Naija Diaries: 7 General Misconceptions About Nigeria

When you tell your colleague or your friend that is non-Nigerian that you are moving to Nigeria, the first thing they ask you is "WHY?". In other words, what on earth will make you leave this land flowing with milk and honey for the third world? I once worked with a lady from Bulgaria. Hi Michaela! When she informed us she will be moving back to Bulgaria with her husband, I didn't ask why. I thought, good for you! At least I have someone to stay with when I come visiting. Same with a dear friend from Trinidad and Tobago. But tell someone you are moving to Africa, is like telling them you have just swallowed a silly pill.

This got me thinking.

Here are 7 General Misconceptions About Nigeria (By Non-Nigerians)

1. We all live in mud houses.
Please don't laugh. This is a true story. When I moved back to London in 2000 to finish up Secondary School, a new friend at the time said "I don't know much about Africa but I have been told they all llive in mud houses". Ps, this girl was not an idiot. She was in fact one of the smartest kids in the class. She was only voicing what she had heard, God bless her. Erm, for those who still don't know, its 2015 and the majority of us in Nigeria don't live in mud houses, thank you. We live in houses made of bricks, just like you.

2. Africa is a country.
Please check your Atlas and go back to school. No comment.

3. We don't speak English.
FYI, our main speaking language IS the English language, although you are correct if you say majority of us are bilingual. We do have over 300 languages.

4. We are all fetish.
Infact, I blame old school Nollywood for this one. Errrr, most of us are not fetish and diabolical. We are simple and clean living. We do love God though. We are certainly a religious country.

5. We don't know what it is like to have a bath/shower.
With all the charity adverts you watch on TV where they beg you for money so we can have clean water to drink, this is no surprise. Guess what? Most of us have running water and shower twice a day everyday. We are hot and sticky. A shower is a must.

6. We live with monkeys and lions.
Hahahaha. Sorry, these are not our pets. They don't live in our backyard. They are not our friends. We love them, yes. Just like you. We go visit them in the zoo, yes. Just like you.

7. We don't watch TV.
Africa, is still developing. Once upon a time, Great Britain too, was still developing. Fortunately, we have everything that you have. Televisioins, phones, computers, games etc. You name it, we have it.

xoxo