A CLIENT had wanted to buy a flat at the 1004 Estates recently and I took him out on inspection at the estate. He would not buy because the flats have no BQ! Another was to buy a duplex house at Lekki but declined because it has only one room BQ. All these reminded me of another client who wanted to buy a house in Central London. His request was for a 3 or 4 Bedroom House with 2 Rooms BQ! I tried to explain to him that houses in London do not usually have BQs but he would not understand. Nigerians have become so accustomed to having BQs that they will want to have it even in London or New York.
So what is a BQ and what is the origin? The word BQ is an abbreviation for “Boys Quarters” or Servants Quarters as it now houses “house maids” as well as “house boys”. It is one of the colonial creations in Africa. You will not find it in the UK or the USA. Our colonial masters who lived in exclusive areas called GRAs (Government Reservation Areas); needed the services of Nigerians as cooks or stewards; but would not live in the same house with the black man! Therefore a separate building, usually built at a distance from the main house, is put up at a corner at the far rear end of the plot to accommodate the black man. He would be called by a call bell to come to the main house whenever his services were needed. Sometimes he has his own entrance by which he could go in and out of the BQ without going through the main compound.
Copyright, Blaise APLOGAN, 2010,© Bienvenu sur Babilown
Toute republication de cet article doit en mentionner et l’origine et l’auteur sous peine d’infraction
Commentaires