LIVING IN AMERICA
Michael O. Ewetuga
Politicians used education as a carrot to get people’s votes. One of the few things in Nigeria
that are more than spiritual houses are schools.
No matter how bad a musician or artist is all he has to do is base the theme of his works
on education to gain popularity. There’s a song in my language that your shoes would
make a certain sound if you were educated. This refers to the fact that you put on heeled
shoes and work in an office, at least most educated people do.
No matter how rich or successful you are materially in that society you still feel like
something is missing if you did not obtain some form of formal education.
In Nigeria, education is important; it is an industry.
Hand in hand with the importance of getting educated is the ability in, and mastery of the
English language. Your importance in that society is concomitant on how well you speak
the “Queen’s language”.
Speaking the English language becomes an art with the artists striving hard to outdo each
other. You gain more importance when you are totally confusing. So a man could send you
to the dictionary 5 times with one sentence!
So armed with diplomas, higher or ordinary, degrees in whatever field and post graduate
certificates together with superb mastery of the English language, Nigerians made their
ways into the western world after gruesome and tiring fights for visa, looking for the golden
geese that lays the golden eggs.
Since I live in the United States of America that would be my setting.
First shock.
A highly educated Nigerian, respected for his fluency in the English language back home is
shocked when he is treated like a kindergarten pupil vis-à-vis that language. He might even
belong to a profession that uses that language as a tool such as the legal or media
profession. He sticks out like a sore thumb anytime he opens his mouth. He is immediately
noticed because of his accent. Some even try to speak like Americans with no success
because the accent is like an eczema that refuses to go away. He might blend in other
aspect of live but as far as speaking the English language with an American accent is
concerned he is stuck. He finds himself being corrected by people less educated.
His English, not because he doesn’t speak it correctly but because he speaks it with an
accent is suspect. So he finds himself, educated with adequate understanding of the
English language, being corrected by taxi drivers, security officers, lot attendants, porters,
CNAs etc. These set of people look at him in awe when he speaks back home. Some of the
people correcting his English cannot even write in the language they speak but they feel
like, compared to him, they are superior not only in terms of the English language, but in all
aspect of life. After all, he is just African.
Second shock.
He soon discovers, much to his chagrin, that a position that he is qualified to occupy by
reason of his education is not just for him for the taking no matter how long he has been in
similar profession back home. He has to prove himself by American standard.
He might notice at the bottom of an advert for a job that the company advertising is an
“equal opportunity employer”. He would soon discover that the words do not have the kind of
meaning he wished for. Equal opportunity employer relates to employment not to position.
That is the company would hire you whatever your race might be, in other words it doesn’t
matter whether you are from Asia, Africa, Europe or America. That is a lawyer, doctor,
engineer; accountant etc from Africa has equal opportunity with other nationality of being
employed as a security guard, driver, mover, package handler, warehouse associates etc.
A lawyer would be shocked that he is not qualified to be employed as a paralegal, at least in
the state of Indiana. I was once told, and I agree really, that the functions of an attorney are
different from the functions of a paralegal. So being an attorney in Nigeria (Africa) does not
qualify you for a paralegal position.
The truth is better but the truth is the truth. One might be shocked or outraged that he is
looked down on despite his qualification and at times competency but the question is, is
being a lawyer in Nigeria (Africa) a qualification for a paralegal position, especially taking
into consideration that similar position does not exist in the Nigerian legal world. I know as
a fact though that some of the functions of the paralegal are performed by an attorney in
Nigeria, not so sure about other part of Africa.
So this professional from Africa finds himself being supervised by high schools graduates,
people less qualified if his qualifications were to be taken into consideration.
Third shock.
Due to the light in which Africa is portrayed he has to answer questions as to everyday living
in Africa. He is asked questions about hunting even though he was born in a cosmopolitan
city like Lagos or Accra and never hunted. He is asked what it feels like to live in a hut, how it
feels like to be all dressed up and it must have been such a fantastic experience to live with
wild animals.
He is asked how and where he learned to drive even though he’s been driving since he
was a teenager. He has to patiently answer all sorts of ridiculous questions including how
long he’s been in USA and where he learned to speak English so well.
Some people ask these questions because they are genuinely interested and curious
others because they perceived Africans as an extension of animals. More like bigger pets.
The good news however is that with patience and perseverance you can prove yourself, you
are at least offered that opportunity.
One of the things that make United States of America great is that it is indeed an equal
opportunity country, in some cases.
