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Saturday, July 15, 2017

Two Sub-Threads From Davido's "Aye" Official YouTube Video's Discussion Thread: Comments About Africans Living Abroad And Comments About Yorubas In Benin & Other Nations Besides Nigeria

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post documents comments from two sub-threads that are found in the YouTube discussion thread for Nigerian Afrobeat star Davido's official video of his 2014 hit song "Aye". The first sub-thread is about Africans' attitudes about other Africans living abroad. The second sub-thread is about Yorubas in Benin & in other nations besides Nigeria.

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Davido for his musical legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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Click the Davido Aye video tag that is found below for more information and comments about this Afrobeat song and about other subjects that relate to this song and video.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Aye - Davido (Official Music Video)


DMW HQ, Published on Feb 7, 2014

...HKN Music presents the official music video of Aye, Davido's fourth single off his forthcoming sophomore album. Directed by Clarence Peters, the video is shot in a rural setting and tells a tale of love between different classes.

Davido plays a poor farmer who falls in love with the prince's love interest. Aye shows Davido at his best, showing raw talent in a different direction, cultural, and entirely refreshing.....
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Statistics [as of 7/14/ 2017 5:40 PM]
total views: 40,573,802

likes: 97,054; dislikes: 5,768

total # of comments: 5,437

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM TWO "AYE" VIDEO SUB-THREADS
Sub-Thread #1: Comments From Africans About Other Africans Living Abroad

This excerpt consist of all but one of the comments that were posted to this sub-thread as of July 15, 2017 (7:10 PM)

Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.
1. Coogie246, 2015
"Its a shame young Nigerian women in the U.S don't dance like the women in this video any more. A lot (Not all) come to the U.S and try to act too posh, they try and rid themselves of the things that make them unique to the rest of the world....shame. Nigerian women are some of the most gorgeous women on the planet."

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2. Kitty Purry, 2015
"Lol, true. I used to kind of act like that when I was younger, but traditional songs like this make me embrace my roots even more. I love our culture and tradition, it's so rich and fascinating.
And you're right that it's what makes us unique to the rest of the world, which is why it's imperative to keep our tradition aflame and pass it on to the next generation, otherwise it fades into obscurity. So, I'm going to ensure that I teach my kids about their culture, even if they are raised in the western world.
I think it's more about finding the right balance between the western culture and our traditional beliefs, especially if you reside in the western world and work in the corporate world. All in all, I'm very proud to be a Yoruba girl."

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3. oriolori89, 2015
"+Miss Bukky very well said as far too many Africans try to rid themselves of their very africanness as soon as they hit the states, being an older women I am having none of that nonsense .. when in America I braid my hair and an eat my foods,( amala, eba, fufu , ogbono soup, efo rifo , ewa, , ) I eat all of our foods African foods in America .. and why not ? am looking for where to get ISE EWU ... yum.."
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[Pancocojams comment added 7/16/2017] YouTube commenters may change their user name. When that happens, the name used for all of the comments written by that commenter is changed to the new user name. However, that old name still shows up in other commenters' replies. "Miss Bukky" appears to be an earlier user name for "Kitty Purry".

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4. Kitty Purry, 2015
"+oriolori89 Really? Is that how it is in the states? I actually live in the UK it's quite different here and it's actually funny because a lot of African teenagers and young adults who were born here to immigrant parents actually really love the culture and they truly embrace it. It's only those who migrated here that try to act indifferent. And here in the UK, especially in London, Nigerian food is so easily accessible, along with other African household items. You can literally live like you do in Nigeria, just in a different continent.
My problem was that I had no Nigerian friends when I first moved here, due to the school I attended, so I had no one to share the culture with, but all that changed when I met other Nigerians

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5. oriolori89, 2015
"+Miss Bukky I live both in the uk and Nigeria as I have homes in both places and yes of course we have our foods our culture all around us in the big cities not the countryside London,Manchester are big Nigerian hubs but Nigerians are so bold they will set up shop anywhere they are not afraid to go places . This is the thing about us is that we tend to be the first ones to step outside "safe " zones as black areas America is different its too big for a start so the African communities are really scattered and tend to concentrate in big cities like new York Houston and Atlanta ..I remember on one trip about a decade ago to los angeles I was in the valleys where you don't get many blacks let alone Africans , I bumped into another Yoruba man who heard me speaking in Yoruba to the people I was with he was so happy! lol you get that from time to time .

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6. Kingsley Odogwu, 2015
"+oriolori89 Hello, how are you doing?"

