We all know the Nigerian Prince who sent us emails in the early 2000's asking for our bank info and promising to send us lot's of money. He never did send me that money...
In parts of Asia there are some Nigerians who aggressively try to pull you into overpriced clubs. I wonder what happened to them during the pandemic. I hope they are ok.
Whatever your image of Nigeria, I challenge you to spend a few weeks getting to know the Nigerians at Hive and not feeling a strong desire to go visit. Not only has everyone at Hive broken all of my stereotypes, they have become good friend and some of my most loyal readers, leaving some of the best comments. They help fuel this community and they are a diverse bunch too.
I don't like to put too much focus on a persons nationality because we are all individuals, I just want to let the rest of Hive know what they are missing.
Last week I was in the Cross Culture discord with @esther-emmanuel and @blezyn and I surprised them with some Nigerian pidgin. They let me practice with them and make my nonsensical jokes. They were surprised that I knew some words and phrases, but look, if I have 10+ friends and acquaintances from a country, I want to learn how people talk. With Nigerian pidgin I don't think I'll be speaking it in person because it just won't sound right with an American accent, but I want to understand everyone.
I've spent hours on discord talking to @starstrings01, @rasamuel (who I'd love to see come back to Hive), and most recently @kemmyb and @kenechukwu97 sharing our worlds with each other. We have a lot to talk about anyway but they happen to come from a country that is very different from the countries I've lived in, and vice versa, so we have even more to share and learn from each other.
I didn't plan on name dropping anyone and I want to stop there because there is no way I can catch all the great people I've met here, there are just way too many. I do encourage you to see for yourself though, check out the comment section in any of my previous posts and you'll see what I am talking about.
Last year I watched carefully as the #endSARS protests heated up. I was impressed with and fully supported the solidarity and the peaceful but assertive nature of the protests. For those who don't know, SARS were a police unit that were very abusive towards young people. Local Nigerians with bitcoin or a bank app need to be careful of SARS otherwise they could be robbed or beaten up. Even though SARS was dissolved, the new police unit seems to have some of the same old habits.
Get the Nigerian Prince out of your head (over there they are called "Yahoo"'s), and get it out of your head that all the Nigerians at Hive just want to spam or power down and cash out. A lot of people from Nigeria powering up, and others make up for powering down by bringing great content and leaving awesome comments. Get it out of your head that you can't relate, or that you can make any blanket stereotypes, and get to know people for who they are rather than people from "one of those countries" that isn't part of the conversation.
In all honesty, I'm still intimidated by the idea of going to Africa but that has absolutely nothing to do with most of the people there. It just has to do with little things that I'm not used to.... eating food with my hands (dry food is fine), being a white dude in a continent which still hasn't recovered from being taken advantage of by white dudes, not knowing what to be careful of and how to stay safe (in general, and as a foreigner), and most of all, malaria.
I definitely want to go in this decade too, in the next few years if possible. I have my Hive friends from Nigeria to thank for that. You guys opened up a part of the world for me which I could only be cluelessly curious about before so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And to the rest of you, go support Hive Naija, one of the most essential pillars of Hive. If you can’t find someone great to follow, you aren’t looking hard enough.
In the end we are all just people. I don't really care where you are from, more about what is inside. I am just showing some respect for people in a certain part of the world that I knew almost nothing about before. I know there are beautiful people in every country, so let's do what we can to bring everyone together and grow each local community as we connect between them at Cross Culture.
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Wow! I don't whether to say thank you or I Love you. I'm astonished! This is pure beauty in writing. As a Nigerian It feels different reading this. I wish I could talk to you right now or soon just to say the word "Thank You"
:-D
I think I'm just early to see something that the world is gonna see soon. I am really excited for the day when we see more voluntary cultural exchange between continents. It's coming and Nigeria is going to be a big part of it.
Nice post...been meaning to check back and leave a comment.
I feel like were are being noticed...
Thanks for this...you're some sort of Hive glue holding people together....
Your style of music is also very cool
Yooo thank you that means a lot to me, both calling me glue and listening to my music 🙃
Its all true... a nice week
Unless we have talked to or lived with people we never know how they are. We are just in dark until we come accross them directly be in real world or the virtual. Sometimes the negative stereotypes about a particular race, place, caste etc etc are so strong that they let us avoid those people altogether. But when we have a contact with them, we realize those ideas were so wrong. We may have differences but it doesn't mean that any of us is wrong. If we try to understand and appreciate those differences, we will realize that the people around the globe are so so beautiful.
@kenmyb and @kenechukwu97 are my good friends from Nigeria. They always helped me whenever I called them.
Thanks for this lovely love spreading post @selfhelp4trolls
Well said, Amber. You echo my thoughts exactly. Thank you. 😊
You are most welcome, my friend
I actually don't really have a problem with stereotypes, as long as we treat them as blunt and imperfect instruments and always respect peoples individuality and are open to changing our ideas.
