Smiselo – Ngifuna Umtanami

The title says I want my child, and the possessive makes it personal. It could be a parent longing to be reunited with a son or daughter, a person hoping for a child of their own, or someone speaking up about a child they have been kept from. Each reading carries a different kind of ache.

In Nigeria, children are at the centre of family life. People pray for them, plan around them and sacrifice for them. A parent separated from a child by distance, work or a broken relationship feels that absence daily. Many have stood at a bus park or airport waiting for someone small to come running.

I will not pretend to describe production details I cannot confirm, but a title this direct suggests a record that speaks plainly about longing and responsibility. There is no decoration in the wording, which is often a sign that the feeling underneath is strong.

That plainness is what makes it hit. By the time somebody says Ngifuna umtanami in a quiet voice, nobody in the room will make a joke.

Anyone who has missed a child, or longed to become a parent, will understand the mood. It suits the still hours of the night, when family is the only thing on the mind.

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