Welcome to Nigeria, Giant of Africa!

No one knows when culture and traditions started but one thing for sure is that they are fascinating. The way people live their lives in different geographical areas can be interesting and sometimes offensive. As much as tipping is very well practiced in the united states, South Korean workers find it offensive when you try to tip them as a way of showing gratitude. Indians wear as much as 7 yards of clothes on their body, you've probably seen one on these clothes on Zee world and bolly movies, it is called a saree.

_{Wikimedia Foundation CC BY-SA 4.0 , from Wikimedia Commons. Author: ZMcCune (WMF)}
Some cultures are not welcoming to unfamiliar faces while some believe that strangers are like gods. Sometimes, when visiting a place, one should google about the traditions and culture of the people so as not to get in any serious trouble. You might not get away using left hands in some cultures.

In this post, I bring my country to the view of the world- Nigeria. There is probably no country that doesn't know Nigeria especially when discussion of soccer surfaces. We are die hard fans of football, every other sport is minor. And if you watched the last FIFA world cup, you'd agree our Jersey was awesome. Nigerians are very lively people who try not to get overwhelmed by our daily life stress. All over the world, Nigerians are the highest users of slang followed by the united states.

Nigeria is the most populous African country. We are bordered by Chad and Niger in the North, Cameroon in the East, Republic of Benin in the West , Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic ocean in the South. There are about 250 different ethnic groups our country, one should not worry as it wont the people's tribes are not as confusing as to why all the United State currencies all have the same color, shape and size. There are three major Ethnic groups- Yoruba, Igbo and Hausas.

_{Former Prime Ministers of Nigeria}
Nigerian are accommodating people and are open to all cultures of the world. The average Nigerian can fluently speak two languages. The official language of the country is the English language. This is because of the colonization of the country by the British in 1901. But Nigerians also have a different version of English widely spoken all over the country known as the pidgin or broken English. It is a very self expressive languages and is the official language of Nigerian comedians. The Warri accent of the language is a natural comedic. In fact, speaking this language fluently would make girls rush you in any African country.

Nigeria has a lot of sight captivating places like the Olumo rock, Ngwo pine forest, ancient Kano walls, Ancient Nok settlement, Alok Ikom monolith, Kainji National park, Tinapa free zone, Bar beach, third mainland bridge, Osun-Oshogbo grove, Emotan statue among others. As a mater of fact, a Lagosian might not appreciate the third mainland bridge but until 1996, it is the longest bridge in Africa. The Nok settlement in Kaduna states and dates as far back as 1500BC. It is an important archaeological site of the the Iron Age. Nigeria is blessed with many natural resources and sites.

In every state in Nigeria, there is at least one place called sabo. When using google map on a trip to Nigeria, you ought to be acquainted with this. The Hausa word sabo means new and is generally a market place with a significant population of Hausa traders. Hausas are known to be honest traders of yams, onions, fruits, rams and general food stuffs and fruits. Hausas stick together and being able to express yourself in basic Hausa is worthwhile as the Hausa will extend their generous acts to giving the best of their goods with added quantity.

In foreign places, Nigerians are known to stick together even though they belong to different tribes. The word "brother" is used even though our villages can be thousands of kilometer from each other, there is no way we could know each other. This is very much seen among the Igbos. In Lagos, every Igbo person is the brother of another Igbo person that you begin to wonder how Igbo land really is. They stick together and sell each other goods. In a role of about thirty shops, you can find Igbos all selling the same goods. When they are void of a good they sell, they tell you to wait as they go to their other shop to bring it. The other shop most times doesn't belong to them, it's their brother's shop. Igbos are often acquainted with selling electrical products, bed sheets, clothes, shoes, belts,

When it comes to relating with all tribes in Nigeria, one thing to keep in mind is left is wrong (well except you are visiting a native priests). Left is often believed to be associated with disrespect hence you don't eat with your left hands, shake people using left or hand things over to a Nigerian, especially a Yoruba using your left hands. No Yoruba will sell you a good if you use your left hand to hand them money, they believe apart from being disrespectful, it would being bad luck to their business. Younger generations however are not really into the left hand stuffs as there are left-handed people on the increase who write, eats and do chores with left hands.

Another disrespectful act is sitting while an elder talks to you. If the elder is agile, you might receive a slap on your cheek. Talking about elders, in Nigeria, every man or woman older than you whom you find respectable is often refereed to as Mummy or Daddy even with no DNA resemblance. Less older ones usually unmarried ones are called anntee or uncle.

An interesting fact about Nigerians is that we have our own time different from the rest of the world which we call "African Time" or "Nigerian Time". To a foreigner, you might think this means we are operating outside both the 24 hours and 12 hours clock. Or maybe we have a more bizarre way of time keeping. Far from it! Nigerians use these expressions in relation to planned events. If your plan is to have your wedding start by 2 pm of a certain day, your invitation cards must start otherwise- either you put the commencement time as 1 pm or preferably 12 noon. This is called Nigerian timing. This timing is essential else you have an unbearable empty seats in your occasion. Nigerians however are punctual in official matters such as interviews, lecture room, examination halls, court room and religious services.

Majority of Nigerians associate the English language with intelligence. People who speak clean British or American accents are regarded as elite. This is not limited to Nigeria, this is quite common among Arabs, Indians, Chinese and Japanese. Meeting a foreigner, most Nigerian suddenly develop the ability to speak in the foreigner's accent, except the foreigner is Asian. Peeping in to the list of most women, you'd discover unbelievable must haves that they want in their future husband. Apart from the must be tall and handsome, must be financially okay, the next statistically high must have British or American accents- they call it queen's English.

There is a lot to be discussed about Nigerians but you would do well making friends with them. I believe in Africans showcasing our culture to the world no matter how weird we think they seem. Lack of these brings about misconceptions such as to some believing Africa is just a single country or that all Africans know each other. To some who might be hearing this for the first time, Africans is not a jungle, we have roads, shopping malls, cinemas, vehicles, buildings among other structures you would find in any developed country. Visiting Africa or Nigeria isn't as bad as portrayed in movies, your chances of being attacked by a wild animal, walking around naked people or being overpowered by insects is low.

Thanks for stopping by, I assume you find this post interesting, I wanna appreciate you for reading through!

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References:
Nigeria Geography
History of Nigeria
Tourist Attractions in Nigeria