Nigeria

Nigerians are proud of the unique cultural heritage of their particular ethnic group. Nigerians oppose dictatorship, regardless of the ethnicity of the leader, and this has united striking workers and other citizens of all groups.

Nigerians are sensitive about their past status as a colony and have been striving to create a modern industrial society that is uniquely African and not a “carbon copy” of Western society. Life in Nigeria moves at a relaxed pace. Schedules are not as important as the needs of an individual.

People are courteous and cheerful when exchanging greetings. Nigerians, who treat others with respect, expect to be treated likewise. Persons conversing with one another may stand or sit very close. Personal space between members of the some sex is much closer.

Pushing the palm of the hand forward with the fingers spread is rude and should be avoided. Pointing the sole of the foot or shoe at someone is considered rude. Objects are passed with the right hand or both hands, but usually not the left hand alone. Gestures may be different in ethnic groups.

When visiting bringing a small gift is appreciated, but not necassary. Relatives frequently visit each other. Unannounced guests are welcome.

Amongst Muslims, dress is very conservative for both men and women. Dress is more casual in the non-Muslim east and west. Nigerian women and young girls wear a traditional, long, wraparound skirt, a short-sleeved top, and a scarf.

The mainstays of the Nigerian diet are yams, cassava (a starchy root), and rice. Nigerians are fond of hot, spicy food. Their meals are normally accompanied by a pepper sauce made with fish, meat, or chicken. Climatic conditions favor a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to supplement the diet. Because of tse-tse fly, dairy cattle are scarce in coastal regions, but powdered milk, margarine and cheese are dairy substitutes.

Eating habits vary between different ethnic groups. Some eat with the hand (right hand only), while others use utensils. Hands are generally kept above the table.

The mainstays of the Nigerian diet are yams, cassava (a starchy root), and rice. Nigerians are fond of hot, spicy food. Their meals are normally accompanied by a pepper sauce made with fish, meat, or chicken. Climatic conditions favor a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to supplement the diet. Because of tse-tse fly, dairy cattle are scarce in coastal regions, but powdered milk, margarine and cheese are dairy substitutes.

Although specific details of the family structure vary from one ethnic group to another, Nigerian families are generally male dominated. The practice of polygamy (having more than one wife) is not uncommon since it is allowed by Islamic law. About one-fifth of the labor force is female. Large families traditionally share the work load at home. Nigerians have deep respect for their elders. Children are trained to be quiet, respectful, and unassertive in their relations with adults.

Marriage customs vary, but the payment of a bridal token or dowry is common throughout the country. The groom is expected to give money, property, or service to the family of the bride. Women usually marry by the time they are twenty. Living together without a formal marriage ceremony is common and socially accepted.

Soccer is the most popular sport. Wrestling, archery and horse races are also popular. Basketball and polo are popular in the north. Visiting family or friends is the most popular use of leisure time.

In Nigeria, the significant factors that determine the nature of a child’s daily activities include the financial status of the child’s parents, religion, ethnicity, and whether the child resides in a rural or urban area. To have a clear picture of what a day in the life of a Nigerian child looks like, knowledge of the two major geographical zones in Nigeria is necessary. Nigeria is divided into the North, mainly comprised of Hausa people, generally Muslims, and the South, which primarily includes the Yoruba and Igbo people, mostly Christians. As mentioned above, religion is one key factor affecting a child’s daily life, especially for Northerners. For instance, a good number of kids in the North receive informal education by attending Qur’anic schools, while informal education is almost nonexistent in the South. Greetings are an essential part of a child’s upbringing. In Nigeria, a child who fails to greet his or her elders is considered disrespectful and poorly brought up. On a school morning, once a child wakes up, regardless of whether he resides in a rural or urban area, it is expected of the child to greet his parents and older siblings as a sign of respect for them. For a family where English is the language of communication, a child greets by saying “good morning”; otherwise, the greeting will be in the native language used in the home. Although there are over 250 languages in Nigeria, the three major ones are Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. A Yoruba male child greets by saying “eku aro” as he prostrates on the ground while a female child kneels on both knees. An Igbo child greets by saying “otutu oma” while a Hausa child greets his parents, saying “ina quo na. “ In Nigeria, the activity of a child residing in a rural area is quite different from that of a child living in a city or town. A child residing in a rural area will probably engage in certain chores before school. Such chores include walking long distances to fetch water from a stream or well (although, these days’, bore-holes are being provided by the government in various communities to ease the stress encountered by children), fetching firewood, and other tasks. Children that reside in the North occasionally engage in farm work before heading off to school as this is the primary source of livelihood for rural Northerners in Nigeria, and parents in need of more hands on the farm often involve their kids, especially in the planting and harvesting seasons.   For a child residing in an urban area, life is a little simpler depending on the child’s parents' financial status and exposure to Western education and lifestyle.

In Nigeria, the government does not handle the transportation of schoolchildren to school. Some private schools provide school buses for their pupils, but such schools usually charge high fees for such services. Parents who cannot afford such schools are left with the option of placing their children in government-run schools where the standard of education is very low. Most children who live in rural areas usually have to journey to school on foot for long distances to and fro every day, while in urban areas, getting to school and back for most of the kids is by public transport. Such means of transportation include buses, motorcycles, and tricycles or tricars. Kids whose parents own a car are taken to school by their parents but are often left to return home after school by walking or public transport.

