Mr. Love Bird is Nigerian-American; his parents were born in Nigeria, married in the U.S. and he was born in Brooklyn. He is a born and bred New Yorker! When we met in Boston I remember being confused by his name when we exchanged information. He said his name was "you-kah" (phonetically how I heard it; the proper pronunciation is "you-kay") then when he wrote "Uka" on the back of a business card I didn't recognize what nationality it was, and he didn't have an accent so I was very confused. He later explained his family was from Nigeria.
Over the years I've told him how I'd love to visit Nigeria and get to know where he's from. He had been to Nigeria 3x prior to our family trip and was excited that I expressed a strong interest in wanting to go.
Previously, we were unable to go to Nigeria with his career playing basketball abroad. Peak time to go is Christmastime and most overseas players don't get off during that time. It's also the best time to go because Nigerians abroad tend to return home this time for lots of parties and other celebrations. It's a grand reunion time.
With Mr. Love Bird's corporate career we were finally able to go!
Nia and her friends in Nigeria! |