My essay

Who am I? is a very broad thing to ask. It could be who I think I am or what

others think of me. This piece is written from the stand point of a biography for a
teenager called ombo !labimtan. "e is thirteen and goes to school in #co$ustice %T.
#dward in %askatoon& 'anada. "ere is an interview that I have conducted with him on
his life& his (ourney& how his current program #co$ustice has changed him and how his
pro(ect Musical )oadTrip has helped him discover who he is and who he wishes to be.
"ope you en(oy**
Note: Questions In Bold
So Yombo, tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is actually !luwayombo+ ombo is the short form. I am thirteen years old. I
am originally a ,igerian with a permanent resident status in 'anada& and I have one
sister& a father and a mother.
Could you put a little more light on your family?
We are a family of four+ we all live in 'anada besides my father who lives in ,igeria but
comes to visit us. -oth my parents are original ,igerians and so are my sister and I. My
sister is older by three years but because she is a genius she is graduating high school
at the age of si.teen.
Your father does not live ith you and your mother and your sister! hy?
"e doesn/t because of some personal issues and because he has a business there.
You have tal"ed about your Nigerian heritage, is it important to you or have you
forgotten about it?
I haven/t forgotten about it. It has always been something I have loved and will always
love because it forms my identity and my identity defines who I am and I like how I am
defined.
Could you further more e#plain your heritage? I.e. your ba$"ground, your
parents, your grandparents, family, anything.
In ,igeria there are two hundred and fifty ethnic groups I belong to one of the three
main ones which are "ausa& oruba and Igbo. My ethnic group is oruba& which means
I belong to the south western parts of the country. More specifically I am from !gun
state& which has its capital in 0beokuta. My mother is from 0beokuta& more specifically
1eesi& where my grandfather had si. chief titles and one chief title that overseas
0beokuta. My father is from ewa south 2which is also in !gun state.3 In ewa south he
is from a town called Ilaro& who ever rules Ilaro is the most powerful king in all of !gun
state. My family is of royal blood. My uncle who is my dad/s cousin is king. Why?
-ecause the king a very long time ago gave birth to many children and the one that
started my line happened to be a woman and women aren/t regarded as high as men&
even though she is older& so my line cannot rule. Women are from where their fathers
are from+ therefore& my mom is from where my grandfather is from. ,ow to the
grandmothers. My dad/s mom and her family are the only relatives I have that are not
from !gun state+ she is from !yo state 2details I am not sure of3. My mom/s mother is
from the same state as me but from a place called I(ebu& whether I(ebu4ode or I(ebu4
igbo I am not sure.
It seems li"e your heritage is very strong ba$" In Nigeria, hy did you move to
Canada?
Well this is a bit of a tough one& my parents say we moved because of the education
standards. I think that is nonsense because the education standard here cannot
compete with ,igerian education any day or anytime. It is tougher and most likely to
bring about successful people than the 'anadian standard. 0lthough I will give the
'anadians for having few top notch tertiary institutes.
You are an Immigrant, for ho long have you lived in Canada?
I have lived here for a year.
If you have lived here for only a year, ho is it that your use of the %nglish
language is so fluent?
My fluency in #nglish is as a result of my background. My 5randparents on both sides
are very well educated. In fact they have degrees from universities in #urope. My
grandmothers are very well educated+ my grandmother on my paternal side actually got
up to the vice principal level in her career. My grandmother on my maternal side also
has a university degree. My parents are actually two of the most educated and
influential people I know. They both have Masters 6egrees+ they co4own an
international accounting and business advisory company. 0s well& they have different
7ualifications in the finance world such as 8.'.0& -.0& fellow of the I.'.0.,& 0.'.0.0&
etc. %o the use of fluent #nglish is natural because of my background and also the
people I have ac7uainted myself with.
Your &amily is Nigerian hi$h brings about the stereotype that they are very
religious. 'hat religion are you? Is the stereotype true?
8irst of all as a ,igerian I say yes& we are very religious people. I am 'hristian& and my
family is very religious& though I think your being religious as a ,igerian has to do with
your ethnicity.
(re you saying it has to do ith ethni$ity?
es& you should see Igbo people and oruba people and you will find out how different
they are religiously. 0 oruba person will sing oruba religious songs and an Igbo man
will sing his ethnic songs. ,ow there are over two hundred fifty ethnic groups which
means there are two hundred fifty different religious cultures . It also has to do with
individuality but all I am telling you is one man/s opinion.
So let us get into your %$o)usti$e e#perien$e and your musi$al dis$overy of
yourself. *et us start ith %$o as you $all it.
