4 reasons why every Nigerian relates to my Siblings and I

My Sibling and I is a comedy-drama on Showmax that follows the lives of the Aberuagba family, which includes parents Solomon Aberuagba, a retired army brigadier general, and his wife, Rosemary, a school teacher, and their seven children.

Told from the perspective of the last child, Angela, the show is in many ways the story of any average Nigerian family and explores themes like marriage, parent/child relations, sibling rivalry and inter-race relationships.

Created by Funke Akindele of the widely popular Jenifa’s Diary fame and co-directed by JJC Skillz and Olasukami Adebayo, here are four reasons My Siblings And I should be on your watchlist.

1. Every Nigerian has an Aberuagba sibling in their family

There are seven Aberuagba siblings in total and each has a distinct character, which every Nigerian family probably has one or more of.

There’s Stanley, the first child, who is very laid-back and married to a controlling wife, who is often at loggerheads with her oldest sister-in-law. Lilian is the second child and first daughter of the Aberugban clan. She is in many ways the fixer of the family.

Next is Femi, the nerd of the family, who rocks the boat when he brings home an oyinbo (white) girlfriend home, much to the delight of his siblings – and chagrin of his mother. Dave is the ne’er-do-well fourth child. He is a computer science graduate and exercise freak who has never worked a day in his life, though he’s attempted several businesses.

Nnenna is a university undergraduate with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and in some ways can be termed an oversabi (know it all). Then there’s James, who is also an undergraduate and constantly on the look-out for girls. And finally Angela, the 16-year-old last-born and resident busy body.

Together the siblings get into all manner of mischief but in the end, their love and devotion to one another always comes through.

2. Nigerian mothers and marriage

Marriage is a very big issue in many Nigerian homes, especially for mothers. The average Nigerian mother is known to constantly raise the subject of marriage with her unmarried daughters, especially as she gets older. It’s no different in the show. Lillian is the first daughter of the Aberuagbas and a police officer. Despite her thriving career, Mrs Aberuagba never fails to bring up the subject of marriage and even attempts to matchmake Lillian on occasion.

3. Nigerian parents and WhatsApp

A glance through social media, with its countless memes on parents and WhatsApp, will let anyone know just how seriously Nigerian parents take WhatsApp. This is explored in My Siblings and I as Mr Aberuagba takes communication on the family WhatsApp group very seriously. In the show, the retired general is known to send messages out first thing in the morning, which he promptly follows up with a phone call to whichever erring child fails to respond to the message.

4. Inter-tribe and race relationships

For many Nigerian parents, the most ideal situation would be for their child to date and marry someone within the family’s tribe, especially when both parents are from the same place. When children stray out of the fold, it’s usually met with a lot of resistance. So Mrs Aberuagba wasn’t too pleased when her son didn’t just bring home a girl from outside the tribe, but outside the country. Mrs Aberuagba made it very clear that she didn’t approve of her son’s choice of an oyinbo (white) girlfriend because she believed she would be disrespectful. How will this relationship pan out?

Seasons 1 and 2 of My Siblings and I are streaming on Showmax.