Stories behind the frame: the memories Nigerians are unearthing for NB@80

That is what is beginning to emerge from Nigerian Breweries’ Together, Every Moment, as Nigerians revisit old photographs and videos and share the stories behind moments that once seemed routine. Across the entries received so far are memories shaped by family, growth, humour, loss and unexpected connections to brands that have been part of Nigerian life for decades. 

For content creator Virtuous, one of those memories came from a family gathering during her childhood. In the photographs she shared, drinks from Nigerian Breweries appear on the table, an ordinary detail at the time but one that would later take on a different meaning. Years after those pictures were taken, she went on to work with Amstel Malta, creating an unlikely link between a childhood memory and her adult career.

“If you told the girl in the first and second slides that she would grow up to work with the brands she held in her hands as a child, she absolutely would have believed you. I always knew, please,” she joked.

For Stella Ezenwata, the memory is tied to her traditional marriage in January 2017, an occasion she can now laugh about even though it felt far less amusing at the time. The marriage list specifically requested Star, Heineken or Gulder, but when a different drink was brought instead, the family insisted it be returned. Another item requested for the Umuada could not be found, leaving the couple to offer money in its place.

“Honestly, the stress no be here,” Stella recalled. 

Nine years later, what was once a stressful part of the day has become one of the stories she remembers most clearly.

Ralph’s entry reaches further back, to his sixth birthday shortly after his family moved into a new home. The photograph shows children gathered indoors, some caught mid-dance, with bottles of Maltina visible in the foreground. What stayed with him was the excitement of marking his birthday in the new house, surrounded by family. It is the kind of childhood moment that can feel small at the time but grows in meaning with distance. 

For @anna4manuel, that passage of time changed the meaning of her memory in a more painful way. She shared a Christmas video of her family dressed in red, gathered around a dining table and preparing for the festivities, with bottles of Maltina among them. Nothing about the footage immediately suggests why the moment has stayed with her so strongly. It looks like a familiar family Christmas, one of those occasions that can easily be taken for granted while everyone is still together.

Her caption gives the video an entirely different meaning.

“I didn’t know it would be my last Christmas with my father,” she wrote.

What was once simply a record of a family celebration is now a reminder of a moment she can never recreate.

The entries reflect how differently memories can age. Some become funnier with time, some take on new meaning as life changes, while others become more precious because of what came after them. The photographs may capture a single moment, but the stories around them often reveal much more.

One of the most striking examples came not from a photograph, but from a comment shared during the anniversary conversation. Instagram user @dr_deraaa revealed that her grandfather, who turns 105 this month, spent 35 years working at Nigerian Breweries in Aba before retiring in 1985.

Growing up, she said, the family often heard stories about his years with the company, memories he still cherishes and speaks about today. If the dates in her account are accurate, his career would have begun around 1950, only a few years after Nigerian Breweries was established. 

That connection offers a different perspective on the company’s 80-year history. For his family, the story is not only about the occasions on which Nigerian Breweries products appeared, but also about the working life of a man whose career became part of that history.

It is this broader idea that sits at the heart of the National Story Collection. As part of Nigerian Breweries’ 80th anniversary campaign, Together, Every Moment, Nigerians are being invited to share photographs and videos that capture how the company, its brands and its wider presence have intersected with their lives over the years. Eighty selected entries will each receive ₦1 million. 

Actress and comedian Kiekie, entertainer Real Warri Pikin and Nollywood actor Odunlade Adekola are among those who have joined the anniversary conversation and encouraged Nigerians to revisit their own memories.

But the strongest stories emerging so far are the ones that feel least manufactured: a birthday in a new home, a traditional marriage that did not go quite to plan, a childhood photograph that later came full circle, a final Christmas with a loved one, and a 105-year-old man still telling stories from a career that began more than seven decades ago.

Together, they show why the most interesting part of a photograph is often not what appears in the frame, but everything the frame comes to mean afterwards.

To participate, share a photo or video featuring a Nigerian Breweries product and tell the story behind the memory. Post it on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or X, tag @nigerianbreweriesplc and use #NigerianBreweriesAt80 and #NBAt80, or submit directly via www.nbplc.com/80. 

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