Ayra Starr recalls selling tomatoes and growing up without electricity.

By Enitan Abdultawab

Nigerian singer Ayra Starr spoke about her childhood in a country where electricity was not always reliable, recalling how her grandmother had to sell tomatoes and pepper quickly because there was no power to keep them fresh.

The Afrobeats artist shared the story during a discussion on equitable energy access at the Global Citizen NOW event in New York City, in conversation with Zain Asher.

Reflecting on her early years, Ayra Starr said that living without a stable power supply taught her resilience and forced her to adapt to challenging conditions.

“My grandma used to sell tomatoes and pepper; we had to sell them quickly because we didn’t have electricity to store them. I had to find ways to do what I had to do,” she said.

“Growing up, having electricity would’ve made a big difference.”

The singer explained that basic comforts many people take for granted, such as fans and air conditioning, could have greatly improved her learning environment as a child.

“The experience for me definitely made me who I am today because I’ve had to find ways to do things. I had to do without the comfort of electricity and all of that,” she stated.

“If I came back from school and was able to have AC or even a fan in the heat and do my assignments, that would have made a big difference.”

Ayra Starr noted that unreliable electricity is a common reality for many Nigerian children.

“Every Nigerian child has faced some type of electricity issues or not having to depend on electricity to do a lot of things,” she said.

The music star also admitted that before the discussion she had limited knowledge about global energy solutions, but found the conversation to be eye‑opening and inspiring.

“Before this, I didn’t really know much about global energy solutions, I’m not going to lie. But I’m learning so much and it’s so inspiring. We are a lot of young people in Africa. They are very eager to work and change the continent for the better,” she added.

Vanguard News

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