One interesting fact about Nigerians is their love for parties (owambe). Owambes are usually a gathering of family, friends, friends of friends and random people who are there to celebrate occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, child dedication, thanksgiving and even funeral. It usually requires a lot of planning to get it close to perfect; the food, travel arrangements, decorations, makeovers, asoebis, etc. Nigerian owambe‘s are always a vibe. At such gatherings, different categories of people who are there for different reasons abound. They are one of the reasons we love owambe and always look forward to attending them. If you are the type that likes attending parties, this gist is for you, who knows, you might fit in more than one category…lol
So get your Tiger Ginger Health Drink and some spiced crunchy Chin Chin, let’s dive in.
THE FOODIES
This set of people only came for the food; They are not interested in any other party activity. All they care about is the type of meals served. They dine from one table to another; feigning not to have eaten anything at all. They sit and wait for ‘Ask Me’ to give them another meal. These individuals always come with takeaway packs to carry food home. Some of them disguise themselves to help the celebrant share the dish. Thereafter, they go home with what is leftover.
PICKY SOUVENIR
These people are selective with souvenirs. They always ask for a specific type of gift item. More so, when you give them a common gift, they pick a fight. Some of them who bought Asoebi will request to be given a souvenir befitting of their status. Another set of people are the ones who will meet the celebrant to complain they have gotten no gift. This will make the unsuspecting celebrant yield to their demand.
THE PAPARAZZI
These are professional photographers; both invited and uninvited. The invited ones are there to make that day memorable for the celebrants. The uninvited photographers take pictures of guests with or without their consent and cajole them to pay for it, I mean, it’s hustle right. Suffice to say that at an owambe, some came to hustle and make money. They take these pictures, hurry to get the hard copy and rush back to get their payment. Even when the edited hard copy isn’t good enough, they expect you to accept them.
THE AWARD-WINNING DANCERS
This set of partygoers dance more than the celebrant. They bring an A-game to the dance floor and they end up becoming the centre of attraction. They wait for the Disc Jockey (DJ) to play their favourite song and then get into their dancing shoes to wow the guests. Many times, they are the asoebis and family/ friends of the celebrants.
THE FASHION SLAYERS
This set of people dresses to outshine everyone including the celebrant. They love to make a glorious entrance. They usually come and leave together as a group. All eyes must be on them. You can call them attention grabbers; they aim to arouse people’s interest to know more about them. An Owambe isn’t complete without this category.
THE MONEY GENG
This set of people are usually the quietest. They come in groups, hardly eat anything, except for bottled water. When it’s time for the celebrant’s dance, that’s when you will notice their presence. They spray bundles of cash and then leave almost immediately without taking a souvenir.
THE GATE CRASHERS
These ones are inevitable at every owambe. They go from halls to public fields looking for where events are holding. They do not know the celebrants in any form. They are there for the free food, drinks and souvenirs. Sadly, some end up stealing phones and bags from guests. There are also categories who make their way in, eat, drink and start embarrassing the guests following them around and begging for funds.
Many times, you find that you may belong to multiple categories of these party guests. Nonetheless, we love Nigerian owambes, they are huge stress relief. If you have met any of these people, gist us your experience in the comment section.
We’d be pleased to read from you.