My own stereotypes just that I might have a hard time relating to someone from certain countries because of lifestyle differences. But actually the internet and increased exposure has made it easy for any of us to relate to each other.
I would like to accelerate that expose and make sure it is more equal and voluntary than it has been in the past. That's what this group is all about.
Our openness creates ease for us and for others. Respect for individuality I think.
That's true. Social media especially the blogging platforms has done their job well in this regard.
I can see that.
Blessed day 🌷
😳 You mean the Nigerian prince never sent you that money? How rude! 😂
I love your open-mindedness and unbiased views. I wish every one in the world has this mindset. If we all did, we won't notice the differences in our beliefs or culture or even race. And the world would be a better place for it!
Thank you for the glowing commendations about Nigerians on hive. Do not be intimidated about coming to Africa... Just get your flu shots or whatever medical precautions and you will definitely enjoy your visit here.
Thanks for the mention. You dey make my head swell. 😄
Hhahahahaha so rude indeed.
I guess he had too many royal responsibilities and forgot. 😛
To be honest this kind blog can be awkward to write, but I felt I should write it. I don't like focusing too much on race or nationality because I don't think they matter much but our personal history and current reality help to tell a story and there is certainly a reality to each country.
I do not really want to put you into a box and say “my Nigerian friend”. I’d rather say “my friend” but then at the same time I feel that adding the nationality can help to combat some negative stereotypes that still exist. I always hope nobody minds….
This is another topic I need to write about. I think you are becoming my muse @kemmyb 😆😆😆
This is th e kind of mind set the world needs, seeing the good side of everyone, knowing that no country has perfect people.
There are good people everywhere and not too good as well.
Is nice seeing how open minded you are.
I don't think I'm particularly open minded. Perhaps some people are just close minded? Thank you though!
You can certainly find all kinds of people everywhere!
Thank you so much for making this post. I cannot be less grateful for this.
Moreover, there are many white guys in Nigeria and most of them are the Chinese,Indians and some Japanese. We also have some Americans as well. If you ever want or make up your mind to visit Nigeria, I would be always there to ensure you have a wonderful, safe stay and tour in Nigeria.
I am sure I'll be ok with you around. I don't really pay much attention to things like race as you know, but I like to blend in as a local as much as possible and obviously race makes that difficult 😆. Things are always different for people who stand out.
I was worried about posting this, see my reply to Kemmyb, I described the reason there. But as usual, the comments made me so happy.
😃 obviously I can't go to visit Nigeria without visiting you bro!
I am glad to have come across this article, it makes me happy because someone believe in us. There are many negative stereotyping on Nigerians, true, there are people who had suffered from the hands of few Nigerians but generalizing it doesn't go right. Our country has interesting cultures you can learn from, our people are talented in many fields and we are survivals under any weather- maybe that will be the first thing you'll learn when you visit. Don't worry about mosquitoes, we shall guide you on how to escape them. We will be happy to accommodate you.
Just trying to say thanks to everyone who helped me understand a culture that I think we don't learn enough about in school in other countries.
When it becomes easier to travel it’s definitely on my list. At least I’m sure I’ll make it there in my lifetime
😃😃😃👍
This words coming from a white guy is so nice and I want to say thanks for taking your time to know and love the people and not just believing what you've heard
I don't think I've done much effort. The people at Hive just made me interested 😆.
Well it all depends, when you want to come, we would definitely take care of you.
Thank you. I think I'll need it. I have been spoiled by the safety of some parts of Asia. It’s safer than the US (my origin) by far
Amigo!!!!! Thank you! ❤️
I didn't yet hope to make some soon though wanna be my friend?
Lol I don't think you have to ask. Just interact with people and see who you get along with 😆
gotcha
Yeah, Nigerians are so active in hive. I'm from Algeria, and I'm proud that one of the African countries is doing so well in hive. ☺
I haven't seen any Algerians here. Glad to meet you, hope you can invite your friends. We want strong communities in every country at Hive :-D
Thanks for the shout out for my country people
I apologize on behalf of the Nigerian Prince 🥺
It's ok, it's hard being a prince 😛
Awww you never cease to amaze me with your blogs, and this one? It made me feel more proud to be a Nigerian... I hardly feel so before now 🙈
You know some Nigerian pidgin too, why am I even surprised? You know how to speak three languages!!! That's just too awesome.
So you call "Yahoo Boys" "Nigerian Prince" over there... 😂 That's kinda funny because they are nothing like prince, they are just fraudsters.
Thanks for seeing the good in Nigeria, this is like a fuel to us to be more grateful and proud of our Country.
