In an exclusive interview with Punch Newspapers, a Hungarian lady, Emese Doktor and later renamed to Ibukun Afolabi, popularly known as White Naija Girl, who is married to a Nigerian man and decided to hawk sachet water on the streets of Lagos in a bid to feel the pain Nigerians feel, has spoken out on
her experiences in the country, life in Lagos, embracing Nigeria’s rich culture and more. Below are excerpts from the chat;
Can you give a brief background of yourself?
My husband gave me a Nigerian (Yoruba) name, ‘Ibukun,’ which means ‘blessing.’ I am originally from Hungary. I live in the United Kingdom at the moment. In 2008, I came to the UK, where I met my husband, Gbenga Afolabi of MagnumN3. I studied Business and Management. I also hold degrees in German and French languages. When I first came to the UK, I could not speak English, so I had to start learning it from the beginning. In 2012, I decided to start a blog, the whitenaijagirl.com, soon after I got married. Initially, I wanted to write a book, but my husband advised me to start a blog instead so I could reach more people. I started to write about my experiences as a ‘Nigerian’ wife. Soon, many people — men and women – in relationships with Nigerians started to contact me, asking different questions. The blog became quite successful. Finally, I visited Nigeria in the middle of October last year. I stayed for a month. It was during that period that the video of me selling sachet water was shot.