Wow& how do you e.plain what is impossible to e.plain yet so possible to e.plain? What
is so understandable yet so incomprehensive? What I will do is write a portion of the
song from the show 8riends9
%o no one told you life was gonna be this way
our (ob:s a (oke& you:re broke& your love life:s 6.!.0.
It:s like you:re always stuck in second gear
When it hasn:t been your day& your week& your month& or even your year& but
I:ll be there for you
2When the rain starts to pour3
I:ll be there for you
2;ike I:ve been there before3
I:ll be there for you
2:'ause you:re there for me too3
ou:re still in bed at ten and work began at eight
ou:ve burned your breakfast& so far things are going great
our mother warned you there:d be days like these
-ut she didn:t tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees and
I:ll be there for you
2When the rain starts to pour3
I:ll be there for you
2;ike I:ve been there before3
I:ll be there for you
2:'ause you:re there for me too3
,o one could ever know me
,o one could ever see me
%eems you:re the only one who knows what it:s like to be me
%omeone to face the day with& make it through all the rest with
%omeone I:ll always laugh with
#ven at my worst& I:m best with you& eah*
It:s like you:re always stuck in second gear
When it hasn:t been your day& your week& your month& or even your year
I:ll be there for you
2When the rain starts to pour3
I:ll be there for you
2;ike I:ve been there before3
I:ll be there for you
2:'ause you:re there for me too3
I:ll be there for you
2When the rain starts to pour3
I:ll be there for you
2;ike I:ve been there before3
I:ll be there for you
2:'ause you:re there for me too3
%ssentially you+re saying that you are there for ea$h other almost li"e a family,
anything else?
es we are a uni7ue program called #co$ustice that is taught by 6ustin 1asun and Mel
%ysing. This is a grade eight classroom based out of %t. #dward %chool in %askatoon&
%askatchewan. We are a social and environmental (ustice4based program. 0nother
very important part of our classroom is that we are a place4based knowledge program.
We are also very student4centered& and student4driven.
Sounds onderful , (re you en)oying it?
es we are en(oying it very much. %ee& we are so close I can/t say I am en(oying& I say
we.
So no let us move to your musi$al dis$overy of yourself. 'ho prompted you to
dis$over ho you are?
To be honest this is an #co(ustice pro(ect and it was my teacher/s idea. My teachers
work closely so I can/t say whose idea it was& but I can say it was my teacher Mel/s unit.
es& it was my teachers that brought up the idea& but it was #co that prompted me. We
always talk about how we don/t want to be status 7uo. To not be status 7uo would
mean& i would have to be my own person. %o discovering myself would be important to
not follow the flow but make my own flow.
So ho long did it ta"e you to dis$over yourself?
What you (ust said is a common mistake people make. ou can never stop finding who
you are because there are always defining moments in one/s life& and they take place till
we die. %o I think it will take forever& but now I kind of have an idea of who ombo
!labimtan is and I reali<ed how awesome he is.
No $an you tell us ho you are?
I am ombo !labimtan& I am => years old& I am originally from ,igeria& but now I live in
'anada. 0ll that is my identity& something people who don/t know me can say about me.
Who I am is defined by those simple things about me. 8or e.ample i like (u(u& highlife&
afro beat& rap and hip hop all because of the people I have gotten to know& my life
influences and my background. 0nother e.ample could be I love rice& maybe it is
because I have eaten rice every %unday since I could eat& and about once or twice a
week every week since I was able to eat. %o who I am cannot be e.plained but only
looked into. My mistake was trying to find who I was e.actly instead of looking into the
moments& decisions& backgrounds and features that define me.
Sounds aesome, hat are some of the musi$al influen$es in your life?
To be honest I am a music person and I could not like a genre and fall in love with a
song from that genre. 0ny music will fly with me is what I am saying. My influences are9
-iggie %malls
!lamide
M.I.
?.diddy
Tiwa %avage
? %7uare
-ritney %pears
;ady 5aga& etc.
-ost of them are rappers or pop stars, any reason for that?
I know most of them are rappers and pop stars& and to be honest& I want to widen my
hori<on& I like all music but the ones that speak to me most is rap& some rappers don/t
(ust make music& they preach. -y preach I mean they say the truth about everything&
and they aren/t afraid to call society out.
So Yombo our intervie $omes to an end. I ould li"e to than" you for ta"ing time
to help me ith this arti$le. I ould also li"e to say good )ob for anting to
dis$over yourself, it ta"es $ourage and guts, "udos to you.
Thank you for calling me up& thank you for wanting to hear my story and thank you for
sharing my story for the world to gain access to. ;astly& it is never too late to discover
who you are& at @A or at BA or at =>& it is all the same& and it will be all the same.
.han"s and goodbye everybody, ne#t ee" an arti$le on the situation ith the
returing army offi$er in the /nited States.