2024 Breaking Barriers
Congratulations –
CJSW - Diary of a Naija Immigrant (Onyie Ekene-Obi, Tomi Ajele)
To NCRA members and committee; I submit this as a nomination for the Breaking Barriers award at the 2024 CRABO Awards.
The CJSW Original podcast Diary of a Naija Immigrant is produced by Onyie and Tomi, as themselves and their guests share their experiences of immigrating to Calgary or Canada, from Nigeria. Each episode covers a different Nigerian immigrant’s unique perspectives on the positive and negative aspects of their lives, how they connect to life in their home country of Nigeria, and - more importantly to many of them - how life differs for them being in Calgary and Canada. It is no secret or profound statement to say that experiences differ between people, but immigrants have a whole host of complex issues that they experience outside of the general Canadian experience. Those difficult, more personal moments can be difficult to write down and share with people, but they can be easier to express - and understand - if communicated effectively.
The producers and hosts of the program are Onyie (main host and name in the series) and Tomi, who have had vastly different experiences between the two of them. They share their stories in the first two episodes of the series, but for some insight; Onyie immigrated to Canada with her husband and two children, while Tomi grew up in Canada as a second generation Nigerian immigrant. The contrast between the two hosts in the opening episodes helped set the series up perfectly, portraying how their lives in Canada and connections to Nigeria have changed the way they approach the present and future. Their stories were a great way for audiences to connect with the series through content connecting to shared experience or insight into Nigerian culture. As they progressed and started bringing in more speakers, stories and perspectives, listeners were able to connect with the guests’ story or even find some other positive, reinforcing message they needed to hear, but other listeners may have related more to the important, underlying purpose and message that exists throughout the series.
The most impactful nature of the program is its ability to tap into the more vulnerable, less discussed aspects of immigration, as well as topics related to discrimination of Black people. Without diving too deep into all of the experiences that have been shared in the series, Tomi’s story provides a clear example of the impact Diary of a Naija Immigrant can have. Tomi explains how growing up in Canada as a Black woman was a very different experience to Onyie and her mother. She says her mother knew who she was before coming to Canada, but found that aspect of growing up incredibly difficult being one of the only Black people in school, and having such uniquely “Naija” experiences at home. This complex led to her growing a disdain for Nigerian culture, as she felt she was being singled out because of her differences which made her, as she says “unlovable”. Only after growing up was she able to understand how important those differences are to who she is. If the social climate of the past decade and even in more recent years has shown us anything, it is that racism still exists, but it is something that is learned. Children are starting to be taught about the importance and beauty that exists behind peoples’ cultural differences, and although it may not be happening everywhere, I think podcasts made like this can show the importance of taking a proactive approach in our media to ensure the proper message becomes the common message.
Diary of a Naija Immigrant has the ability to discuss content and share experiences or stories to break down cultural barriers, many of which people were previously unaware of, or unconsciously ignorant to. Speaking as a
second generation Pakistani immigrant, Diary of a Naija Immigrant connects with me because I can relate to the experiences of Tomi and some of their guests; the subtle discrimination that exists can be hard to discuss or speak candidly on, but having a platform and space like this podcast allows the hosts, guests and audience to grow in a positive direction of self and social awareness and understanding.
Audio Submission Highlights (in order of appearance):
December 2023 Episode - Introduction
Episode 1 - Onyie’s Story
Episode 2 - Tomi’s Story
Episode 3 - Sam’s Story (First guest appearance)
Kaamil Kareemi
Podcast Coordinator at CJSW 90.9FM
Check out the award-winning submission: