Tade and Shade, 1964-1980

In the year 1964, Omotade and Folashade were born six months apart, in a small village in the western part of Nigeria.

Their fathers who were best friends then made a promise to get their kids married to each other when they come of age, to further unite the two families.

The two children grew from infants who ran around their father's compound half-clad to playmates that built huts from the sand. They wrestled, hunt giant pouched rats, climbed trees and mountains together; forming friendship bonds that were way stronger than what their parents had.

The villagers had celebrated many festivals and ceremonies, but the most important of these ceremonies was their daughters' rite of passage ceremony. Rite of passage was always celebrated in a big way when a girl turned sixteen after she was successfully circumcised, marking her transition from childhood to womanhood.