Ed by Njoku SaintJerry A.
“The politicians could do better – if they do – Our Nigerian brothers will stay home and continue to build Africa, Nearly all of my black friends in college and medical school were Nigerians. They are very driven and educated- I think the most educated groups in America are Nigerians.”
First time I traveled to Uganda as a Nigerian I was amazed at the level of respect and recognition whenever I introduced myself as Nigerian. I see that introduction evoke a sense of apprehension, admiration and sometimes outfight jealous, until I travelled to other part of Africa, I decided to experiment by acting non-Nigerian and the response tilted to somewhat ‘you talk like and act like Nigerians even when you chose to introduce yourself as a Congolese or someone from Kenya.
This idea evoke a sense of curiosity that made me bothered to know, what do other Africans think of Nigeria beginning from our rch soccer rival and neighbor.
Here are some response;
I am Cameroonian and Nigeria is the country with whom we share the longest border. That has a huge impact on the way we see the country. There is a large Nigerian community in Cameroon. Many Cameroonians pursue their high education in Nigeria.
Nigerians are considered very smart but some of them are famous to use that smartness to do unglamorous activities. They contribute to the stereotypes.
We often compete against each other at football (both our male & female team)
We like to tease you guys about football but we don’t want to mess up with you when it comes to political matters: Yes, I am talking about Bakassi! Because of that disputed peninsula, we went to the brink of war in 1981. We are so relieved that it has been resolved diplomatically. Thanks guys for avoiding a useless war with a neighbor that has 1/10 of your population. We appreciate it!
We relate well because our anglophone regions speak a similar Pidgin English. Even the French we speak on the street is full of Pidgin words.
Our northern regions are very similar to yours. Most of them belong to the same Fulfulde/Hausa ethnic group. They were even part of the same empire before they were separated by colonial borders:
We both complain about the extreme corruption of governments. We sometimes share the podium as the most corrupt countries on the continent. Does this have anything to do with the fact that we are both oil producers?
Thank you very much for saving us from Hollywood and Telenovelas. We really love your fashion, music and movies. Our own industry grew exponentially after we decided to follow suit.
For some reasons, many of us think that Nigeria is very developed except for those who have actually set foot in the country. Nollywood certainly has something to do with it.
Our rivalry is usually with Ivory Coast and we don’t interfere with you guys trying to downplay Ghana. Nonetheless, we wonder why you guys make so much noise about jollof rice. We might not be loud about it but ours is the best:
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I am from West Cameroon and we are often mistaken for Igbos so I guess we might be distant cousins
We wonder why such a powerful neighbour couldn’t contain Boko Haram after so many years
I don’t know if there is a country in this world without a Nigerian community
We admire you a lot for your sense of self-worth and self-confidence
Your pastors took all Africa by surprise. They are so famous that it is told that some pastors will go for training in Nigeria before returning to Cameroon
I could write a whole book about my view on Nigerians. I will just name a few points below. Their level of intelligence amazes me ALL THE TIME, I love How passionate they are when it comes to education and that is one thing I TRULLY admire about Nigerians, the fact that they are so intelligent blows my mind every time, I like having conversations with them because I know I will learn something. They have this aura around them that is always positive and they have a lot of energy and they like to party a lot LOL!
I must say I found it very uncomfortable when I first had an encounter with Nigerian men boasting about how good they were in bed but now I just laugh it off.
When it comes to the issue of them being scammers, drug dealers etc, I have mixed emotions about that because I feel every country has good and bad eggs so to wrap everyone with the same cloth would be unfair as there are good Nigerians who are excelling in great things in other countries throughout the world and it has nothing to do with criminal activities.
If you hang around with them you are bound to have a good time and a massive hangover the next morning LOL!!Overall I think they are passionate people, outspoken (one of the things I really love about them actually) and they are proud Africans LOL, I have met a lot of African people in South Africa and I can tell you there is no pride like Nigerian Pride and for that I ABSOLUTELY love them
Nigeria is the rock star nation of Africa. Here’s how this Cameroonian views Nigeria;
Nigerian music is awesome! Not just the modern afro-pop style of music which is extremely popular in my country these days. Even the highlife music from the 70s and 80s is great. Artists such as Fela Kuti told stories we all shared as Africans. I do however hate that Naija music has infiltrated our own industry so much so that it’s slowly eroding our Makossa.
Nigerians are NEVER satisfied. Now to be fair I’ve never been to Nigeria but its close enough for me to have an idea of how it is. The Nigerians I’ve met are almost always complaining about their government. They literally don’t run out of reasons to slag off their government. I find it puzzling because I think they have it much better than us. In fact I envy them at times.
They give Africa a bad name as far as immigration is concerned. Nigerians are infamous for their crooked dealings in other countries, mostly Western. I’m not saying they’re they only ones but boy do they take it to another level. This makes it harder for people trying to emigrate from Africa.
I always wonder why they’re so many Nigerians everywhere. It seems like every place you turn you can spot one of them. How did y’all get to be so crowded?!
I don’t trust anything made in Nigeria. They’re the China of Africa. I always feel like anything made in Nigeria is a rip off. No offense. I absolutely love Nigerian clothing. Especially the traditional regalia of the Igbos.
On a historical note, I think Nigeria is closer to being our Colonial masters than Britain. At least the English speaking part where I come from. After the Germans were defeated in Cameroon, we were handed to the British and French as a mandate territory. I’m certain Britain didn’t know what to do with their portion so they just administered us as part of Nigeria. Hence, we were more under their control than the British.
Nigerians are great storytellers. Those guys can talk.
Thanks to those who pointed that out! It still doesn’t deviate from the point I was making that Nigerians in general are among the best when it comes to traditional fashion in my opinion. I don’t know whether Igwes in Nigeria are as sophisticated as they are in the movies but I’m always blown away by their attires.
I’m not Nigerian – and I firmly believe Nigeria is truly the pulse of Africa – they shape popular culture, they have a strong economy – nollywood could use some improvements with the sounds in their movies – but I love it. Nigerians has a Strong sense of pride which comes off arrogant at times – most Africans should really aspire to their level of pride.
The politicians could do better – if they do – Our Nigerian brothers will stay home and continue to build Africa
Nearly all of my black friends in college and medical school were Nigerians. They are very driven and educated- I think the most educated groups in America are Nigerians.
Most of the envy Nigerians experience from other Africans is mostly due to the fact that their country for the most part has been stable – oppose to other country with political unrest and civil wars. And the fact that most will sell an arm or a leg to get a USA passport, risk their life’s to live in these other countries – whilst still having one of the most stable countries in Africa. But to their advantage, most return home – in one ways shape or form. Ok I’m done – Tiwa Savage will you marry me?
