I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing my supervisor Temitayo Bolaji for my cultural interview. Temitayo Bolaji, born Temitayo Ladenika, was raised in the city Ibadan in Nigeria, West Africa. Ibadan is located in southwestern Nigeria and is reputed to be the largest indigenous city in Africa (The postgraduate school – home, n. d. ). There are over two hundred and fifty different ethno-linguistic groups in Nigeria but the three largest are in the Hausa-Fulani in the north, the Yoruba in the southwest, and the Igbo in the south East. (Lemieux, 2011) Temitayo identified her “tribe” as the Yoruba.
Temitayo reported that Nigeria’s official language is English, but her local dialect is Yoruba. “Yoruba is regarded as one of the major languages of Nigeria. The effective speakers of the language in the country are about 35% of the country’s total population. ” (Fabunmi and Salawu, 2005) The forth oldest of seven children, Temitayo described her family as being very close. Temitayo’s mother was an elementary school teacher, and her father was a chemical technologist for the government and traveled a lot. As a working mother of seven, Temitayo’s mother relied on the support of her extended family, the family’s maid, and her oldest children.
In Nigeria, a household may contain not just the couple and their children, but uncles, nephews, cousins, and children of friends and relations. ” (Falola, 2001) Temitayo stated extended family members through out her childhood would come to live with her family. There was never much privacy and household tasks were divided among the oldest children when they were home. Temitayo stated that in her family education was very important. Temitayo shared that in Nigeria children first went to Primary (elementary) school grades first through six, and then went on to Form school (High School) for four years then on to college.
Temitayo stated that she and her siblings were sent to boarding school for Form school, and would only come home for holidays, and breaks. Temitayo stated that she loved boarding school because it taught her independence and prepared her well for college. When returning home from boarding school, the oldest child was considered “in charge” and their rules even overrode their parents. When the oldest were away at boarding school, everyone pitched in to help. Temitayo reported that both her brothers and sisters knew how to cook and clean and were considered equals. This was not always the case in Nigeria.
Temitayo stated that when her father was growing up, males where considered the head of the house, and made up the rules. It was not uncommon for Nigerian men to have many wives, and would continue to have children until a male was born. Temitayo stated that as Nigerian culture changed, and all children where considered important. Respect is very important in the Nigerian culture. Young children were expected to be respectful in and outside of the home, and if a child was misbehaving in the community, an adult in the community reprimanded them. If the child’s parents found out, they would receive another punishment.
Discipline was based on what the bible says, and a child’s consequences where based their actions and you would be either scolded or spanked based on what the actions were. “The moral behavior of Nigerian Americans is influenced by their deep religious beliefs and world view. Whether they were raised in the church, the mosque, or in any of their indigenous religions, it would be extremely unusual for a Nigerian to be an atheist. ” (Ogbaa, 2003) Religion is also very important to Temitayo, and was instilled in her as a child. Temitayo reported that she is a Christian, believes in god, and believes Jesus Crist is our savior.
Temitayor reported that it was her faith that has gotten her through some difficult times in her life. In Nigeria, almost all the holidays celebrated in the United States are celebrated in Nigeria. Temitayo reported that the only two holidays that are not celebrated in Nigeria were Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Temitayo reported that in Nigeria, she did not learn about thanksgiving and did not know the meaning behind it until she came to America. In Nigeria she discussed that every day was like Thanksgiving were family gathered, ate and gave thanks for the day.
Temitayo stated that Easter, Good Friday, New Years, Independence Day, and Christmas are all celebrated in Nigeria. Christmas however, is not celebrated as it is here in America. On Christmas Day in Nigeria, it is a day to rejoice that Christ has been born and his birth is celebrated through out the day. On the very next day, December 26, is considered “Boxing Day. ” Boxing day is an extension of Christmas where the family gathers, eats, has fun and opens their gifts. Temitayo stated that she always knew her parents to be hard workers. When she was a young girl her parents left their jobs and opened their own business as merchants.
Temitayo’s parents bought coco and a sawmill and would sell their products abroad. Everyone in the family was very involved with running the family business. Temitayo’s older siblings would come home from boarding school in the summer and on holidays and would help her parents. Temitayo’s youngest brother was her father’s right hand man, and eventually took over running the business with her father after her mother passed away. After leaving the business, Temitayo’s father decided to become a pastor in her town. Temitayo stated that her father remained a pastor up until the day he passed a way.