I am from a country made up of so many different ethnic groups, and each of these ethnicities has its own dialects and sub-dialects, even in my own state, we have more than one dialect, so I can say that taking my favorite fictional character on a journey to understand my dialect would not be a boring adventure at all.
In my state, Akwa Ibom, I guess he will have to laugh when I tell him a particular word and interpret it in English for him to understand it better.
In my state we have the Efik and we have the Ibibio, and the two tribes share different dialects, there is also another tribe, the Oron nation, who have their own dialect as well, so I will try to hold the class for a few minutes, explaining to him, the basic things he needs to know, in each of the dialects, and then, after the class, we will head to a local pork vendor, and there my favorite fictional character would have to enjoy, and taste the way pork is cooked and roasted in my state.
When we returned home, that is, in the evening, I would teach him another dialect of the country, Igbo, because as a child I spent many seasons in this region and, it is one of the regions of the country where commercial activities take place.
The Igbo dialect is very easy to learn, and not like that of my own state, Akwa Ibom, because in my state, people who have been there, say the dialect is very difficult to learn, because we speak it so fast, which is how we are known to other tribes in the country, when it comes to Efik and Ibibio.
Going back to the Igbo dialect with my favorite fictional character, he would be so grateful to be taught another dialect, called Igbo, because in the Igbo dialect, he would be able to flow so well, just like I did, when I spent some time in Igbo land, Owerri, precisely.
I also had the opportunity to learn another dialect in my country, it was when I stayed with my uncle in Lagos state, Lagos state is one of the most beautiful and industrialised cities in Nigeria, so in this lesson, I guess me and my favorite character will have to travel there, so that he can also see things for himself.
Coming back to the teaching of the Yoruba dialects that are widely spoken in Lagos, I will make sure that my favorite fictional character understands it, although during my stay with my uncle in Lagos, I was a child, so shyness did not allow me to speak freely, I am no longer like I was, because now I speak what can be spoken.
Thy shyness that was in me has made me not to understand Yoruba dialects, like I have understand the Igbo and that of my own state, so I will make sure that my favorite fictional character and I visit Lagos, I will take him to Eko Hotel and we will stay there for a day or two, while we explore the city together.
All this would not be done without taking pictures, to keep as something to remember, therefore, with my greatest happiness, I will make sure that my best writer will be happy throughout his stay in my country.
And also, I will ask him about any place he wants to see in Nigeria, "those places, he used to hear about in Nigeria, while he was in his country", once he mentions it, I will make sure we get there and he can see and feel things for himself.
Lastly, I will love to learn from him too, that is, I will talk to him, to teach me about his life experience, and to tell me, what path I should follow to be a good character like him in the future, then every single thing, he would say, I would have to write it down, to guide me to achieve my success as a character.
Thank you, I admire you, for taking your time to read my post, this is an entry for the Hive book club competition, the competition is about, what would you do if you met your favourite fictional character, click on this link to participate.