The Flip Side of the Fad called Tattoo

different types of tattoo 

Maduabuchi Ubani seeks to unravel the underlying health and other implications of a modernised fashion trend sweeping across the society


At his shop on the popular Allen Avenue in Ikeja Lagos, Ojikutu Abisola, a philosophy graduate of the Olabisi Olabanjo University, is deeply engrossed in his craft and pays little or no attention to the happenings around him.

Seated at the backroom is a boy in his twenties having his body tattooed. Within minutes, he is done and as the he comes closer, one can boldly see the artistic crucifix imprint on his left shoulder. A hearty smile of satisfaction registers all over his face.
“This is how they come on daily basis,” Abisola says, moving forward to inspect the fading inscription on another client’s arms “it’s strictly on booking basis and on special cases, we get to bring smiles even to newly married couples.” 

Over the years, Abisola’s venture into tattoo business has become much sought after and it has proved most profitable and far more promising.

Abisola says tattoo “comes in

different types ranging from the customers taste and the trending drawings in vogue”.
He continued “tattoos are of two kinds. The permanent tattoos are the ones you have to make use of the machine and the machine has a needle while the temporary tattoo is just painting on the skin and it doesn’t last more than a week. But due to technological advancements, there are nothing like permanent tattoos because there are gadgets to remove every tattoo. All tattoos can be removed with a laser machine”.

Expectedly, the pain of getting a tattoo cannot be exonerated as cases abound where some people leave due to the pain. Abisola says the pains are rampant when the tattoo is done on bony parts like fingers, ankles and eye brows and there are pain killers to reduce the pain.

He says: “It’s a bearable pain that is ticklish. Quite true, there are cases where some people have a half or an incomplete tattoo due to the pain they are feeling.  But when you know the effect and long time beauty it gives, you have no choice than to sit and get it. Some want to use it in covering stretch marks, scars, names of their “bestie” or even their spouse. Tattoo has different meanings and most signs don’t just come for the fancy it gives to the skin, rather they have meaning to the bearer”.

The word “tattoo” is derived from the Polynesian word ‘ta’ which means ‘striking something’ and the Tahitian word ‘tatau’ which translates to ‘mark something’. Experts and archeologists trace back the history of tattoo to over 500 years ago, believing that the peculiarity is as diverse as the people who wear them.

Research reveals that tattoo has moved from mere expressions to imprints with messages attached to them. Ranging from most couples scribbling the names of their spouse or children on their body, and down to loyal fans getting the face of their celebrity or football team on visible parts of their body, the list goes on. Ultimately, tattoo is no longer   a norm secluded to the western world but has without long talks taken its stand in the African soil.

In 1991, a 5,000-year old tattoo on ‘otzi the ice man” made headlines all over the world when his frozen body was discovered on a mountain between Austria and Italy. The skins bore 57 tattoos on the inside of the left knee, six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidney and numerous parallel lines on the ankle. The discovery shows the dating back and ancient origination of skin markings.

Kehinde Obasi, a beautician , sees tattoo as a fashion that has come to stay.  At her shop in Okota Lagos, which caters for all kinds of beautification ranging from tattooing, pink lips, body piercing and tattoo removal, she narrates fashion as not only a matter of cloths but all other thing that enhances beauty and defines a person.

She says: “Some Nigerians consider those with tattoos on their bodies as unserious and irresponsible. But to us in the business, it’s just a fashion. We seem to be too conservative and don’t really believe in tattoos, but tattoo has been with for many years through our culture. Tribal mark is just an old method of getting a tattoo. Some people have had tattoos in their bodies for decades. You just need to check out those in their 60s. While some people can die for tattoo, others loathe it.”

Pastor Tolu Odubonojo, a minister in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, does not see any sense in tattooing. 
“It is still disparaging what goes on in the mind of people these days,” he says. Although there might seem to be no biblical backing for or against tattooing, Pastor Odubonojo insisted that there are  pagan strings attached to tattoo,  which gives it devilish implication and as such most inappropriate for believers and heaven-conscious individuals.

“There are scriptures that talk about things like the scriptures that talk about our body being the temple of God and so we should preserve it because it is where God dwells. . But, apart from that, it is good that one does not have a tattoo because the bible also says that we should not do things that will be a stumbling block to people that want to come to the faith. Ultimately, it’s better not to have a tattoo because there is nothing you can do with a tattoo that you cannot do without,” he says. 

A Muslim scholar and Director of Institute of Arabic and Islamic Study, Lagos, Owolabi Hamzat,  said the only connection and seeming similarity between Henna-  a  traditional body painting  among the Hausa-Fulani and tattoo  is merely the fact that they are impressions on the skin but apart from that, the two are like two parallel lines that cannot meet.

Lalli, the one done by the Hausa-Fulani, is body drawing welcomed in Islam for the adornment of the women, which is only meant for the eyes of their husbands at home and nobody else. He adds that tattoo in Islam is “strictly condemned and forbidden”.
“It is made clearly to the Muslims that the curse of Allah almighty is on those who made the tattoos and the people that made the tattoos for them,” he says.

The rising cases of skin complications and allergies make the issue of tattoo disturbing. Just when rising artists and celebrities flaunt and showcase their tattoos in order to define their identity, draw attention and flow with the tide, medical experts are of the notion that health complications and infections should not be overlooked.

Dr Ladi Alakija, a dermatologist of forty years experience, says getting a tattoo is not only risky  but also a dangerous venture  which  can cause  “an  infection with non tuberculoid mycobacteria which affects the lungs, joints and eyes and takes up to six months to treat.”

According to Alakija, people have the risk of getting infected with hepatitis c, a disease that claims more than 10,000 lives worldwide. Again, the risk involved in the removal of tattoo is also mind troubling as most of the so called updated lasers for removing tattoos do not do such a perfect job and that includes the job of erasing the psychological trauma.

“Removal of tattoo can be done with lasers but there is also the psychological trauma in wanting to remove something that is a permanent in your mind. When handled by quacks, the removal of some tattoos can give a bump or scar which gives the bearer lifetime regret. Some even use chemicals that can injure ones skin. and apart from the fact that that most people end up having allergies due to the ink in their skin, there is also the tendency of getting HIV/ AIDS through the usage of unsterilised needles. Everything has its own risk and in having a tattoo, it is not exceptional. Even people who get to cut their hairs, if the clippers are not clean enough, it can lead to severe infections. Tattoo is a risk and anyone having it should think twice before getting that ink into their skin.