Obnoxious Nigerian

Here are some easy ways to be an Obnoxious Nigerian Abroad.

  1. When you meet someone from another African country, never ask anything to make you learn about their own experience. Instead, be sure to make fun of their name, culture, music or how they look.

  2. When you meet a Nigerian, ask if they are Hausa Igbo or Yoruba. There are only 3 tribes in Nigeria, so this is really just a pleasantry at this point to put them in the right box in your head.

  3. Laught at everyone else's food and swear no one's food comes close. Who cares if you've never tried it before? Once you're in a new place, find the nearest naija joint so you don't eat any local food.

  4. Playing music? Control the aux - always play afrobeats. When out, nag until the dj submits and plays afrobeats.

  5. Take a whole genre and 'naijarize' it without tributes or homage to the original musicians. Actually, call it a new genre, yours of course.

  6. Remain aggresive and competitive, especially with other Africans. Life is a zero sum game so you must do anything to secure the prize. Be sure to take no social cues, everything can and should be done naija style, preferrably on 'african time'.

  7. When with Nigerians, refer to other Africans as sub-par. When with Africans, laugh at some peculiarity about their country since yours is perfect.

  8. Give people Nigerian names. Does it matter if they've expressed interest or not? No. Just do it.

  9. Give your own children foreign names. Your native names come second. If it's not foreign, it's boring.

  10. You left Nigeria, so immediately lose your accent. Fake an accent till you make it or end up with some unitelligible garble, but don't ever be caught dead sounding like your natural Nigerian self again.