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    Understanding Nigerian Culture Through American Eyes
    Understanding Nigerian Culture Through American Eyes
    Understanding Nigerian Culture Through American Eyes
    Ebook92 pages1 hour

    Understanding Nigerian Culture Through American Eyes

    By William Drake

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    Nigeria is an exciting, vibrant country that also happens to be full of hidden cultural traps that this book will help newcomers see and avoid.


    Many of the frustrations experienced by Westerners new to Africa have to do with unseen differences in how time is perceived, valued, and used. A common observation made by newly arrived Westerners goes something like: "Nigerians sure do spend a lot of time just waiting around doing nothing."


    The core Western cultural assumption hidden in this comment is that time has value in itself and therefore should not be wasted by doing nothing, or by doing something insignificant or of little value while time, which has intrinsic value, passes by unused for materially productive purposes. The Westerner's use of words like "waste" and “spend” to describe what they believe they see Africans doing speaks volumes about the belief systems behind such comments.


    The economic value of time is an American/European concept, and is not a part of traditional Africa culture. Ignoring time as it passes violates no important cultural rules anywhere in traditional Africa and many places in modern Africa – in stark contrast to core values regarding time and money that permeate all Western cultures.


    From the African perspective, which does not value time as a thing in itself, “doing nothing” while waiting for some event of actual value to occur is not a waste of time. In fact, what the Westerner sees as doing nothing is, for the Africans, doing many things that all have significant value. Since the event is valued and not the time it takes for the event to arrive or occur, time can be spent doing nothing or just talking with others. "Hanging out talking and joking around with others - that is definitely wasting time", says the Western observer, confirming his opinion of Africans and completely unaware of his own assumptions and hidden beliefs about what is valuable about time, and why.


    By the way, the fact that Africans enjoy "wasting time" in discussion with each other can be understood better if the Westerner sees that talking, laughing, and arguing are all culturally rich events - not wasted time. While waiting for the next truckload of equipment to arrive the workers don't seek out other tasks to occupy the time. Doing other work would interfere with hanging out with each other, and that would indeed be a waste of time. Now, talking with each other, maybe some clowning around, perhaps a heated political argument - those are good things to do while waiting for the truck to arrive, because these kinds of activities are intrinsically valuable, culturally relevant events. Therefore the time spent doing nothing but talking and fooling around waiting for the truck isn't wasted; it is used to engage in relational activities, which are critical to a productive working environment.


    Try that reasoning on a newly arrived Western manager if you want to see a disbelieving and probably disgusted expression. Then check back in a year – he will either still be there and much wiser, or he will be gone.


     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWilliam Drake
    Release dateDec 29, 2018
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      Understanding Nigerian Culture Through American Eyes - William Drake

      Style

      A Snapshot Of The Nigerian People

      Nigeria lies on the west coast of Africa and shares borders with Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The country is slightly larger than California, Nevada and Arizona combined.

      Nigeria accounts for one quarter of Sub-Saharan Africa's people and is the most populous country in Africa. The variety of customs, languages, and traditions among Nigeria's 250 ethnic groups and 500+ languages gives the country a richness and diversity that cannot easily be imagined much less experienced.

      Although less than 25% of Nigerians are urban-dwellers at least 30 cities have populations of more than 250,000. According to the United Nations, the population of Nigeria will reach 411 million by 2050 making Nigeria then the 3rd most populous country in the world.

      Point Of View

      "As members of the evolving global village in an interdependent world, there are certain cultural traits that have become commonly owned. Given the length of association of Nigeria with the Europeans, and the impact of colonisation and pro-western education, certain typical Nigerian cultural norms have become ‘westernised’. For example, mode of education, diet and sports are today similar to what obtains in the Western countries.  

      Nigerian culture is essentially African and has a common thread that runs through that is indistinguishable from certain traits in Ghana or Namibia. Take music and dancing for example, African music is essentially communal in context and tonal in texture. The dancing is usually rigorously physical and interpretative of the beat of the drum or the samba, the notes of the flute or the xylophone.

      There are common traits that sometimes make Europeans conclude that if you have seen one African, you have seen them all. In fact, many Americans think that Africa is one huge country." Mr. Sam I. Ohuabunwa, Neimeth Int’l Pharmaceuticals Plc.

      The dominant ethnic group in the northern two-thirds of the country is the Hausa-Fulani, most of whom are Muslims. Other major ethnic groups of the north are the Nupe, Tiv, and Kanuri. The Yoruba people are predominant in the southwest. About half of the Yorubas are Christian and half are Muslim.

      The predominately Catholic Igbos, also known as Ibos are the largest ethnic group in the southeast, with the Efik, Ibibio, and Ijaw comprising a substantial segment of the population in this area as well. Peoples of different language backgrounds most commonly communicate in English, although knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is widespread. Hausa, Yoruba, and Ibo are the most widely used languages.

      Nigeria is an extraordinary nation forged by colonial powers out of ancient, independent neighboring cultures many of which have ruled this entire region of Africa in past ages. Nigeria is one of Africa’s great nations, whether measured in terms of people power, natural resources, will and energy, or cultural vitality.

      Because of Nigeria's cultural diversity any statement that begins Nigerians believe… or Nigerians think … isn’t likely to hold much useful information whoever it comes from. However, it can be fairly said that there are core cultural elements that are held in common by many, if not most Nigerians and by many African people from many other West African cultures.

      Point Of View

      "From the impact of harsh climatic conditions – hot sun and soggy rains, to the poor infrastructure and technology which require a good deal of manual labour and physical assertion unto the burden of long years of misrule by selfish leaders, Nigerians have the deep cultural trait of persevering in the face of difficulties. Nigerians can take more ‘bull shit’ than most other people even in Africa.

      In the business environment, it shows up Nigerians as loyal people who are prepared to wait for the gestation period for the nurturing of a business venture. They are usually not in much haste as long as they believe that the future will be better. This trait is also manifested in their willingness to work hard and make sacrifices for a better future, despite the difficulties and sometimes-apparent hopelessness of the present." Mr. Sam I. Ohuabunwa, Neimeth Int’l Pharmaceuticals Plc

      Before oil, agriculture was the occupation of most Nigerians. Nigeria was a major exporter of palm oil, cocoa, tin, rubber, lumber and many other products. With the influx of immense oil wealth, many millions flocked to the cities, hoping to join the expanding cash-based economy. This caused a tremendous strain on all essential services with which the country is still unable to cope. Many Nigerians feel that they have a right to share the national treasure, and that there is the distinct possibility of becoming rich if they are lucky and can make the right connections.

      Point Of View

      In Nigeria, all the actors in the democratic process without exception seek to manipulate the process.  Paradoxically, the ability to do this is sometimes based on popular democratic support.   In Nigeria, every election is rigged.  The question is to what extent or to what degree.  Nigeria’s rigging rigmarole also has some curiously in-built seemingly democratic tendencies.  The capacity to rig and get away with it is linked to actual support on the ground, ensuring that the rigging is also somewhat democratic. adekunle @ vanguardngr.com

      Global economic and political pressures and the depressed price of oil have had a serious effect on the Nigerian economy. The high

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