#MORETHANINKANDLOCS is a creative reaction which aims to debunk the Nigerian Police statement in a BBC Pidgin article that, “tattoos and dreadlocks dey strange to our culture.”
Chidera Mouka , a renowned magazine editor is creating this project series to address society’s bias against appearances which are considered to be deviations from the “norm”. Our belief is that our value and relevance are more than the symbols on our body and the style we wear our hair.
Based on this, she reached out to a couple of outstanding individuals leading their industries to share their narrative and show the world why they are #MORETHANINKANDLOCS.
This project was done in collaboration with Niyi Okeowo and Kayode Idowu.
For the first episode, we reached out to Bankole Oluwafemi, the Editor-In-Chief of Tech Cabal and co-founder of Big Cabal Media. Once he stepped into the studio, you instantly notice how reserved he is and how articulate he is when he is sharing his ideas. Describing himself as ‘your average boring person’, he still gets pulled aside at the airport to get searched for drugs. Why? His hair fits into society’s description of bad and extremely dangerous.
Talking with Bankole, he shares his story behind his locs and the reactions many may have had towards his hair.
On some days, he is referred to as Basketmouth’s brother or catcalled by random people saying “Rasta! Rasta! Rasta!”. As a young entrepreneur, he has had issues with the corporate sectors because of his hair.
Owning his narrative, Bankole is #MORETHANINKANDLOCS as he says “I am other things that have nothing to do with my hair, and I’ll appreciate it if people would just act accordingly.”
Watch Bankole on the first episode of #MORETHANINKANDLOCS
