History is a fascinating subject, learning about our past, how our ancestors survived, and their way of life, both good and bad helps shape the path on how we live our lives today, although some students shy away from History subject because of how we have to memorize so many dates, and it is certainly not an easy thing to do especially during exams, apart from that, this should be a Fun subject.
I remember learning about the history of my country from the early age of 5 years, I should probably have been in Basic 1 then, formally known as primary one, and one of the numerous topics that got my attention and sent my brain diverting into many thoughts was how our ancestors killed their twin born children and offered their souls as a sacrifice because they were thought to be evil and that their birth often brought calamity or bad omen into the land before the intervention of Mary Slessor.
This practice was predominantly among the eastern and southern parts of Nigeria where I originate from, you can imagine the ignorance of our ancestors, I was even opportuned to watch a movie that displayed how such ignorant tradition was practiced, and saw how mothers of adorable babies were treated like evil themselves and without any pity or remorse, her babies were taken from her and abandoned in a so-called evil forest, how gruesome, some had to flee from the land when they discovered they had birthed twins, while some had to separate the newborns to grow at different and far distanced villages, so they don't get caught, but this act was only among the courageous few, because many believed in the tradition, and some others were not brave enough to flee.
If there is one good thing the Brish that colonized my country did good for us, it is the ending of this gruesome tradition through the help of Mary Slessor, I'm not sure how she was able to pull it off because one of the hardest people to dissuade from their tradition is Africans and believers, but one thing is certain which I am grateful for, This tradition no longer exist, unlike those days, people even pray to birth twin children and rather than view them as bad omen, twins children are now viewed as a gift from God and bringer of wealth, the more identical they are, the more fascinating it is to be around them.
I look at my twin cousins, twin teacher in high school, and even my friend's twin children, the twin celebrities we have in the country today, and I'm glad they are now allowed to live and be part of our existence, and no longer viewed as bad omen anymore,
In conclusion, learning about our history helps us appreciate how far we have come and also to do better than our ancestors. This history of twin children in Nigeria helps us to understand the importance of awareness and getting the right education that fight against harmful traditions. Today, twins are not only celebrated, they are loved and cherished by every tribe, all thanks to the bravery of Mary Slessor.
