3 Categories of Nigerians You Probably Don’t Know About

You go to America and you find the Americans being Americans – liberal and pragmatic. They’re known for their freedom of expression and their love for structured systems.

William Herberg defined the American way of life as: “individualistic, dynamic and pragmatic… an ethic of self-reliance, merit and character, and judges by achievement”.

Similarly, when you take a look at the British people, you find people who value their privacy and personal space. They also value good manners, politeness, and humour.

One can define the British way of life as being reserved – which is influenced by their historically Christian religious life.

Then, you come down to Nigeria and you can’t define what makes us click.

We have varying lifestyles and different ways of approaching issues. So, I decided to break every Nigerian into three major categories.

Take a read:

British-Nigerians

These are level-headed people who just want to go about their duties quietly.

They recognize the need to respect everyone’s privacy and personal space even in crowded places. 

They know that the ear is a sensitive sense organ, hence they talk softly and in low voices.

When invited for hangouts, they pay for their own bills and expect others to do likewise. These sets of people don’t have entitlement issues.

In public places, they’re the ones who open the door for others to pass through first.

Nigerian-Americans

In this same Nigeria, you’ll find “Nigerian-Americans”. They’re as pragmatic as they come.

Not too reserved, not too loud. They follow every laid down rule and know deep down that every system in place has been set-up to guide them.

These sets of people are the ones who don’t jump queues, or play their songs on loudspeakers in public spaces.

They’re punctual to appointments, and when there are unexpected delays – they call ahead to inform you – and apologise immediately upon meeting.

Also, they know the need to keep their environments clean and they don’t throw plastic cans out of moving vehicles.

Lastly, they call before visiting you, and sometimes they won’t visit unless invited.

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Nigerian-Nigerians

Then we have, “Nigerian-Nigerians”. Those who typically exhibit the opposite of the above.

To them, money can be used to sort their way out of any situation – even if it means corrupting the system.

They jump queues and also book spaces for their Aunt who’s still taking her bath at home. 

Everywhere is to them a dumping ground, and the louder their speakers, the happier they are.

Those who belong under this category don’t usually inform you when they’re visiting – they show up at will.

Should we talk about punctuality? Yes! It must be noted that they use a different set of time zones – the African Time.

The law of the African Time is that you must show up 30mins to I hour late to appointments or social gatherings.

Conclusion

Every Nigerian belongs into one of these categories… If you don’t fit into any of these, let me know. I’ll create yours in the comments.