Being Nigerian In A Foreign Country.

Friendliness

You want to know one thing I love about my beloved country Nigeria? I mean, we might be lacking in various other things, but this one, we do it and do it well. It's the hospitality and the friendliness amongst people. Like even if you don't know the person, there is still this sense of openness among the people. 

The Nigerian Police might not be your friend o, but the people? They've got your back. They are in one way or the other ready to help you when needed. There tend to be very little personal boundaries amongst and people don't keep to themselves as much. 

People are not "stranger-phobic" in Nigeria.  

It's just awesome, I tell you! It's what makes us unique.

You might not totally understand what I mean if you haven't lived in a country like England. So it might seem like a 'normal' thing to you.

Think about it. 

In Nigeria, you know your neighbours, your neighbour's neighbour. You know Mama Nkechi down the street. You know Alhaji and his family opposite you. You know Bolanle that lives three houses away. Not only do you know them, you interact with them, you converse with them on a daily basis. 

And guess what, when you need their help, you can confidently ask them. You need someone to babysit your children? Ask Mama Nkechi, and she'll look after them till you come back. She'll even feed them before you come sef .

You're cooking and you've run out of maggi? Knock on Bolanle's door and she'll hand some to you.

But here in the UK, it's like people are afraid of each other. Me I don't even understand. The Brits are very conservative, very private. They like their personal space. Maybe they don't trust each other, I dunno.  But everyone just minds their business. 

And to be honest, I don't think it's good.  

It's in England you'll find signs like NO TRESPASSING or PRIVATE PROPERTY. KEEP OUT. And they freaking mean it!

My dad was reversing his car once, (this was when we first moved to the UK,) and he accidentally drove on a neighbour's grass - that is, the wheels of his car went over the neighbour's front lawn. And she stormed out to meet my dad to address it (like she was just watching from her window all the while.)

"This is private property," she yelled. "I don't appreciate you driving on it. It takes me hours to make the lawn look this good."

Can you imagine? Ordinary grass o. Hmm.

Another time, my dad parked his car in front of a neighbour's house (a different one) because someone had blocked him from parking in front of ours. You'd think it's okay right? I mean it's only a parked car, it's not the end of the world. But not for the Brits o. 

This neighbour called my mum and was yelling, saying she should tell my dad to come remove his car and that he wanted to drive off but he can't (It's not like my dad's car was blocking his car o). He just didn't like the fact that my dad's car was parked in front of his house.

Like I said, very conservative and private people.

I was speaking to someone the other day and he said he's been living in his house for more 24 years now and he doesn't know who lives in the next house to him.

And in my head, I was like "Chai!!! That one is too much na."

How can you live in a place where you don't see other people that live around you, where you can't greet them or have a conversation with them?

Can you imagine? Things like that won't happen in Nigeria. We are just too nosy to let that happen. And I think it's a good thing though. You know what they say: "no man is an Island." We all need to be there for and reach out to one another. 

Or am I wrong? What do you guys think?

I heard about an old lady who passed away in her house for a long time, and all the while no one noticed her absence. No neighbour noticed or bothered to check  - because no one bothers to check up on people anyway and people don't often see each other. One day, this was about three weeks after she'd died, a postman came to deliver a letter to the house and perceived a very strong stench coming from the inside and decided to call the police to check. That was how they found out she'd been dead for that long.

How sad is that? It's heartbreaking. That poor old lady just died, alone. It made me think, "Did she not have a family? And if she did, how come they didn't know? How did they not find out early enough?

I don't think you can hear of such in Nigeria o, because first of all, Old people don't live on their own, they're usually surrounded by family who looks after them, or they might retire to the village, and even then they're still not alone and they have the help they need. 

In England, most old people are either shipped to a care home or they end up living in their house, all alone.

It's one of the things I miss about Nigeria, the communal living. The fact that everyone knows everyone (although there are some disadvantages - everyone would end up knowing your business). But the fact is, in Nigeria, you can knock on your neighbour's door and ask them for a drink of cold water and they will offer you willingly. 

Try that in England first and you will not know what hit you. Before you know what's happening, you'll find your sorry ass sitting in the back of the police van. You'll be done for "Invasion of privacy", abi is it "Trespassing on private property" - and the fact that you're black? That one is instant deportation. lol

Guys!!! Wow! Long time no update. *bows my head down in shame* 😟😟😞

I know, it's been like forever since I gave y'all an update. Where can I start apologising from. Even if I apologise sef it's not going to make up for the fact that I haven't updated since the 11th of October 2017.

Shame on me, I know. 😩

Trust me, I haven't forgotten about this book, it's just that I kind of ran dry. I ran out of ideas on what to write about. It's only recently this one came to me because I was having a conversation about it with someone.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading. Comment and let me know what you think about it.

And, if there is anything you would like me to write about, let me know. For my 9ja readers, if there's something you would like me to write about and compare with England, and my non-Nigerian readers, if there's anything you want me to tell you about Nigeria, just leave it in the comments and I will try and do justice to it.

And thank you guys so much. For your votes and comments all through. 12k+ reads and number 983 in Non-fiction.

God bless you!!!🙏🙏

And please don't be a ghost reader, okay? Click on the yellow star.

Thank you!!! 😘😘😘