Culture Clash Chronicles: African Traditions Meet Westernization! 🌍 A Dynamic Duo or a Clash of Cultures? You decide! 🤔

Source:Calabar festival. Photo Nomad Africa

In the heart of Nigeria, a captivating tale of cultural clash unfolds as African traditions encounter the sweeping tide of Westernization. This narrative is one that raises questions, sparks debates, and reflects the ongoing transformation of a diverse and vibrant society.

I have never fully liked most of the Nigerian traditional beliefs and practices. Mainly because, as a leftie, certain cultural beliefs in Nigeria makes using or doing anything with the Left hand seem evil or bad, hence, my personal vendetta against it as a whole.

Tales of Taboos: Ever heard of the eerie practice from the 19th Century among the Ibibio people, where twins were killed? Twins, at the time, were deemed an evil curse. Thankfully, it took Western missionaries led by Mary Slessor to bring an end to this gruesome tradition (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rrSe4VSJzZY-click on the link to know more). But it begs the question: does this imply that some of our traditional beliefs fall short when compared to religious doctrines? Are some traditions simply bad, or is it a matter of perspective?

Image: stelladimokokorkus.com

West Meets Nigeria:

Images: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty, Mrkoachman.com, Freepik, www.themanthanschool.co.in

On the other hand, we’ve readily embraced aspects of Western culture – dining etiquette with forks and knives, dressing styles, and modes of greeting. Even in our sunny climate, schools and offices, particularly private ones, mandate suits, blazers, ties and long sleeve shirts for the students and staffs.

We’ve woven Western attire into our fabric so much that we’ve seemingly forgotten to ask, “Does this suit our weather?” Why can’t our traditional attires be worn on a Monday morning? Or at least a more appropriate attire for our weather?

Who decided that suits scream “Corporate and Professional” while our cultural attire remains a relic of casual and special occasions? Who made these rules?? I guess I might never get an answer.

The War of Ideas:

There’s a battle between Western ideas and our own traditions, and it’s partly because we’re not doing a great job of keeping our traditions alive. I personally believe this is due to we Nigerians not being able to sustain/preserve our culture adequately, a few of us do not completely believe in certain aspects of it, and a general believe that western culture is superior.

The new generation of Nigerians do not understand the full concept of their culture. With over a hundred languages and tribes in Nigeria, English has become our primary language, thanks to colonization, potentially eroding our cultural roots. Might that be a contributing factor to our lack of sustainability?

There’s the other issue with affects me directly and might be a cause of reoccurring clashes between traditional values and westernization, and that is “intercultural marriages”.

So my mum is from the Yoruba tribe (Kwara state) while my Dad is from Cross-River state. Now these are 2 completely different tribes that have various beliefs, values and customs of their own. Being part of such a dynamic meant that I had to know a bit of both worlds.

Here comes the “struggle”, I am not only juggling to understand two tribes that are completely far apart from each other, but I am also faced with the ongoing effect of westernization, like having to speak English language in school and in general. As such, not enough emphasis is placed on my own language. Similarly, in terms of education, the Nigerian education system is influenced by Western models, with many schools and universities following Western curriculums.

Also, in the aspect of fashion, like I wrote earlier, Western-style clothing is prevalent, with suits and ties often considered formal attire. Traditional attire is reserved for casual or special occasions.

Lastly, Western media, including television, music, and movies, has a significant presence and influence in Nigeria which has pushed the Nigerian industry a little behind. Although, I must say that the Nigerian music industry is doing extremely well, as Artistes such as Burna Boy, Davido, Rema, Wizkid and many more are rapidly putting the Country and the African Continent on the map.

The question lingers – does our culture seem inferior? This isn’t a dilemma for me to solve but to spotlight the ongoing battle between tradition and Westernization, how it shapes the younger generation, and the quest for cultural identity.”

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this !

Unemployed Wannabe “Baddie”?

Photo: Getty images, FG Trade.

