Many children who grew up in the early to late 90s and early 2000s in Nigeria, believed in these things. At the time, there was no internet or at least it was not popular yet but children all over the country knew about all these things. Sometimes, I wonder how every child in the country grew up knowing these things. These beliefs were not broadcasted on television or in a place where every person could see but just by being around other children in our neighborhoods and in school, we got knowledge of these things and still remember them to date. From leke leke give me white white finger to the tale of a football ball turning into a lion’s head, here are some of the funniest things we believed as children growing up in Nigeria.

For this article, it is important to say the beliefs like we used to when we were younger and not try to sound grammatically correct. This way, it is easier for the average Nigerian to remember. 

Leke Leke Can Give You White Finger 

Back then, we believed that leke leke could bless us with white spots on our fingers. For those wondering, leke leke is the local name of Cattle Egret – a kind of bird that loves foraging at the feet of grazing cattle. These birds often fly in groups and whenever they were flying past a group of children, a song was always sung by the children beckoning on the birds to give them white spots.

The entire lyrics of the song is “Leke leke give me white white finger” and children would repeat this song while flapping their wrists like bird wings until they could no longer see the birds in sight. When the birds were gone, children would check their hands to confirm if they had received the marks. As children, many of us saw these white marks on our fingers every time we looked and went on believing the birds actually gave us. 

India Won Nigeria 99-1 and The Ball Turned Into A Lion 

Many of us in Nigeria grew up believing there was a football match between Nigeria and India in which India won using supernatural powers. According to the story, Indian players would kick the ball toward the Nigerian goalkeeper and it would turn into a lion. Another part of the story was that the football turned into a stone, a lion, or another scary thing whenever the Nigerian team had it in their possession so they could do nothing with it until it was collected by the Indian team. Apparently, all these prevented the Nigerian team from scoring any goal while the Indian team scored 99 goals. During the match, it was said that the Indian team agreed that if the Nigerian team scored a goal, then they would be the winner. With this, one Nigerian player gathered all his power to kick the ball (which had turned into a scary figure) into the opponent’s goalpost. This Nigerian player died instantly but he scored a goal and Nigeria was declared the winner. 

This just seems the product of the human imagination made popular and we even believed it further because none of us had seen India participating in any popular football event. You need to see the look on our faces when we were told this fictional story years ago. We were often bewildered. 

If It is Raining and the Sun is Shinning, then An Elephant is Giving Birth 

Many of us, as children believed that an elephant was giving birth whenever it was raining and there was sunshine. There was no evidence about this and many of us had never even seen an elephant in real life but we just believed it because our friends told us. 

Whistling at Night Attracts Spirits 

Older people used to warn children vehemently to avoid whistling at night as it attracts spirits. This made us so scared as children that we avoided it at all costs. For many years since becoming an adult, I have been whistling at night but I am still yet to be graced with the presence of a spirit. Clearly, we were scammed into believing a lie. 

If You Pee and Don’t Spit on The Urine, Your Stomach Will Pain You

In early 2023, I was at a park in Asaba watching a mother instruct her little daughter who wanted to pee. The woman said “piss here” and the girl began to pee. After peeing, the woman said “Oya pour spit. Next, the woman said “Oya match it” and the girl did exactly that. Seeing this, my mind traveled many years back to the early 2000s when we believed that peeing without spitting on the spot would make our stomach ache. It was very surprising to see that that belief was still being practiced today. To date, I even subconsciously always spit on my pee not because I am afraid that my stomach will ache if I do not, but because I (and many other young Nigerians) practiced it so much that it became a part of us as we grew older. 

If Your Teeth Comes Off, Throw It On The Roof So Lizard Will Not Eat It

I don’t even know where this all started but many children who grew up in Nigeria believed it so much. Children were encouraged to throw their fallen teeth on the roof or a place where lizards could not access them. We were afraid that if lizards ate our teeth, they would not grow again and then our siblings would eat all the good food and the meat that belonged to us. 

This belief was particularly strong because all children change their teeth at a stage and so even some parents encouraged their children to perform this ritual as everybody else was doing it. This is probably one of the extreme beliefs that will make anyone question the sanity of most Nigerians especially as it still does not make sense to date. 

If You Blow Air Into A Sharpener, It Will No Longer Be Sharp

In primary school, many of us believed that blowing air into a sharpener would make it blunt. At the time, we had to warn our friends who borrowed our sharpeners not to do this. Those who mistakenly did it risked starting a serious quarrel.   

If You Look at the Mirror At Night, You Will See A Ghost

Some Nigerians today, even as adults, avoid looking at mirrors at night and this belief has long been with them since childhood. As children, we were told that looking at a mirror at night was dangerous as a ghost could appear in the mirror and cause us harm. Nowadays, some of us look in the mirror at night hoping to see a ghost but we have always been disappointed.  

Did you also believe these too? Tell us what you think in the comment section below. Also suggest more silly things you believed growing up in Nigeria.

Next: 11 Normal Things In Nigeria Regarded As Abnormal In Other Parts Of The World

Please follow and like us: