Tiwa seeks to restore our forgotten folk-tale tradition

If you are an 80's child like me and grew up watching Tales by Moonlight on NTA (Nigeria Television Authority) then you will understand why this story struck a chord when I first saw it.
     As usual I was strolling on the streets of Instagram when I saw a post by @Lagoshousewife about this bear that tells African folk tales. Immediately, my child hood flashed before me.
    You see, folk tales were traditionally an important learning tool before the introduction of formal education. Children will sit on the floor, surrounding either a parent or grand parent who told them stories about the tortoise or the dog, and these stories always ended with a moral lesson. Folk tales were used to pass knowledge from generation to generation.
     However, even after formal education took the fore front, folk tales were still told to children but this is gradually waning and Nigerian entrepreneur Tola Akanbi decided to do something to help, he created Tiwa The Talking Bear, something that kids can be comfortable with.
     Tiwa comes in two colours, costs 10,000 naira (28 dollars), holds 135 minutes of story time with 30 different stories.
     I fell in love with the ancient city of Ibadan all over again, it is super calm when compared with Lagos. I also met the awesome family of the Afolayans. 
     Tiwa is short for the Yoruba name "Tiwatiwa" which means "This is our own," and truly this is our own, from Nigeria to the world. My daughters are hooked too.
     You can find them on instagram @tiwathewisemonkey .

Link to video






Credit: The Afolayan family














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