Apologizing for being wrong is never a bad thing or a bad attitude, but as you all know, here in Africa, elderly people don't usually apologize for being wrong; instead, they would say, "A ma n fi agba re omode je ni." The meaning in English is that "elders don't apologize to kids when they are wrong.".
That adage can be so annoying because we all have our rights, so why wrong me and then tell me you are older? When you know you can't apologize, then don't offend me.
It is not all elders that behave that way, but the majority of them here in Nigeria do because they still live in the past when adults don't apologize for their wrongdoing or mistakes towards younger ones.
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My mom's older sister came to visit us when we were younger, and she stayed for a very long time to the extent that we thought she wouldn't go back to her house anymore.
During the time she was in our house, she always corrected us on every aspect of life; even when we slept, she would wake us and correct us never to snore while sleeping. Who does that? My mom's elder sister does, and my mom wouldn't say what she was doing to us was wrong because she is her elder sister, which means she is right about everything she does or says to us.
There was a day we were all playing and I mistakenly messed. You guys needed to see the hot slap she gave me on my back for messing where she was sitting. And then she said, "You don't pollute air from your bom bom where plenty people are; it's a very bad attitude," and she told me to apologize to everyone one after the other as a punishment.
I didn't, but I felt bad and sorry at the same time. I was just a child, so I didn't have a choice because my mom didn't defend me as well.
Some days later, we were eating and my mom cracked a joke from their past, so she burst into laughter, which everyone laughed as well, while she was laughing, she mess, which was very loud to the extent that all of us looked at her.
She said, "When elderly people mess like that children would say may you be able to do more," I couldn't believe my ears because the mess is a mess so why should children get beaten up for messing and elders should be praised for messing.
I replied to her, "But ma you said it is bad to mess where plenty of people are and you just did," she slapped my head again and then said, "Elders shouldn't apologize to children for anything," tear full my eyes immediately she said that because we were eating and the mess was smelling so bad while mine doesn't even smell at all and yet instead of getting apologize I got beating and corrections.
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That day I felt like growing up so fast to escape all the bad corrections from such people, later my mom apologized behind her back because she knew her elder sister was wrong and I was right but she didn't apologize to me.
Ever since that day, I tried my best to avoid her even though she was in our house.
When I became an adult she came to my wedding and I still remember vividly how much I didn't want to see because she would always see something to correct meanwhile she would do the same thing and claim to be right.
