The Origin of “Gudu Gudu Meje ati Yaya Mefa
During the colonial days, some Ibadan chiefs attended a meeting with Mr. Hezekiah Shunklebottom, a notoriously difficult British district officer. During the meeting, the district officer was pleased with what the Ibadan chiefs had to report and present through an interpreter. He kept nodding and saying, “Good, good, good, good, good, good, good,” and “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”
One of the chiefs counted the “good”s, which amounted to seven, and the “yeah”s, which amounted to six. When they returned to Ibadan, they reported to the people that the “Oyinbo se gudu gudu meje ati yaya mefa,” meaning the white man said “good” seven times and “yeah” six times.
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