Parties, festivals, sleepovers, and endless fun were the only things on my mind after graduating university. But reality hit hard, and now I’m an unemployed stay-at-home baddie-ish girl. Life doesn’t always go as planned, right? 😅🤷‍♀️

I had these grand visions of being the ultimate “baddie” – you know, the kind who’s not only slaying in her career but also has time for fun and effortlessly has her life on point. But looking back, I’m like, “What was I thinking?” Straight out of school, trying to conquer the world? Especially in the kind of country I live in with its economic struggles? It’s a whole different ballgame.

Girl, let me spill the tea on what’s been happening since those wild aspirations or maybe delusions of mine (now we’re in October, can you believe it?). Brace yourself, because I’m currently living that unemployed, stay-at-home life, juggling house chores and running errands like a none baddie-ish girl. Talk about a major plot twist from my initial plan.

And let me tell you, having strict guardians can definitely put a damper on the fun meter. But here’s the kicker: I thought all of that would magically change once I graduated and turned 21! Can you believe the audacity of my own expectations? 😂

I could tell you how my first month at home went, but the 2 months after it was just vibes, faith searching and slow productivity.

Now if you are a true K-drama fanatic like moi, series such as “Under the Queens Umbrella”, “Eve”, “Big Mouth”, “Man to Man” and “Crash course in romance”, will definitely resonate with you. Those series became my ride-or-die besties in the first month and a half after leaving school. Almost like a ritual, each day I judiciously watched each episode of each one of them with wrapped attention. It was a K-drama marathon for me back to back each night till early hours of the morning.

But don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like I didn’t want a job or something to learn. I just needed a little break from all things work and academic-related, you know? So I blinked, and bam, a whole month had just slipped away. Time flies when you’re lost in the world of K-dramas! 😅📺💃

After my one month “Koreanton” (I made this up), I let out a big sigh and thought to myself, “I need a life now”. Seeing my friends and acquaintances post each and everyday on Snapchat about new jobs or fun places they visited, I honestly began dreading both my situation and the app itself, but my dedication to keeping my streaks on the app was stern. It’s marvels me how I take keeping streaks so seriously.

But then, something clicked in my mind. “Make up! Make up! Make up!” Those words kept echoing in my head, like a sign from the universe to dive into the world of makeup artistry. It took another three weeks, but finally, I made it happen. Can you believe it? I’m now on my way to becoming a makeup pro!

Now, let me tell you about my skincare journey! I was like, “What’s next?” and then it hit me: my skin needed some serious TLC. So, I dipped into my savings and splurged on a few skincare products. But dang, why didn’t anyone warn me about the price tag? Talk about wanting a glowing complexion! But guess what? I’ve actually been consistent with my skincare routine for the past two months. Can you believe it? Even this unemployed wannabe baddie managed to rock a radiant skin!

Moving to my workout routine, let’s talk about it shall we?. Ugh, it lasted a whole TWO DAYS. Don’t judge me, okay? I decided to go on a diet instead, but even that got put on hold. I’m just leaving my body in the hands of God and nature, even though I eat like a cow every night. I’m sure the weight will magically disappear somehow.

Finally, speaking on faith, as someone who’s dealt with anxiety, panic attacks and all, I turned to God. Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite, you know? One day I’m all holy and righteous, and the next day I’m throwing tantrums left and right. But you know what? I’ve learned that God loves me no matter what. He’s always there for me, through the good and bad days, with open arms and endless goodness. Watching sermons by preachers like Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, and Joseph Prince has been a game-changer for me.

Lastly! guess what?, I applied for a social media intern job at a top-notch marketing agency. I was super nervous before the interview, but once I was in there, I felt a bit more at ease. It’s a well-known agency with a killer success rate, and I’m crossing all my fingers and toes that I get the gig! 🤞🏼✨🙌🏼

I can finally begin my corporate baddie life sooner than expected if I get it !

Does Time Heal?

“I can’t leave what I am building for you”, someone once told me. That struck me deep, usually it’s supposed to mean that now you’re irrelevant to that person or you’re not as important as you used to be.

But then comes the hard part, the acceptance and self discovery journey, as this relates to losing a friend or a bad break up.

