An Insistent Craving

The most tattoed man in the universe.

The act of making curious designs and marks on body parts, popularly known as tattoo, suddenly becomes a rave among many youths
By Osamudiamen Ogbonmwan
John Adebayo was only 20- years-old when he watched the American movie, Blade, a horror/science fiction which featured one of America’s enterprising black actors, Wesley Snipes.
Adebayo, who got really influenced by Snipes out-of-this world’s fighting skills in the movie, soon decided to honour Snipes by imprinting Blade’s (Snipes) fighting sword on his upper right arm in the form of a tattoo.
Over the last two years, Adebayo, now in his mid-30’s, has added two more tattoos on his body – both courtesy of two other people he claimed had influenced his life positively. First is his mother who he decided to etch her name on his upper left arm, and then his wife for whom he decided to draw a heart-shape on the upper left corner of his chest.
According to Adebayo, the three tattoos on his body reminds him of everything that has brought him joy. In fact, so enamoured is he of the tatoo crave, that he told The Source that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of adding more tattoos as the years go by.
Joy Emodi, a student of the University of Lagos, on her part decided to have a heart-shape tattoo done on the upper part of her left boobs a fee weeks ago. She told The Source that she had the tattoo made because she “just felt like having it.”
Tamilore Ojo, a bus conductor also has a tattoo as a permanent feature on the left side corner of his upper arm. His is the replica of a cobra poised to strike. Although scary, Ojo readily tell anyone who cares to listen that the cobra is only a form of art and not something to be afraid of or misinterpreted. Hear him: “ There are times you just want to be different and not want to draw things that other people have already drawn on their bodies.”
Over the last couple of years , the act of making marks on the body popularly known as tattoo has suddenly staged a come-back and remarkably, it is not synonymous with a set of people or tribe as persons of diverse ages now wear one form of tattoo or the other.
Gone, in fact, are the days when tattoos were merely a form of identification of persons from a particular ethnic group, as the ever expanding Nigerian fashion industry now allows different styles of tattoo , mostly abstract.
Also, as more and more people wear tattoos, the practice has now become big business for individuals with skills to make tatoos.
Indeed, a walk down the popular Allen Avenue Road in Ikeja unfolds an army of tattooists who confessed to The Source that indeed in Nigeria today, people are no longer shy of wearing a tattoo no matter the financial it cost.
But even as the trend grows, many still wonder why anyone would want to go through the painful process of getting a tattoo, only to be later confronted by societal disdain.
Pat Olagbaju, owner of Patola Beauty Shop, located on Allen Avenue, told The Source having a tattoo done is only improving on what God has done, because some people go for it as a form of beautification.
“ Women waste a lot of time every morning trying to draw up their eye brows, but with a permanent eyebrow (Tattoo) made on their face, it would just remain like that and they can go about their jobs, without worrying about how they look. They can even go swimming without any fear of their make-ups wiping off.”
Investigations by The Source reveal that there are two types of tattoos: permanent and the non Permanent. While the non-permanent tattoo is made from the popular Hausa leave called Lali and is only applied on the skin without any form of piercing and may last for between two to three weeks, the permanent tattoo, however, involves piercing of the skin with needles before an ink ( some say it is an extract from vegetables), is used to darken the spot. This can last for eternity.
Getting a permanent tattoo may not come as cheap as some may think. Findings indicate that a small tattoo could be done for a token of about N5,000 or more, whereas, a non-permanent tattoo could be as cheap as between N200 and N500.
Surprisingly, a lot of women are currently going for the non-permanent tattoo, which is mostly done on their hands and feet. This mode of fashion, interestingly, was made famous by women of the Hausa /Fulani tribe.
A visit to the Ogba market, Underbridge in Ikeja and the popular Yaba market exposed the new craze for the art.
Tawakalitu Raji, one of the many women who apply this kind of tattoo on the women in Yaba market told The Source that in a single day, she does about four different non-permanent tattoos on customers. The art has grown so big that they now have an association.
“ We have different styles that we put on the back of the hands and the feet. These days, brides in the South prefer to decorate themselves with such art as it is done in the North because it beautifies the body. It doesn’t take more than one hour for us to finish the job on our clients,” Raji said.
But the permanent tattoo does take a lot longer as it entails various processes. The Source learnt from Olagbaju that on various occasions, clients are asked to “come back for a second fitting, if the first does not achieve a perfect result”.
But in the midst of all the hoopla, The Source learnt that there are some health hazards associated with tattooing.
According to James Uzo, another tattooist, a person who decides to get a permanent tattoo must be able to abide by the rules which comes along with it.
Uzo:” When we are through with making a tattoo on a client, we advise him or her not to allow water or any other substance other than the ointment we give to them to touch the surface for a few days. If they go against the advice, germs may set in and it may result to skin diseases.”
Olagbaju, however, said that before undergoing any procedure with a client, she makes sure she knows a little about the client’s medical background.
“ I have to know if they are diabetic, hypertensive or pregnant. A wound does not heal at all on a patient suffering from serious diabetes. And since we have to inflict wounds to make a tattoo, I rather not do it on such a client. A pregnant woman might be afraid of the sight of a needle, so might a hypertensive patient. It is all very complicated, I tell you, because some other clients might also be prone to keloid, that is when a mass of flesh starts growing on a particular part of the body and if you work on such clients, in a few days time, they will start growing extra skin.”
Due to discriminations which sometimes trail people who wear tattoos, most tattoo wearers opt to go through the painful process of removing the tattoo. The Source’s findings reveal that a tattoo can be removed either through a laser operation, or according to Olagbaju, through the same process the tatoo was made in the first instance. The laser operation, however, isn’t too popular yet in Africa because it is very expensive.
Furthermore, many who go through the removal process often don’t escape having an everlasting scar at the spot where the tattoo once was.
“This is probably because the tattooist who put on the tattoo in the first instance dug so deep into the skin”, volunteered Olagbaju.
For whatever it is worth, the society’s view about people who wear tattoo are mixed. While many see them as ne’er -do wells in the society or social rejects, others just view it as a thing of the mind.
“ A woman has no honour when a man sees a tattoo on her. He immediately believes that she is loose,” Toyin Adesanya , a hair dresser told The Source.
But Nathaniel Okoh, a student differs. His words: “ Wearing of tattoo is no longer viewed as something done by prostitutes or garage boys alone. The rich in the society are mostly in love with it. Look at some famous footballers in the world today and even actors and actresses, they put on tattoos and flaunt it so well that even some of their fans go as far as making replicas of what their football idols have on their bodies. That is how crazy people have become about tattoos.” Okoh, a student said to The Source.
Thomas Obaro, a lawyer, also doesn’t see anything wrong with people wearing tattoos as he told The Source that “ it is either you like it or you don’t. It is left to the person who is wearing the tattoo to know how to carry it. They either show it off or hide it. But why hide it?”
The Source gathered that pigments are implanted into the skin of the person getting a tattoo. According to Olagbaju, these are mostly extracts from vegetables “so they do not cause any irritation or discomfort whatsoever after the tattoo had be done.”
Equipments used may include a battery-operated or electric operated motor with a needle which is blunt at the tip. The particular spot that is to be worked on is disinfected so that any form of germs would be erased.
In addition, investigations reveal that some people go for particular designs like scorpions, crucifixes, skeletons, snakes, chains and butterflys. But whichever the choice is, they often connote one thing: the freedom to be – for the wearer of the tattoo.