Identity Crisis
A discussion about the disconnect between first/second generation immigrants and their culture.
I recently realised that I’ve created a very inaccurate perception of Nigeria in my head. It got to the point that I considered myself a fake Nigerian. Or a ‘fraudulent Nigerian’, to play into the stereotype. After all, my acquaintance with the country is limited to eating Nigerian food, saying the odd insult in Yoruba and wearing aso ebi (ashor eb-ee) to do shaku shaku at Aunty Jumoke’s wedding. Whilst there is nothing wrong with these acts, they are only fleeting experiences and they do not define Nigerian culture as a whole. Living in the UK since birth has caused me to quantify my ‘Nigerianess’ with these superficial things. But the truth is that they are mere indicators of where I’m from. Anyone can eat jollof rice and wear gele (gell-ay) — it’s the stereotypical Nigerian aesthetic. It doesn’t make them Nigerian, it makes them appear to be Nigerian or at the very least it makes them appear to be in touch with Nigerian culture to anyone watching. Nigeria — spoken about on a surface level but scarcely delved into. Popular topics include but are not limited to, Yoruba demons, jollof rice and juju. This is the issue, that we reduce our culture to clichés and perpetuate token habits because to outsiders, these habits align with their preconception of our native country.
As first and second generation immigrants, our lack of cultural familiarity has developed from living outside of our native countries for so long. Distance led to ignorance. Our ignorance, among many other factors, led to the ignorance of others. Unfortunately most people are too lazy to independently educate themselves on other cultures so they rely on the idiosyncratic behaviour of one (or few) individuals and wrongly generalise that behaviour to a whole race or culture. It is not our duty to ensure that everything we say and do is an accurate representation of our culture. That would be exhausting. And frankly, ethnic minorities have more pressing matters to be preoccupied with. However, by displaying a flawed representation of our home country, we feed into the misinformation of others.
A large part of cultural retention requires the ability to speak your native language. Being unable to converse with older relatives in particular only widens the disconnect between generations. Due to immigration it is becoming more likely that English is learned first and the native language learned secondly, if at all. This secondary language is then only used occasionally with family and eventually dies out by the third or fourth generation. I think this trend comes down to our attitude towards language and accents. There is a societal pressure to sound ‘educated’ and articulate, which is equated to speaking English. Speaking a foreign language outside of your house is often frowned upon and can lead to people belittling you or in some cases it leads to oppressive and racially-charged abuse. These negative associations can easily quash any eagerness to learn your native language. This negativity is not just caused by other people, but by ourselves too.
A lot of comedy by ethnic minorities uses exaggerated accents as part of their sketches. I enjoy them as much as the next person but they have a tendency to subconsciously make us associate native accents with foolishness. One person could be talking nonsense masked with an eloquent accent and be willingly listened to by the masses, while an educated individual with a ‘freshie’ accent won’t be taken seriously, even if their accent does not affect their enunciation. Regardless, it is imperative to inspire a sense of pride in our mother tongues, at least for the sake of the next generation.
In our efforts to enlighten ourselves and others about our culture, it’s important that we refrain from romanticising it. That would be just as destructive as misinformation. As beautiful as our home countries can be, they are rarely all sunshine and roses. Nigeria is egregiously corrupt, tribalistic, homophobic and misogynistic. As much as we love our native countries and cultures, they are not exempt from criticism.
So educate yourself. Remember that culture is not limited to traditions — it includes politics and economics. Read the books, watch the documentaries, talk to those relatives, write those think pieces and start those discussions. And above all, travel! The truth can be edited out of words and images but no one can taint your experience of actually being in the country. Culture is not about looking the part. It is not about keeping up appearances. This misperception needs to change. Culture is more than an aesthetic but many of us living abroad have cheapened it into a performance which lacks genuine understanding of our roots. Distance has led to ignorance. And this ignorance can be bliss, for now. Until our children are asking about the country their grandparents were born in. What will our answer be?
