PLAITING MY HAIR AS A JOURNALIST

When I worked in traditional newsrooms, I discovered they had regulations regarding the kind of hairstyle you could do and the kind of outfit you could wear. During my service year, I remember I loved to put on knickers. If I had a pair of jean trousers, I would cut them. So I had a lot of issues at the media organisation where I served and I had to adapt to the situation.

When I started freelancing, I was like, at least I could make decisions on my own. Being a journalist, I am not involved in any fraudulent or nefarious activities. Then why can’t I at least change my look? I decided to plait to see how it looked around December 2024. The first thing I did was inform my mom. She was like, “No, no, no, no.” She called my close friend and said this is what your friend says he’s doing in Abuja o. My mom is in Ibadan, so we had to connect on a group WhatsApp call. It was really tough because we were on the call for more than 30 minutes. I lied that I was actually working on a story (clears throat) and I needed the look for the story. 

After I did the plaiting, I was like, “Whoa. This thing came out nice.” I’m not someone who takes combs around, even though I love to grow my hair. So it is either my hair is rumpled or it’s barbed, and I don’t like barbing my hair. At that time, I’d kept it growing for a year without a haircut. So after the first incident, I decided to keep plaiting my hair. I was volunteering for some other organisations like that and they were like, Why would you do like this? I did not want to offend anyone, so I would tell them I was working on a story – first month, second month, third month. I eventually admitted I wasn’t working on any story and it was my new look. People who actually respected me started drawing away from me at some point, thinking abi this guy is already doing crime. And I’m a freelance journalist working from home, so they always see me with a laptop. 

When I tried moving to a new apartment, the man didn’t even want to give me at first. He felt I was a yahoo boy. I was actually somehow happy deep down, I won’t lie to you. I was happy that at least that that misidentity was there. I love the fact that the bar is very low and I am surprising them. He said he wasn’t giving me any room. I tried to convince him. I said you don’t need to go too far, “I am a journalist, you can just type my name on your computer and check.” He was like, so this is who you are – haha, you are a journalist, why are you doing like this? Who is your editor? They accepted this? I explained that I was still freelancing and I was under no restriction. I eventually got the apartment. 

While I was interviewing for my current job, I was a bit reluctant about switching on my webcam. On the day of the interview, there was a power outage. I was inside and there was heat. It was very scorching. And I had put on my face cap just to cover my hair. Immediately they took the light, I was like, eh Jesus, I was soliloquising. And they were now like, you this guy, you must be thinking they took the light and you are still on face cap, what happened? Then I had to remove the cap. “Ehn!” they laughed. And the next thing that happened was one of my editors said, “Ah, this is an Americanah! I think I like him. I like him. I like him. He is already qualified, but with this, I like him.” Broo, it was a blessing in disguise. He is a traditional man and he spent all his years in a traditional newspaper, so I wasn’t expecting that to be his reaction. 

One time, I went to Lagos for a particular fellowship and I was almost harassed by the police. They saw me walking at night. I wanted to go and get some things at a shopping mall around Lekki. They stopped me and asked who I was, this and that. I was reluctant at first because I wanted to know what would happen. They saw that I maintained a calm composure; I wasn’t arguing or trying to run. After a few minutes, I told them I was a journalist. “Ah, and who is your editor?” That was the first question they asked. I said my editor is a human being like you; it’s nothing special. I showed them my ID card, and they left me. I could see the surprise on their face. 

I plaited this hair a few days ago. My thought was to come to this conference with my loosened hair. It was my editor who said, “We need that American style. Plait, go and show them.”

I was born and brought up in a Christian home. People feel that because you are a Christian, you should be on low cut, but it’s not written in the Bible. Jesus himself had long hair. Samson braided his hair when he was alive. So there are even Biblical references for doing all these things. 

I have done a couple of stories looking like this. Some of the communities I’ve covered are not receptive, but they don’t have a choice, because I’ll tell them I am giving you this platform on a platter of gold. Most journalists are routine journalists; we have a few doing development stories and investigations. Me coming to meet you without you giving me anything and without any funding from anywhere means I am doing it for public interest, so you have to look beyond my hair. 

My mom was trying to tell me that ah no, what will people say? I said, do you know that most of the politicians who embezzle money are on low cut and skinhead? We also have people who have actually portrayed people with braided hair black, but I feel I can actually change that narrative by plaiting my hair. The fact that I look like them does not mean I am among them. The reality remains that deep down, I think, I am a good person.

As narrated by: Theophilus Adedokun (Abuja, Nigeria).