I have always hated the acceptance part, majorly because, now this world you have built in your head which may or may not have this person in it comes crumbling down and you’re left to pick up the pieces to rebuild.

The acceptance part makes you realize that you were probably “delulu” (delusional) in some aspects or were you ?, particularly if it involves a love interest or a walking red flag you continuously ignored in a friend. It is important to note that alot of things are temporary.

On the other hand, what if the bond you had built was not for you, so the king of the Cosmos (God) took it out of your life ! God sure has a way of doing such.

Now you see that self discovery aspect ? it’s a 50/50 for me, it has always been that way.

This is what I mean, yes I’d learn from that situation that affected me and most likely do better in the next one I find myself in or even be watchful of certain things before hopping into it.

BUT! what of the other side ? what if things are not the way they seem. Let’s say yes I learn and do better in a situation but then it turns out soar all of a sudden or it was a disguise for something negative ?

I guess the simple answer to my question is “yes, I’d learn again”. We keep learning from situations regardless of how hard it might seem. The cycle of learning can be exhausting if we’re being honest here, and the urge to give up rests heavily on a lot of people.

But will time help ? Will time really heal it all up ? Or are we made to believe this in a bid to muster hope and strength to not give up ?

Personally, I don’t know the answer, but what I know is, we owe it to ourselves not to give up and even when we do, we can cry for days, weeks, months, and when we are done, it’s back to the business of self care and love.

Just my 2 cents.

“THE LAGOS EXPERIENCE”

The seats weren’t big enough, the struggle to board the bus was intense, the fear of my phone being snatched made me paranoid and sleeping off in the bus was not an option!

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be stuck in the notorious Lagos traffic even if it was for a short period, let alone commuting using the well-known “Danfo buses “, as early as 6:00am in the morning. Shouting the famous “O wa oo”(said to alert the bus driver that you will be getting off ) as the bus nears my destination was one of my biggest fears everyday during that period. My calm and timid voice continuously begging to overshadow the horns of cars and the voices of people around just to say those words.

One thing I can say for sure is, “Lagos Traffic Will Humble You”. This is not an understatement!

During my first week of work as an intern, I encountered various situations every day. Each day’s challenge was distinct. On the first day, as the novice that I was, I used google map as a guide.

I walked for approximately 4km just because I didn’t know what bus to take, and the traffic that day was at a standstill. No way was I going to sit in a bus for hours due to traffic. Lol I also feel like that’s such a nerdy move using Google map but a girl didn’t want to get lost!

Besides, this was my first time using the Danfo bus alone so I was a bit scared for myself. My legs had never ached that much in my life. “Lara.ng” was also a life saver as it gave a more detailed explanation on the routes to follow. I’m surprised my phone never got snatched from me at any point by way, I had heard stories of how peoples phones were easily stolen at that location. Oh well, lucky me I guess ?

Day 2, I finally spoke to the other interns at work (don’t ask me why I didn’t do that sooner). They advised me on the fastest route to take. But of course, nothing good comes easy, the shorter route made us seat in traffic for so long ehnnn, at that moment I wasn’t sure if I preferred walking or not. Atleast we were able to buy groundnuts in traffic. That begs the question, what wouldn’t you find to buy in this Lagos traffic ?

Day 3, the beautiful waters from the skies decided to unleash itself. Rain beat me tire, the only motivation I had going for me was the good food awaiting me at home to console myself. I was completely drenched and tired on this day.

Day 4, this rain did not yield. On this day, I got home past 8pm. Not only did the rain aggressively unleash itself , but apparently the buses heading to my direction were so tired of seeing my fed up half sleepy face, that they decided to come every 30mins. And of course, this “Omo get inside” (me) couldn’t struggle enough to get in. Thankfully, an empty bus arrived and I knew better to struggle for it.

All in all, one thing I learnt from my week 1 as an intern was to always take a slippers or sneakers along !, prepare for the unexpected and just remain clam, because finding your way in Lagos as an Omo get inside requires all of that and moreeee!