Stereotype at its peak: Common Misconceptions About Nigerians
Personally, I do not find stereotypes funny or entertaining. Rather, I believe that generalizing based solely on an encounter with a single individual or group of individuals from a particular axis is simply illogical. Ultimately, these misconceptions lead to racism, discrimination, and segregation.
In this article, I'll be pointing out a few stereotypes that I’ve experienced, heard, read about, and seen in movies that are completely far from the truth.
Number one on this list has to be the notion that Nigerians are all scammers
Let’s face it, there are scammers everywhere, in Nigeria, Africa, and Abroad. Hence, I will never understand why every time there’s a fraud-related case in the news and the said culprit is a black man, the first thought that comes to the minds of the millennials is ‘‘He’s definitely Nigerian’’.
This particular generalization is not only false, but it is also damaging and has put us in the wrong light since the very first day it began. You, yes you, the one who can’t seem to shake off the idea of all Nigerians being scams, haven’t you seen and heard good stories of kind Nigerians? The academic prowess of Nigerians- young and old?
Don’t even get me started on how industrious the Nigerian people are. It is good and bad everywhere so also we have good Nigerians and bad ones. Here, we are not all thieves. We really are good people. We have our lawyers doctors, doctors, lawyers, writers, programmers, pilots. I AM NIGERIAN, and I AM NO FRAUD.
Next on the list is the assumption that we live in abject poverty
It is true that we have a relatively high poverty rate compared to some more developed countries. But this stereotype couldn’t be any further from the truth.
The average Nigerian is a hard worker and for this same reason, you get to see Nigerians thrive wherever they are located because we‘ve been raised to work our asses off to give ourselves better lives.
Nigeria does not in any way warrant the generalization that we are a poverty-stricken people living in hunger, penury, and without access to basic amenities.
As earlier stated, there are unarguably poor people in Nigeria as it is in any other country, but this stereotype is not the truth. Just like every other country, we have high-end people, the middle-class, and those who can’t afford to be in the aforementioned categories.
I’d also like to add that Nigerians have some of the richest people in Africa.
Nigerians are uneducated
I honestly have no idea where this stereotype stems from and I am very sure no one knows either. However, I blame this stereotype on the bad representation from western media. The average westerner has been taught from a young age that Africa is plagued with uneducated and illiterate people with no access to basic education.
I remember seeing a comment on Twitter one time where a foreigner had commented on a post, ‘didn’t even know they had schools over there. I was quite perplexed. Does she think we live in the bushes or jump trees in the jungle?
I actually think Nigerians embrace education like every other country, African or not. A lot of times, you rarely see them stop at the O’level, they go as far as obtaining their Masters, and often times a Ph.D.
Just because you’ve encountered one, two, or ten uneducated Nigerian(s) gives you no grounds to tag us all uneducated. I implore you to do your research, you’ll be amazed. Finally, I am Nigerian and I am very educated.
Every Nigerian is into Juju. Simply put, black magic or voodoo
I know that old Nollywood movies have contributed a lot to fueling this stereotype but trust me, it is not so. Not everything in Nigeria is run and operated by dark magic or whatever you call it.
In fact, Nigeria is one of the most religious countries in Africa with Christianity and Islam being two of the most widely practiced religions. There are people who may be involved in this voodoo but it is only a fraction as compared to the way stereotypes have made it seem.
That we are backward and less developed and far from civilization
Firstly, I’d like to clearly state that people with this particular thought about Nigerians have definitely never been to Nigeria. Most likely, these conclusions are based on false stories that have been repeated so many times that their validity has been diluted, as well as old Nollywood movies.
To say that we are backward is a blatant disregard for our people and how much consistency and hard work we’ve put in to get us where we are today.
I remember this story of a foreign child who walked up to an African man in a queue, raised his jacket, and kept staring at his butt like he was in need of something.
Upon inquiry, the child told the man that he only came to check for his tail because he was told that Africans have tails similar to gorillas.
We are very normal people with electricity, decent roads, infrastructure, etc. We do not live in the jungles, we do not wear leaves, and we definitely do not feed on grass.
That we know every other African
I’ll start this by pointing out that Africa is neither a city nor a state. It is a whole Continent made up of 54 countries which are in turn made of several states, cities, villages, etc.
A number of my friends living outside Nigeria have told me about having this same line of conversation with foreigners. It’s like;
Foreigner: Hi, How are you?
Ade: Very well, you?
Foreigner: I’m doing okay. Where are you from?
Ade: I am from Nigeria
Foreigner: Really? I know Kwame from Ghana and Negasi from Ethiopia. Do you know them?
Ade: ???
We are Africans, but we do not all know each other.
What other stereotypes do you know of? Please add to the list. If you’re non-Nigerian, I'd like for you to also share stereotypes associated with your country/ people that you really dislike.
Thank you for reading