Over the past 30 years, the government has made little or no effort to provide new buildings, maintain existing ones, or provide up-to-date teaching technology, like computers and audiovisuals. Dilapidated structures, poorly maintained buildings, and lack of proper teaching and learning materials are some of the many features of government and some privately owned primary schools in Nigeria. Out of Nigeria's three levels of education, primary education receives the least attention from the government, leaving primary education to be funded chiefly by private individuals or groups. Some of the features seen in such poorly managed schools include the inadequate supply of desks and chairs for students use, which leaves many pupils either standing or sitting on the floor during classes; lack of teaching, learning, and writing materials like chalk, pen, pencils, text and exercise books; the inadequate number of teaching staff; no or poorly stocked libraries; absence of health care facilities like sick-bay, etc. In a government-owned primary school, the average number of people in a classroom ranges from 60-100 students, and the teacher-to-student ratio is about 1-100. The situation is similar in rural and urban areas except for big cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. In the case of privately run schools, the reverse is the case. Private schools in Nigeria, though not all, provide qualitative education to students but at costly rates. One significant similarity between public and private primary schools is the lack of space for adequate sporting facilities. The most common sporting facility in a typical Nigerian school is a soccer field, while very few boast an outdoor basketball court or a long tennis court. Outside these sporting facilities mentioned, most others used in developed countries, like the gymnasium, are almost unavailable.

Since the advent of Western education in Nigeria, uniforms have been worn by primary and secondary school children, forming part of the criteria for establishing a primary or secondary school. Learning in Nigerian schools encompasses not just the regular classes but also includes morals and values. Therefore, students are expected to show respect to their teachers and have high regard for them. Once a teacher arrives in class, the students are expected to stand on their feet and greet in unison. Although this does not apply to all schools, most do carry out this practice to input moral standards in their pupils. Flogging and other forms of physical punishment, like kneeling while raising the hands, are accepted modes of discipline in primary and secondary schools. The class teacher can punish any student, though with caution. Generally, regardless of whether it is public or private, classes in primary schools begin by 8 a.m. and end by 2 p.m., except on Fridays, where classes end by 1 p.m. because it is a Muslim day of worship. Break time typically starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m., although some schools may have short breaks between classes. Kids are expected to use this period to eat, play games, and relax before returning to class. It is very unusual for you to find a primary school in Nigeria, whether public or private, that offers lunch or break time meals (as it is called in Nigeria) to students. Kids come to school with their food and snacks, while kids from poor homes come with nothing at all. You may also find schools with canteens where food is sold to students, usually in public primary and secondary schools. Subjects commonly taught in primary schools include English, mathematics, integrated science, social studies, verbal reasoning, quantitative aptitude (taught in private schools only), fine art, and French language (private schools only). Kids in Nigeria often communicate in their native language at home and in school and find it difficult to speak English fluently. Except for private schools, the government of Nigeria has made little or no effort to solve this problem. Primary schools lack adequate English teaching staff and materials needed for teaching English. Even teachers who are supposed to be teaching in English are forced to teach in the native language of the students to carry the kids along, especially in the rural areas of Northern and Southern Nigeria. Year after year, the number of students who fail English and are deprived of entry into the university increases.

After school each day, most school children return home, while others may engage in sporting activities like soccer or basketball. Some schools organize after-school classes for their students (known as lessons in Nigeria), especially for students in their final year in primary and secondary schools. This lets teachers cover the school syllabus and help the students prepare for their final exams. Most parents also organize private tutors to teach their kids after school to keep them busy while they are away and to make up for the poor standard of teaching and learning in school. Although extracurricular activities are unfamiliar, schools usually organize inter-house sports competitions yearly where different houses compete in various games to win trophies. Some games include sack racing, soccer, basketball, match past, track and field events, and tug of war. You rarely find public schools organizing such an event, citing a lack of funds from the government. Some schools also have societies like Jet Club, Debating Society, Press Club, Rotary Club, Girls’ Guide, Boys’ Brigade, and Red Cross Society. Most of these social groups only exist in schools for formality reasons because most of them are almost non-functional.

Weekends are a time for Nigerian kids to play. Boys play soccer on the street or the open field, while girls visit friends and use the weekend to change their hair for the next school week. Parents use this time to be with their children by taking them out to have fun or relax in the house. In rural areas, where farming is the means of livelihood, children accompany their parents to the farm.

The activities a child will engage in after school differ from home to home, but on average, they eat, do their homework, and play. Children who are housemaids in people’s homes face many chores after school. Such tasks include washing clothes by hand, ironing, scrubbing the floor, picking up the kids from school, etc. This seriously affects their output in school because they do not have time to do their homework or study. In many Nigerian cities, kids hawking is widespread. Many kids from poor homes are forced to hawk every day after school, thereby exposing them to sexual abuse, kidnapping for money rituals, and child trafficking. Parents who cannot make ends meet force their kids into harsh practices. The money made from the sales is used to pay children’s school fees, buy books and school sandals, and sew uniforms. Although hawking is now illegal in Nigeria, many kids still hawk daily because of the government’s inability to enforce the law. In most Nigerian homes, evening meals are usually eaten by 7 p.m., and bedtime for children is usually by 9 p.m.

Many parents in Nigeria view formal education as a compulsorily part of a child’s upbringing and make it their responsibility to ensure that their kids attend school regardless of their financial status. Culture also plays a vital role in a child's education level. Previously, female children were not encouraged to attend university or even secondary school. Still, these days, girls attend school to the highest possible level, although in the North, education and culture are still at loggerheads, especially where girls are concerned. Some girls are married off at 12 years of age, while boys are made to attend Qur’anic schools. Western education is not accepted in the rural north because of the belief that it only turns children away from the Islamic way of life. In the south, however, education is highly accepted, and statistics have shown that more girls are enrolled in primary and secondary schools than boys in the southeastern part of the country.