Adetoye Seyi, owner of Tiwa N Tiwa, reflects on Yoruba identity, community solidarity and the realities of gentrification.
Just on a long strip heading to Peckham High Street, where many other salons and takeaways reside, one particular establishment I always seemed to gravitate towards.
Being a Nigerian and spending fragments of my childhood there, I see a little restaurant hiding in a petite corner, selling Suya right opposite an Aldi.
For those who do not know what Suya is, it is a traditional smoked, grilled, spiced meat originating from one of the major tribes in Nigeria, the Hausa people. It can appear on skewers if wanted or tightly wrapped in old newspapers.
This one piece of meat that is dear to me and many Africans, I felt an overwhelming wave of warmth and belonging, reminiscent of the dark-lit streets in Lagos during the two years I spent in Nigeria.
True to the culture, walking into the main restaurant transports you right back to Nigeria; there is a street-essence feel, but also jagged in a beautiful sense.
Though we encountered each other awkwardly at the start, I had the pleasure of interviewing the owner of Tiwa N Tiwa, Aetoye Seyi, a 68-year-old Peckham resident.
He sits at the back of his own restaurant, like a king, beside his wife who is really engaged on Facebook.
When I asked him what Tiwa N Tiwa meant and why the choice of name, stories started to come out, “‘Tiwa N Tiwa’ translates to Tiwa Ni Tiwa, which in Yoruba means, our own is our own, someone can look up and know this is definitely where I’m going to.”
Established in 2013 in Peckham, he has, since then, expanded his restaurant chain. “We have one in Plumstead and another in Tottenham.”
In our conversation, he was able to tell me the importance of Nigerian-owned establishments, particularly in Peckham and Greater London: “How could I give it an English name, how would they know where it belongs?”
Knowing that the Nigerian community overwhelms other ethnic groups in Peckham, being the largest specific Black African subgroup in Peckham (1,495 people), togetherness and solidarity have been the main ethos here in Tiwa N Tiwa, “We created to bring in the community, my intention was to internationalise Nigerian cuisine.”
While I thought business was prospering, Seyi spoke out on the challenges of Peckham’s hijack in the form of gentrification: “It makes all our rent and rates to sky rocket, for us to be here, instead of staying and relaxing, I still have to be working to cover some spaces of labour instead of me having to hire some people, I still have to be doing things.”
Although others might fear the possibility of getting displaced or under scrutiny for their businesses, Mr Toye thinks otherwise, “even though gentrification has been driving us away, we refuse to go.”
In the midst of a shock cultural make-up, Mr Toye and Tiwa N Tiwa represent Peckham wholeheartedly, keeping the multicultural town vibrant.
From the grill right into the restaurant, Mr Toye was able to share insights that rightfully represent Africans and local restaurants in England, which, being a kid from the diaspora, can find hope and sanctuary in such communities.
All images by Iyioluwakitan Awosanya.