Malachi

My barber shop is called Unity and is based in what’s known as ‘the containers’ at the far end of Ridley Road. They are basically a collection of shipping containers from which people run local businesses selling African food, textiles, and other goods. The space is also very social and people meet here, who want to reach out.

I grew up in many places across Africa, but I am from Ghana. I started my journey when I was 15, when I left Ghana to live in Nigeria. I was having problems at home and hanging out on the street, so my mum refused to let me come home. My family were not the poorest, but I did not rely on them much for support. African mothers are very strict and if their child does something wrong, they kick you out. My mum and I fought every day because she wanted me to be straight.

I ran away from Ghana with some friends. I followed them to Nigeria where I worked hard as a barber. I lived and worked at the seaside, but the seaside there is not a tourist place. People are poor and live in makeshift homes with very little. Lagos is a hard place and can be dangerous. However, it is brimming with creativity and spirituality and is the home of Fela Kuti, the musician, legend, and prophet. When he was alive, they did not believe him. He spoke about all the corruption from colonialism and within Nigeria itself.

After a few years in Lagos, some of the older men, where I worked bullied me repeatedly and I had a fight. I hit a guy after a lot of abuse, and he collapsed and went into a coma. I did not have anyone in Nigeria to protect me, so I got arrested and spent eight months in prison on remand. Kirikiri prison in Lagos, is the second toughest prison in Lagos and is church structured. The wardens are wicked, and you need money to bribe them and give them money to survive or they beat you. It was a very dangerous place with the hardest criminals, so I learnt to box. Luckily the guy I hit survived and I managed to get out. I was in Lagos for around 4 years.

After this I followed some guys I knew to Libya because I knew there were more opportunities. I was there when they killed Ghaddafi. Getting to Libya was not an easy journey. I was there for about seven years and I knew I needed to go there to survive. I spoke Hausa which is the language spoken all over the continent and this helped me. The Libyans love Ghanaian people, and I grew to love Libya.

I came here to London ten years ago and originally worked on in a barber on Kingsland Road, close to here. Due to Corona the owner of the barber shop had to sell the shop and I lost my job. I got together with a friend we set up our own barbers here on Ridley Road. If you visit my shop Unity, we are probably going to talk about Africa or Fela Kuti. Even if you are poor here you have a chance. Where I come from in Ghana and the places I travelled to in Africa, there is no chance unless you have a lot of money, or your parents are very wealthy. This is my last stop, in what has felt like a long journey.