International Interview Project
Nigeria, Africa
On the west coast of Africa, where the Benue River meets the Niger River, is Nigeria. Nigeria has a population of 140,003,542 and is 356,669 square miles. It is home to 250 ethnic groups but the most prominent ones are the Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, and Igbo. To learn more about Nigeria our group interviewed Geoffrey Nwogu, a born and raised Nigerian from the Igbo ethnic group. We talked to him about health issues, transportation, religion, women’s rights, and coming of age.
The first thing we spoke about was how Nigeria was split up. We asked, “Are their different ethnic groups in Nigeria, and if so do they fight with each other?” Geoffrey responded with, “Yes Nigeria is split into three parts, to the North we have the Fulani/Hausa they are primarily Muslim, to the West we have the Yoruba they are primarily Christian, and to the East we have the Igbo who are also Christian. The Yoruba and Igbo aren’t fond of each other.” In Nigeria there are three major ethnic groups as well as two major religions but within those ethnic groups and religions there are many others. In America we have so many different ethnic groups, but we don’t have feuds like they do in Nigeria. We inquired about Geoffrey’s own personal ethnic group the Igbo, “What is the name of your language, and what kind of clothing do they wear?” He replied, “We speak Igbo and we don’t wear the super colorful clothing that National Geographic is always putting on their magazines, we wear simple clothing, usually hand made from a nearby tailor. Also, we’re not all running around naked! “Clothing in Nigeria is made to be functional not pretty. In America fashion is huge, it’s a major part of our lives, in Nigeria it is hot and they have to work and move. They have to wear clothes that can allow them to not over heat.
Healthcare in America is a huge topic in America right now. “In Nigeria if you get hurt and you got the hospital you have to pay for your medical bills yourself, if get hurt you pay.” Was Geoffrey’s response to our question, “How is the healthcare system in Nigeria?” There is no healthcare in Nigeria, and barely any hospitals. Here in San Francisco we have our own form of universal healthcare called MediCal, but it’s different everywhere in America. In Nigeria you’d have to pay everywhere. “A major sickness in Nigeria other than HIV/AIDS is Malaria, it’s easy to avoid in America but in Nigeria there are billboards for Malaria prevention every 50 ft.!” Malaria in Nigeria is like the flu in America. In America we have better access to drugs, but Nigeria the healthcare system isn’t what it should be and hospitals are scarce.
Women in Nigeria are different than in America, Geoffrey had this to say, “When a man takes a wife in a village, that woman becomes the whole village’s wife. That doesn’t mean that everyone is married to her it just means that every man has the responsibility of protecting her.” A woman in Nigeria is a highly respected person in the community and is looked up too. Over here women aren’t treated like that. Family isn’t so close knit and women aren’t seen as so fragile. “A woman has a certain place in society. They work, but it isn’t as much as in America.” Women aren’t as prominent in the work place in Nigeria. Here America women are in the work place full force whereas in Nigeria women are more in the home.
Nigeria is an amazing place where everyone should visit. The people are interesting and very welcoming. Nigeria still has problems that it needs to sort out but they are a very powerful part of Africa. From the land to the people they are resourceful and at times very stubborn. Geoffrey Nwogu taught us a lot about Nigeria and was pleased to hear that American children are learning about outside countries. “I hope this continues in American schools for many more years, there is more to the world than what you see on TV.” Geoffrey said as we said our goodbyes.