Living in Canada vs. living in Nigeria Outline Paragraph 1: intro and thesis Thesis statement: There are a few similarities between Canada and Nigeria, but Nigeria differs from Canada in many ways. Paragraph 2: Topic sentence 1- the language and culturecollectivism and individualism Paragraph 3: Topic sentence 2the wealth of both countries i. e. natural resources, agriculture (cash crops) Paragraph 3: Topic sentence 3- The government: – how well both of the countries manage their wealth and care for the citizens. The world is composed of many continents and each continent consists of a lot of countries.
These countries can be categorized as either developed or developing. A developed country is said to be more industrialized with relatively stable economic in which Canada falls under the category. Whereas a developing country is less industrialized with poor economic; unfortunately Nigeria is regarded as underdeveloped. Oftentimes, what makes a country to be considered as developed or developing is not necessarily the amount of wealth the country possesses, but the effectiveness of a government in managing the country’s resources.
This is because many countries that fall under less developed classification are usually rich countries like Nigeria, it’s only that the wealth is not properly managed and not evenly distributed. However, the people living in these countries are tend to have exceptional cultures and traditional that the people residing in the developed countries may be lacking. Although there are a few similarities between Nigeria and Canada, the differences between the two countries are incomparable. Firstly, both nations are multicultural and multilingual but are different in their cultural orientations.
For instance, even though, English Language is the principal language of instruction in Nigeria, there are hundreds of ethnic groups and dialects, with Yoruba, Ibo, and Hausa languages as the three major languages. Similarly, Canada comprises of people from diverse cultural backgrounds and tongues, however, English and French Languages are the two official languages of instruction of the country. Furthermore, one chief difference between Nigeria and Canada is their cultural orientation.
The cultural style in Canada is called ‘Individualistic Culture’ which is characterized by living an independent, competitive, and self-centered life. Detachment of youth from parents is encouraged from the age of 18years old in this society in order for youth to gain social independence. Unlike Canada, Nigeria cultural orientation is referred to as collectivism, which involves selfless attitude, putting the interest of the community, family or others ahead of self. For example, young adults in collectivist culture work to take care of their parents and grand parents.
The community looks out for one another’s well-being, old people with their children living afar, have the support of the community. Neighbors spend time together in the evening socializing and whiling away time. This action helps to reduce stress and promote healthy mental state. In contrast, in individualistic society, people may feel lonely, due limited interaction with others and daily struggles to make ends meet. Most especially the old and the frail may feel isolated from the community because of the limited support from people around them. This may lead to development of psychological problem like depression.
The influence of collectivism practice in Nigeria makes the habitant to develop resiliency against stress, whereas, many Canadians experience high stress level that may sometimes be attributed to their custom of life. Secondly, both countries are very rich in natural resources and are blessed with fertile soil for agriculture, but the industrialization level of the two nations play major impacts in how the resources are managed. For example, Nigeria and Canada are rich in oil/ petroleum to the point that they can export it to foreign countries around.
No doubt, the governments in both countries are generating a lot of income from this resource. Since Canada is well industrialized, the country is able to refine the oil and make the products available to the consumers. While Nigeria most time has to export the crude oil to an industrialized country for refinement and later import the refined product. This process is not cost effective and can limit the profit Nigeria acquires from this source; nevertheless, the country is still able to benefit from this natural resource. At the same, assist in fueling the economic status of the country.
In addition, similar to Canada, Nigeria soils are fertile which help to boost agriculture products. For example, Nigeria soil produces cash crops like cocoa among others. Cocoa is the main product in the manufacturing of certain goods such as beverages. These crops are exported to foreign countries and in a way enhance the economics of the country. Also, many Canadian agricultural products are exported to other countries. As well, through the use of mechanization farming system, Canadian farmers are able to produce agricultural goods in large quantity, as well, safely store the excess products.
Conversely, many Nigerian farmers are not equipped with modern equipment for them to farm in large quantities and be able to preserve the excess produce. Even though, natural resources and fertile farm lands are two essential factors shared by both Canada and Nigeria that contribute to the nations growth and economic, the management of these resources go a long way in differentiating the two countries. Finally, the management of wealth and resources between Canada and Nigeria is another major contrast between the two countries.
For instance, Canadian government makes use of the country’s resources for the benefit of the residents by providing adequate infrastructures such as hydro, gas, safe road to people living in every region and part of the country. Oppositely, Nigeria, despite being one of the richest countries in the world, the government is struggling to make essential amenities available to all Nigerians, especially the rural habitants. Moreover, as opposed to Canada that financially support the poor and unemployed, Nigerian government are unable to care for this category of people.
The old people and the retired residents are remembered just once in a while by the government by providing them with some funds to help sustain them, whereas, there is ongoing support of the old and retired people from the Canadian government. Additionally, the Canadian government is able to provide free health care through the provincial level, while; many Nigerians are dying of curable illnesses and diseases because of unaffordable health care cost. Regardless of the natural resources possessed by Canada, the government continues to tax the residents from all works of life on basically everything except farm produce and water.
These taxes serve as extra revenues for government in provision of goods and amenities to Canadian people and supporting the less privileged in the country. Although there is always gap between the rich and the poor in Canada, the gap is more pronounced in among Nigerians. Part of the reason for this might be the failure of Nigerian government in charging taxes on certain commodities. The effective management of wealth and resources by the government of Canada make living in Canada astounding compare to living in Nigeria.
In summary, based on the discussions above, there is huge different in living in Canada and living in Nigeria. Besides the fact that the two countries are wealthy and resourceful, the way their wealth are being managed by the government is different, which go a long way in determining the standard of living of each of the country’s residents. As well determines how each country is classified – developed or less developed. Notwithstanding, Nigeria is a better place to live due to their cultural orientation and the fact that they are not as stressed as many Canadians, despite the tight financial condition of many.
