The House I Return To
A documentary film and research project that examines post colonial Nigerian secondary schools as spaces where personal identity and national belonging are first formed.
This project asks two questions: How do institutions mirror the emotional relationship people develop with their country? And what does it mean to leave, love or inherit Nigeria as she is today?
Using oral history interviews with former students across generations, the film explores how memories of school life continue to shape how Nigerians understand authority, community, and responsibility long after graduation.
Participants reflect on their experiences of school traditions, discipline, friendship, and competition, and how these early structures influence the way they relate to Nigeria itself. By placing personal memories alongside the broader history of Nigerian education, the film reveals how schools function as small models of the nation.
Ultimately, The House I Return To argues that the emotional ties many Nigerians feel toward their country are often rooted in these formative institutional experiences. By returning to the school as a site of memory, the project offers a way of understanding how collective identity is built, remembered, and sometimes contested.
