Cultural Expressionism

Earlier this year, some of my new years’ life resolutions included; to drink more water, to be more about family, and to become a lot less cynical.  Now, I can easily chug down more H20 and put up with the most grating family members, no problem. However, to let go of my cynicism on the other hand, ah, now that is a different matter all together.

It’s the young Nigerian in me you see.  Now as an individual, I really do feel like I am quite a positive person, I am a person of faith; I tend to see the glass as half full, etecera, etecera. However, in certain circumstances, it seems I become a typical Nigerian and revert to a cynical stance when presented with certain situations.

Once upon a time, if anyone had accused me of being an impetuous Nigerian, I’d have denied it vehemently. As far as I knew, I wasn’t particularly, bold, brash or aggressive, I dislike confrontation and I keep my voice down when speaking on the phone. But you see, apparently, none of these matter.  This is because it appears that, the true test of a real Nigerian lies not in his/her capability to walk into a place and immediately take charge, but in one’s ability to intrinsically react in a specific manner when confronted with certain obstacles and/or circumstances.  

Case in point.

One day, I went shopping with my mother.  Exhausted with all our mall hopping and traipsing around, we decided to stop by a little restaurant on a street corner run by some people of Middle Eastern descent. As we stood waiting for our take away order to be brought to us. One of the owners/workers walked up to me and asked:

“So where you from?”  

Me: Why?

“Oh nothing, I just ask. You African hmm?

Me: Quite possibly, where are you from?

“Syria (Or somewhere like that, can’t really remember), you Kenyan? You look like Kenyan or Ethiopia

Me: So I’ve been told, but why do you really want to know?

“I just ask, why do you not answer? You always ask question!”

I laughed, our food was brought out soon after and we paid and left

I was amused to realize that I had just acted like a typical Nigerian, answering a question with another question.  This was one stereotype I had never thought I conformed to personally, but I had just proven my self wrong. The second I found myself placed in the right situation, under the right conditions, I ‘went Nigeria’ without the slightest hesitation. I simply couldn’t help it, it was almost like a reflex action.

It led me to begin to think about why exactly we (Nigerians) behave in this peculiar manner. I imagine it has something to do with the fact that we are in general quite a suspicious bunch. The Nigerian society can be such a dog eat dog world. The economic and political terrains are rough, and this has translated into certain attitudes in our social interactions and conduct.  As a people, we have experienced and sometimes taken part in all kinds of dodgy behavior all in a bid to survive; we have seen the ugly side of humanity and know exactly what the man next to us might be very capable of doing. So, when someone comes up to you and starts to ask questions, you antenna goes up, you immediately begin to think, why does this person want the information they are trying to get out of me? What exactly is their agenda? Should I freely pass out this info  or not? We immediately begin, whether consciously or otherwise an attempt to ascertain if we should put up our protective/defensive guard or not. We do this to friends and foes alike, but more so when the person is a stranger.

We are a highly populous nation.  As in any country with a large population, competition for resources and desirable commodities is fierce.  As such we are highly competitive people who have become used to the notion of survival of the fittest. We take this aggressively competitive attitude every where with us, and use it as a strategy for survival even in circumstances where it is hardly required.

Another case in point.

When ever I find myself in a public place that requires customers to queue in order to be serviced, I inevitably end up witnessing on or two ‘shunters’ . For those who may be unaware, “shunting” is the act of jumping the line on a queue. Nigerian’s in general are serial shunters.  I really think it all comes back to our spirited nature, used to the idea that if you play ‘mugu’ (dummy) you may just find yourself being overlooked in favor of ‘sharper’ people. This is an appendage of what I like to refer to as the “Hustle or Die” mentality.  I once had a man practically dive in front of me so he could get to the ATM machine I was headed for before me. Never mind that there was no queue and we would both easily be done in a few minutes either way.  I was amused, and before I could stop it my over active imagination immediately began to conjure images of the kind of household I was sure he must have grown up in. 


One with Mama, Papa and about fifteen Pikins (children) all rushing to the table the second it was announced that dinner was ready. It was the kind of house where the kids said grace with one eye open, lest their precious pieces of meat disappear down the throats of more watchful siblings, a home where you had to fight your older brothers for the right to scrape off the bottom of the stew pot. When you grow up in that kind of house hold, you end up being the kind of adult who finds hustling as natural as breathing or taking a bath. It’s interesting really.

It may seem like I’m digressing a bit, but the family I described above is in a way an analogy for the Nigerian society. We get so used to struggling that it has become an extension of our national personality. What’s the way forward? I’m not sure I have the answer to that question. You see that really wasn’t my aim when I started this write up. I was simply trying to explain why I may find it a bit of a challenge to stop being so cynical. It’s a part of the Nigerian in me. In fact, I daresay it is a form of cultural expression, akin to tying a wrapper and speaking a traditional dialect. Neither of which I am deeply sad to say I do particularly well.

Cheers