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7. Nona Yabuisness, 2015
"It's the truth. It's the same for the ones in the UK. Most of them used to pretend to be be Jamaican when I livd in London back in the day. That's why I will never date one of them. They're are Europeanized/Americanized to the max. No sense of African in them at all. Fake Africans"

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8. Nona Yabuisness, 2015
"+Miss Bukky Thats not what I saw. When I used to visit London first generation Nigerians and Africans in general used to pretend to be Jamaicans. They used to call Africans like me "FOB" aka "Fresh Off The boat". They had no African pride whatsoever"

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9. oriolori89, 2015
"+Olayinka Kazeem some of the youth are lost because their parents are too busy chasing naira"
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"naira"= monetary unit in Nigeria

[Pancocojams Editor comment added 7/16/207] YouTube commenters may change their user name. When that happens, the name used for all of the comments written by that commenter is changed to the new user name. However, that old name still shows up in other commenters' replies. My guess is that "Olayinka Kazeem" is an earlier user name for "Nona Yabuisness".

Fwiw, http://www.first-names-meanings.com/names/name-OLAYINKA.html indicates that "Olayinka" is a Yoruba female name that means "wealth" surrounds me".
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"Ola" is a prefix that found in a number of Yoruba names and means "wealth" (and also "honor"). "Inka" is a suffix that is found in a lot of Yoruba names and means "surrounds me". Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/yoruba-names-and-their-meeanings-by.html the pancocojams post "Yoruba Names And Their Meanings" by Fela Sowande

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10. Nona Yabuisness, 2015
"+oriolori89 Some? Most so called Africans overseas are lost. My experiences with you people will always be here and bad. Sorry if I can't get with the pro African vibe that u ppl have embraced within the last year or two. I remember you ppl before. Alot of you were ashamed to be African"

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11. oriolori89, 2015
"+Olayinka Kazeem I presume you took your user name then not all of us are ashamed to be Africans I live part of the year on African soil and its my home now so no our cultures are very strong but this wont be apparent to you unless you are exposed to it and most blacks simply are not"

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12. Briste Belle, 2015
"I am igbo Nigerian in the US. So proud of my culture that even my coworkers wish they are Nigerians. They like when i speak Igbo on the phone and my natural hair styles (Usually Mohawk, with braided sided and combed-up middle), I smile always too... Some of them wish they could marry a Nigerian but the thing is marrying a Nigerian won't make them Nigerian, they'll only be foreigners married to a Nigerian... Anyways, I appreciate my culture and people, Naija for liife!"

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13. Wizkyy Edem, 2015
"+Briste Belle HI BRISTE HOW ARE YOU, IT A GOOD THING TO KNOW THAT SOME PEOPLE OVER THERE WANT TO MARRY NAIJA PPL BUT CAN YOU PUT ME ON CONTACTING THEM COS I REALLY WANT TO KNOW THEN FIRST THEN MAYBE WE TAKE IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL.BUT THEY MUST BE VERY BEAUTIFUL LIKE YOU."

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14. Classiqueremyhair, 2015
"+Olayinka Kazeem hmmm. I don't think so at all. I live in Chicago and 95% of Nigerians born here do not play American music hardly. They are more into it than even those in Naija. I cannot remember the last time I heard American songs in Naija parties here. Hardly. Most Nigerians here are more into our culture, it's those at home trying to get Americanized"

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15. oriolori89, 2015
"+Classiqueremyhair yes the youngsters back home have a convoluted idea of life stateside."

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16. Akou Kouassi, 2015
"+Classiqueremyhair I agree to it"

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17. Monafa Gill, 2015
"preachh đŸ˜© most of the dancing today is derived from africa, they should be proud"

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18. NickHill668, 2015
"have you explored the whole U.S? no you haven't it's bigger than you think [two profanity words deleted]

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19. mary mpi, 2015
"I mean I'm an Nigerian in u.s and I can dance"

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20. NickHill668, 2015
"you people are [profanity deleted] stupid, point [profanity] proven

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21. pureknightxs, 2015
"+Olayinka Kazeem That's how it was, key word is was. Its most definitely not like that anymore many nigerians embrace their culture now which is how it should be. I personally am saving up to study yoruba at soas university."
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SOAS University, London England "SOAS University of London is the only Higher Education institution in Europe specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East." https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/

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22. rara alsina, 2015
".... u kinda is right and i think everyone should embrace their culture. i wore sum thing like what she wore in the video to school and everyone actually liked it"

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23. NickHill668, 2015
"^ hahahah my god this is hilarious"

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24. [Reply to NickHill668 deleted]

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25. Funmilade Akinleye, 2015
+Coogie246 thank you, we know!! #proudlynigerian

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26. priscilla wanosowo, 2015
"+Funmilade Akinleye"
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On internet social media, a commenter who only writes a reply consisting of a plus sign followed by a commenter's name is indicating that he or she is "cosigning" (agreeing with) what that commenter wrote. In doing so, he or she is giving that commenter "props" (respect/recognition) for that comment.

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Sub-Thread #2: Comments About Yorubas In Benin & Other Nations Besides Nigeria
This is the complete sub-thread (as of July 15, 2017 (7:15 PM)

Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.

1. ete ike, 2016
"This is totally the Yoruba traditional video. Yoruba tribe is NIGERIAN."

