Several decades ago, when one had no option for socialising other than through encountering people in person, I met a black person who had gone to work in Nigeria.
Bearing in mind that Nigeria is the world’s most populous black nation, and many of the citizens are darker skinned than those of black communities in Western world countries, I prepared myself to hear tales of alienated feelings from this chap, even though he was very dark skinned himself.
The guy told his story, one of the highlights being his bemusement about the dance moves in Nigerian parties.
In those day, when Highlife, Juju and Afrobeat were the prevailing dance music genres, the live bands played songs that would build up to a pure, stark, percussion workout. This was the moment when the partying would intensify, featuring wiggling posteriors. The raconteur found it hard to come to terms with this custom.
Only few years after that, Jamaican Dancehall music took over as a major trend in English cities. Is it fair to suggest that the Nigerian dance body language was a forerunner of dancing in batty riders, or the more recent predilection for twerking?
