Superheroes in Naija

You know, in those days, when you watch any movie or you read any novel or comic, you always hear lots of talk about the heroes, the Superheroes. Especially if the comic or movie is American, In fact, the created the very term.

And now, I wonder, how about over here in Africa, where are our Superheroes?

The Superhero of the American cinema or folklore is a man or woman of exceeding power  and potential, either physically or otherwise, but most definitely supernaturally, [hence the term]. Apparently, even before the advent of Television and paper, stories about these heroes were constantly told to the young and young at heart.
Therein lies the rub, what then can be said of the African man and his own heroes? I have sat with friends back in secondary school [or high school for the Americans], and we have debated, [quite seriously for that matter] on the simple question of if we could have Superheroes in Nigeria. The final consensus was reached when someone said that even if Superheroes could dwell amongst us here in Nigeria, they would nevertheless be confined to the areas in cities where the presence of sky scrapers are in abundance. I can remember hanging my head in shame as Benin City where I lived could not boast of one single skyscraper. In other words, the ultimatum was that if ever the god of Superhero land decided to dispatch one of his subordinates to Nigeria, he’ll most probably be confined only to Abuja or Lagos. It was a sad moment believe me.

But such things are below me now.

What is a Superhero? Is he this guy?

What does it entail to be a Superhero? A cape, giant arms, wide chest and the power of three trains?

Have you ever heard of Ijapa? Yes, Ijapa! In the Yoruba language of the people of Nigeria, Ijapa is the tortoise. He is the smart, extremely cunning and obligately trickish animal who rules the kingdom of the Animals, but not from the throne, [such things are beneath him]. Ijapa is a hero of the African folklore. And he rules a government further reaching than anyone can truly fathom, and he uses his powers for the good of...himself.

Faster than a speeding bullet? Yes, Ijapa ran a race against all the animals in the kingdom and he was first without even breaking a sweat

Stronger than the most powerful whatever..? Yes, Ijapa won a tug of war against three elephants in a row. And the elephants looked surprisingly like this...

and when it comes to flying, Ijapa has raced to the heavens and back with large birds and he always came back first!

I'm sorry I couldn't get a picture of Ijapa in mid-flight, but you see, he was going too fast for the camera...*smile*

Don't get me wrong though, asides from Ijapa, there are other heroes in the African comic [there should be something like that], such as Amansewah or Anansi the Ghanaian spider, and even a couple of Ugandan heroes.

When it comes to the whole Superhero thing however, Ijapa stands a whole head above them all, after all...he is the Naija Superhero isn't he?