Lagoon

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419 – a highly successful strain of advance-fee internet fraud popularized in Nigeria, which appears most often in the form of an emailed letter. The number “419” refers to the article (sectioned into 419, 419A, 419B) that deals with fraud in Chapter 38 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act (“Obtaining Property by False Pretences: Cheating”)

Adofuroo – a derogatory term for homosexuals in the Yoruba language

Ah-ah – for goodness’ sake

Ahoa – Nigerian foot soldiers

Am (Pidgin English) – she, he or it

Anuofia – an insult that literally means “wild animal” in the Igbo language. “Anu” means animal, “ofia” means forest

Area Boys (also known as Agberos) – loosely organized groups of street children and teenagers, (mostly male), who roam the streets of Lagos

Chale (Ghanaian Pidgin English) – a terminal intensifier that is similar to the exclamation “man” in American-English slang. Pronounced very similarly to the name “Charlie”

Chin Chin – a snack consisting of sweet crunchy bite-sized bits of fried dough

Chineke – the Igbo Supreme Deity. To exclaim it is the same as saying, “Oh my God!”

Chop (Pidgin English) – eat

Comot (Pidgin English) – to leave a place

Danfo – a commercial minibus or van. They are usually orange or individually painted and very old, beaten up and have been repaired a million times

De (Pidgin English) – the

Dey (Pidgin English) – this means “is” or “are”… most of the time. Other times, it means something else

Face me, I face you (Pidgin English) – a type of building where a series of single-bedroom apartments have their entrances facing each other to form a compound with a main entrance leading into a square in the middle. This type of building is common in urban areas in Nigeria, such as Lagos

Gari – a creamy white, granular flour made from fermented, gelatinized fresh cassava tubers

Go-slow (Pidgin English) – heavy traffic

Gragra (Pidgin English) – a show of bravado (often false)

Ibi (Pidgin English) – it be

Igbo – 1. the third largest ethnic group in Nigeria (note: the author of this book is Igbo) and name of the language of the Igbo people 2. Nigerian slang for cannabis (unrelated to the Igbo people or language, and not capitalized as a proper noun)

Kai (Pidgin English) – a sympathetic exclamation

Kata kata (Pidgin English) – trouble of the sort that only the poor experience

Kparoof (Pidgin English) – manhandle

Marine witch – who the heck really knows? Certain Nigerian evangelical Christian sects believe many of the world’s ills are perpetrated by witches, and the most powerful is the “marine witch”

Mek (Pidgin English) – make

Mumu (Pidgin English) – an idiot

Na (Pidgin English) – it is

Na wao (Pidgin English) – the equivalent of exclaiming, “Wow!”

NEPA – pronounced “neh-pah”. An acronym that stands for the National Electric Power Authority. Usually to blame when the power goes out. Now called PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria), people still refer to the governmental electricity company as NEPA

Nko (Pidgin English) – an interrogative pronoun used for emphasis at the end of sentences (believed to be of Yoruba origin)

Nyash (Pidgin English) – ass

O – a terminal intensifier. One sings and prolongs the sound more than speaks it

Oga – a term of respect toward men, equivalent to “sir”. The term of respect for women is “madam”

Okada – a commercial motorcycle or motorcycle taxi

Peme (Pidgin English) – to die

Pure Water – a sachet of drinkable water, often sold on the street

Sabi (Pidgin English) – to know or know how

Seke (Ghanaian Pidgin English) – craziness

Sha (Pidgin English) – a terminal intensifier that is similar to the exclamation “man” in American-English slang. It can mean “anyway” or “like that”

Ting (Pidgin English) – thing

Una (Pidgin English) – you guys

Wahala (believed to be of Hausa origin) – trouble

Wetin (Pidgin English) – what

Winch (Pidgin English) – witch