FAR FROM HOME

I had lived all my life in the southern region of Nigeria but had exposure to several cultures and religions mostly because I came from a large extended family that was fully involved in the lives of each other but at the same time was scattered all around the country. Choosing a university was a no brainer for me, I had literarily known all my life that that was the only school for me, it wasn’t chosen for me or forced on me, but I had made up my mind from an early age that, that would be my school when the time came, it was not a decision I made consciously but it was a decision I was determined to stick by. In retrospect it was probably unconsciously ingrained in my mind that that was the best there was and of course I wanted the best.

Being from southern Nigeria and having lived there all my life, and then choosing to go to school up North, I did not think of how being so far away from home will make me feel; the logistics of coming home for visits or events etc especially since I am someone that wanted to be home all the time. I was just so excited about going to the place I had heard such great things about and the stories that social studies books are made of. Being far from home gives you a sense of independence or forces you to be independent and self-sufficient, but it also gives a sense of apprehension, wondering how on earth you can be so far away from everything you are used to; you close your eyes sometimes and it seems like you are at another end of the earth. My reasons for going to school so far from home had nothing to do with learning other cultures, it never occurred to me that there will be anything new to learn in terms of way of life, but it was indeed a learning process not just academically, but socially. I learnt and understood far more than anyone could have taught me verbally and saw the beauty and wealth that is Nigeria as a whole.

I am by no means an expert, but I dare say learning other cultures is a big step to accommodating others and achieving Religious and Cultural tolerance. It occurred to me that this is probably one of the arguments for the NYSC scheme. I personally think no one is qualified to draw conclusions on the culture and belief systems of others, until you have lived among them in their natural habitat for an extended period and have an open mind to truly understand why they do what they do or live the way they do. Even then, it will be completely ignorant of anyone to make assumptions, as no two individuals of the same culture, ethnicity or that share similar belief systems are the same. “So how then can you generalize?”  But living among a people opens you up to the beauty of their culture and builds your ability to accommodate the belief system of others. I heard a quote recently from someone (I forget who now) but I will paraphrase it… “just because you find a belief system foreign, and you don’t understand it doesn’t mean you should dismiss it or disrespect it”.