Welcome to Beyond Culture With Bola Akin.
Bolanle Akingbehin, founder of Beyond Culture with Bola Akin is a Rehabilitation Counselor and behavioral health technician, an entrepreneur passionate about promoting African culture, Heritage, and Identity, especially in the diaspora.
Growing up in an Islamic home, she lived in a community where all the different Nigerian tribes (Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo) related together as one. The different ways of life as regards dressing, food delicacies, children’s upbringing, religion, and value systems were reflections of their individualities but never hindered their communal existence as neighbors.
Parents modeled good mannerisms and it was easy for their offsprings to emulate the same while growing up, they also related as brothers and sisters as children.???????
As a result of her background and the environment she grew up, she developed an affinity for languages other than Yoruba and was always interested in finding out the meanings of whatever was communicated.
Over time, she could speak a little bit of each of the different African languages to the point of translating some of them. This made it easier for her to relate with others when she departed home for college and during her mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corp in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. She could speak a few other languages as long as she heard others speak.
Today, she speaks and understands more of Igbo, Annan (Akwa Ibom) Ijebu, Oyo, and a few other languages. She learned to read the Quran because her parents were Muslims so she can speak a bit of Arabic and even studied French in Port Harcourt, Nigeria after her NYSC.
Her love for people and culture was borne out of interest and passion for what defines others and makes us unique individuals. She loves the feeling of excitement she gets when she sees varieties and diversity in cultures and identities.
She strongly believes in creating awareness of diversity in culture, traditions, and core value systems as she learned from her parents and immediate community, and also encourages parents to model the same. This generation and our communities would be filled with love, respect, and support.