Can't wait to know you're in Africa eating those meals with hands 😂 trust me, you'll enjoy them... Those hand meal are specially delicious 😋
Well, I personally don't really understand national pride regardless of country, but I think we need to learn about each others backgrounds and societies to understand each other and in the US we didn't give enough attention to modern day Africa, that's for sure. So I am slowly catching up.
I learned Yahoo from articles about ENDSARS. I will try my best with my hands lol
I know the situation doesn't always look good over there, but where there are passionate and intelligent people there are always possibilities. I think that's also what made me want to write this article. Whether it's in your home country or abroad or online, I have high hopes for the friends I've made at Hive.
Awwww that's a very encouraging and lovely one from you... We also have high hopes for you too, I mean you're one of the rare ones I've known here on Hive.
Let's keep learning about each other and keep growing
As a Nigerian, this post gladdens my heart.
Thanks a lot for this post, am delighted to know that you have taken your time to know more about Nigerians aside the stereotype. Funny how my name is prince and am a Nigerian. You can imagine the first time glare I get from people. I will gladly join the cross culture discord because I will love to know the culture of other people.
Hahaha do people in Nigeria have a strange association with that name? I guess you all get the same emails? It's a fine name, I won't glare at you.
Welcome!
Wow! I wish everyone is open-minded like you. It would have made the world a better place. I am glad you did not judge us before getting to know pus like some people do. "Don't judge the book by it cover"they say.
My job gave me a lot of experience with different cultures in which I get to travel around well. It so happens, some few years back. A foreigner was assigned to work with us and he is now based in Nigeria today with his family. He always says, "you all opened my eyes to a new world I never knew existed". He inspired me a lot just as you do. It has been a pleasure knowing you.
You will do just fine when you get here finally and actually we love to have foreigners around. Eating food with your hands is sweeter😂 but it just for swallow but now with table etiquette you can eat our foods with fork, spoons and knife. So you will do perfectly well here. For malaria, take all your possible shots before coming.
I enjoyed this post. Thank you 😌
I did not think I'd be called open-minded when I wrote this but so far many people have said that. It makes me wonder just how much people are being stereotyped still.
I think most people outside Africa are curious about Africa but really intimidated just because it feels very different when we see images. I think there is also some guilt on the part of people who understand history.
My stereotypes were never negative but I remember before Hive I didn't think there were so many people with internet and with an understanding of other cultures. Obviously I know much better now.
You are lucky to have experience with people from different backgrounds. If I am open minded, that's where it came from, exposure.
You are always a pleasure to talk to! 😃 😃 😃
Top post and getting reblogged. Lets me also add @emeka4, @corporateay, @evegrace and @jersteemit to your list amongst many others !
Some really nice folk from Nigeria who get overlooked by certain whales here who like to tar everyone with the same brush.
Good for you for shouting out :-)
I really appreciate this @leedsunited. Keep the good work moving
A lot of people to follow at hive but I'll take note :-) If they are active at Hive cross culture especially and I see some of them are :-D
Well, Nigeria on its resources and beautiful landscape cannot be compared to any other but we ourselves must have interest in building our nation for ourselves, the people must know what we want
However, on hive platform it's good to have MY FELLOW NIGERIANS.
I am rooting for all places and all people, but I will support the places that life brings to me the most, and I feel more and more connection to Nigeria :-D
Hi, I'm Nigerian 🙂
I know how easy it is to get judged as a Nigerian. I don't not blame them though, some of our people don't make it easy. However, I do appreciate those people who do not judge individuals based on stereotypes but form their opinion based on their interactions with the individual. Thank you for being one of those people.
Fun fact: you'll love eating those food with you hands when you visit Africa 😂😂 you could eat with spoon of course but you'll enjoy it better with your hands, just wait and see.
Be rest assured if you ever visit Nigeria, you'll have all of us to help guide you and make sure you do not encounter any of our "Nigerian Prince".
I don't judge people based on stereotypes but I definitely have stereotypes. I think that much is just a natural way to understand the world. So I try to challenge my stereotypes as much as possible.
I never thought people in Nigeria were bad, but I used to think it would be hard to relate to people who live in a very different world. Nowadays I realize that 1 our worlds aren't as different as I thought and 2 there are always things for humans to relate on, it just requires both sides to be willing.
I believe you about eating with my hands and I feel more and more comfortable about the idea of going there. Thanks 🙏 ❤️
The beautiful thing in learning about two different cultures is that you get to see the world in a broader view. I have my stereotypes about people from the west but I understand that it may not be what I think so I give every individual the opportunity to be themselves without a preconceived notion of who they are.
That's really awesome. I'd also love to visit places around the world.
I'd love to hear your stereotypes!!! Maybe it's better to do that on discord some time 😂
😂😂 yes, definitely discord. I'd love to share some with you