Michael O. Ewetuga
Politicians used education as a carrot to get people’s votes. One of the few things in Nigeria
that are more than spiritual houses are schools.
No matter how bad a musician or artist is all he has to do is base the theme of his works
on education to gain popularity. There’s a song in my language that your shoes would
make a certain sound if you were educated. This refers to the fact that you put on heeled
shoes and work in an office, at least most educated people do.
No matter how rich or successful you are materially in that society you still feel like
something is missing if you did not obtain some form of formal education.
In Nigeria, education is important; it is an industry.
Hand in hand with the importance of getting educated is the ability in, and mastery of the
English language. Your importance in that society is concomitant on how well you speak
the “Queen’s language”.
Speaking the English language becomes an art with the artists striving hard to outdo each
other. You gain more importance when you are totally confusing. So a man could send you
to the dictionary 5 times with one sentence!
So armed with diplomas, higher or ordinary, degrees in whatever field and post graduate
certificates together with superb mastery of the English language, Nigerians made their
ways into the western world after gruesome and tiring fights for visa, looking for the golden
geese that lays the golden eggs.
Since I live in the United States of America that would be my setting.
First shock.
A highly educated Nigerian, respected for his fluency in the English language back home is
shocked when he is treated like a kindergarten pupil vis-à-vis that language. He might even
belong to a profession that uses that language as a tool such as the legal or media
profession. He sticks out like a sore thumb anytime he opens his mouth. He is immediately
noticed because of his accent. Some even try to speak like Americans with no success
because the accent is like an eczema that refuses to go away. He might blend in other
aspect of live but as far as speaking the English language with an American accent is
concerned he is stuck. He finds himself being corrected by people less educated.
His English, not because he doesn’t speak it correctly but because he speaks it with an
accent is suspect. So he finds himself, educated with adequate understanding of the
English language, being corrected by taxi drivers, security officers, lot attendants, porters,
CNAs etc. These set of people look at him in awe when he speaks back home. Some of the
people correcting his English cannot even write in the language they speak but they feel
like, compared to him, they are superior not only in terms of the English language, but in all
aspect of life. After all, he is just African.
Second shock.
He soon discovers, much to his chagrin, that a position that he is qualified to occupy by
reason of his education is not just for him for the taking no matter how long he has been in
similar profession back home. He has to prove himself by American standard.
He might notice at the bottom of an advert for a job that the company advertising is an
“equal opportunity employer”. He would soon discover that the words do not have the kind of
meaning he wished for. Equal opportunity employer relates to employment not to position.
That is the company would hire you whatever your race might be, in other words it doesn’t
matter whether you are from Asia, Africa, Europe or America. That is a lawyer, doctor,
engineer; accountant etc from Africa has equal opportunity with other nationality of being
employed as a security guard, driver, mover, package handler, warehouse associates etc.
A lawyer would be shocked that he is not qualified to be employed as a paralegal, at least in
the state of Indiana. I was once told, and I agree really, that the functions of an attorney are
different from the functions of a paralegal. So being an attorney in Nigeria (Africa) does not
qualify you for a paralegal position.
The truth is better but the truth is the truth. One might be shocked or outraged that he is
looked down on despite his qualification and at times competency but the question is, is
being a lawyer in Nigeria (Africa) a qualification for a paralegal position, especially taking
into consideration that similar position does not exist in the Nigerian legal world. I know as
a fact though that some of the functions of the paralegal are performed by an attorney in
Nigeria, not so sure about other part of Africa.
So this professional from Africa finds himself being supervised by high schools graduates,
people less qualified if his qualifications were to be taken into consideration.
Third shock.
Due to the light in which Africa is portrayed he has to answer questions as to everyday living
in Africa. He is asked questions about hunting even though he was born in a cosmopolitan
city like Lagos or Accra and never hunted. He is asked what it feels like to live in a hut, how it
feels like to be all dressed up and it must have been such a fantastic experience to live with
wild animals.
He is asked how and where he learned to drive even though he’s been driving since he
was a teenager. He has to patiently answer all sorts of ridiculous questions including how
long he’s been in USA and where he learned to speak English so well.
Some people ask these questions because they are genuinely interested and curious
others because they perceived Africans as an extension of animals. More like bigger pets.
The good news however is that with patience and perseverance you can prove yourself, you
are at least offered that opportunity.
One of the things that make United States of America great is that it is indeed an equal
opportunity country, in some cases.
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