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2. Malika Sillam, 2016
"There are also Yoruba in Benin."

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3. Debbie, 2016
"+Malika Silla lol every YorĂčbĂĄ person u see in this world has NIGERIAN ROOTS/ANCESTORS. Yorubas travelled to them neighbouring countries in the olden days. they still do now and intermarry. there are afrocubans and Brazilians that practise YorĂčbĂĄ religion and bear our names."

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4. I Am Many Things, 2016
"nope, research things friend. Yoruba are from benin,same as nigeria. yoruba in benin did not migrate at all, its just colonial border that separate them from Nigeria yoruba. just saying....yoruba are native to benin and nigeria."

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5. Debbie A, 2016
"+DreamOfTheEndless Sir eerrrm I am YorĂčbĂĄ myself. Oduduwa(the father of thĂ© yorubas) , ile-ife(thĂ© cradle of thĂ© yorubas), ooni of ife,alake of egba,olubadan of ibadan,oba of benin city(edo state), alaafin of oyo,moremi ajasoro, bashorun ogunmola even thĂ© gods and goddesses are ALL INDEGENOUS TO NIGERIA. Many yorubas married from bĂ©nin.

I know many people from bĂ©nin republic That even told me this. They bear YorĂčbĂĄ names Because theyve mingled. Doesnt mean they are YorĂčbĂĄ. They may have Married a YorĂčbĂĄ person or have yorubas as grandparents. They speak fon and french. Though their YorĂčbĂĄ is a little diffĂ©rent Because of their accent. And many nigĂ©rians back in thĂ© days used To bring house helps from bĂ©nin republic To Nigeria. Some arent YorĂčbĂĄ at aaaalll but Because theyve stayed with yorubas they know thĂ© language and bear thĂ© name.I dont know or think they still do it. (i mean being househelps over)

The Yoruba share borders with the Borgu in Benin; the Nupe and Ebira in central Nigeria; and the Edo, the Esan, and the Afemai in mid-western Nigeria. The Igala and other related groups are found in the northeast, and the Egun, Fon,Ewe and others in the southeast Benin. The Itsekiri who live in the north-west Niger-Delta are related to the Yoruba but maintain a distinct cultural identity. Significant Yoruba populations in other West African countries can be found in Ghana,Togo, Ivory Coast, Libéria and Sierra Leone Of course Theyll speak thé language intermarry and Take It To their country.

As of 2016 heres thé population of thé yorubas. Nigeria 40 million, Bénin 2.2 million Ghana 460,000 Togo 300,000, Ivory Coast100,000, Europe-200,000 North America-200,000 . Theres a reason Why Nigeria has thé most numbers. BECAUSE ITS THE HOMELAND OF EVERY YORUBA PERSON. (Regardless of migration and marriage) Because you find a set of people in a country doesnt mean they or their languages are indegenous To That country or land. E.g: Australia is for thé aboriginals but their main language is English and Its predominantly white people. "
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I reformatted this comment to increase its readability.

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6. Malika Silla, 2015
"+Debbie A
He is right. Yorubas are native to Benin and Nigeria.
But you're right with some points.
Significant population does not mean that they are native to that place. It just means that there is a great amount of them living there. If you Google Somalis, a significant population place would be Germany. It just means that they are many Somalis living in Germany.
Also the Yoruba found in Ivory Coast are not Ivorians but Nigerians born in Nigeria that migrated to Ivory Coast.
The same goes for Ghana and Togo. Those Yorubas living there are Nigerians.


Again the reason why Benin and Nigeria exist is because of colonial borders. If it wasn't for white people you wouldn't have Nigeria or Benin.
The reason why Nigeria has the higher population is because white people wanted it. If they would made the borders different what would you say?"

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7. I Am Many Things, 2015
"+Malika Silla right!!!!"

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2 comments:

  1. I'd also like to note one other recurring point among commenters in the discussion thread of YouTube's official video of Davido's song "Aye": multiple commenters from all the regions of Africa-including North Africa - made it a point to say that they were proud of being African. One commenter started a "Who is proud to be African sub-thread" and a number of commenters added that statement to the end of their comments in other sub-threads or as "stand alone" comments.
    (separate from any specific sub-thread.)

    One commenter in the "Who is proud to be African" sub-thread for Davido's "Aye" video criticized those who made this point, calling them "insecure people' and berating them that they weren't proud of being African before they watched an African music video.

    I've noticed this "proud to be African" statement in many other discussion threads for YouTube contemporary African music videos. And people from the (presumably not recent) African Diaspora in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America also wrote that they were proud to be African.

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    1. Commenters statements in an African music video's discussion threads could be interpreted as a compliment to that particular song and/or video. But I think that much more is implied by those comments.

      It's interesting that I've never come across anyone asking "Why are you proud to be African?"

      And, I wonder if there are comparable "I'm proud to be ___" statements for other continents....

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