Adanna (@_dannaya) December 13, 2020
5/ Japa was popularized when Naira Marley, a musician, released a song titled ‘Japa’. In that song, Musical genius and lyricist, Thee Naira Marley meditatively repeats ‘Japa’ to display to his audience that the rogue Nigerian police force cannot get to him, why? Because he is running away (japa-ing) to London, Canada, Chicago and Africa (but definitely not Nigeria). Ugh, his mind.
Once this song was released, Japa was in the mouth of every true Nigerian. So you say this slang when you are trying to tell someone to run away/ leave a place or situation ASAP.
Me as a pastor:This demon strong o, everybody japa…. pic.twitter.com/hYEFVYfV9y
— Hot sàuçè🌶️ (@DarealTomiwa) December 14, 2020
6/ Wahala for who no no naija slangs oh. Wahala simply means trouble. Over the years, this slang has been used in a variety of ways. Commonly, it can stand alone as a sentence, used by the speaker to indicate that a situation is bad or disconcerting.
See also: OMG (colonizers lingo), Yawa ( Naija Lingo)
But in recent times Wahala is being used as an idiomatic expression and honestly, it is linguistic perfection:
Wahala for who {insert a category of person}, this phrase means that there is trouble lurking for a specific person because of some reasons. Example:
Me as a teacher:
Omo this topic hard oh, wahala for who no get brain. pic.twitter.com/sRoTP5F4Qt— Crys🧚🏽♀️ (@purplecrysss) December 14, 2020
Wahala be like bicycle, this idiomatic expression compares trouble (Wahala) to a bicycle, why? Because it is easy to start and goes a very long way.
7/ Nawa oh is a slang used to express either displeasure at something, someone or shock at a particular situation. Although very similar to Omo, it is a watered down version.
See wetin i see for my estate. Nawa o pic.twitter.com/m7J48w1CcZ
— omo orín (@lakexis) December 11, 2020
8/ Nothing spoil loosely translates to All is Well or No Problem. It is the direct opposite of Wahala.
See Also: No Wahazi, Na Smalls, We Move.
You say Nothing Spoil when you’re faced with a situation that would ordinarily be offensive or annoying but you decided to shrug it off and move on, probably because you do not perceive the situation to be all that bad or because you have no time to dwell on spilt milk.
When do we get the Nigerian version of IELTS and TOEFL? We need to start weeding out the colonizers and colonialist apologists among us and the only way to meticulously do this is to check how good their Naija slang lingo is. Let’s start with you, how many slangs could you use correctly?
*the aforementioned slangs can sometimes be applied differently, however you must be well versed in Naija lingo to fully know how to freestyle these words.
