After returning back to my home in Nigeria I was immersed in a culture that was all to familiar and simultaneously foreign. 20 years is a long time to be gone from a place that used to be all I knew. I hope that the new knowledge I will be sharing impacts your life and enhances you as a person.
One of the first things I noticed after returning to Nigeria was how westernized everything has become. The native people of Africa are now wearing more western styled clothing in place of the traditional African patterns, they are also speaking english regularly and have even adapted to using American figures of speech. Even though the electricity was inconsistent, the weather is different and of course the infrastructure of roads has still not come up to North American standards, the country was heavily laced with westernized values.
Having spent more time as an adult in America than my upbringing in Africa, I’m so grateful to understand my native language and it felt amazing to communicate in my native tongue. It honestly disappointed me to see the increased pursuit of western culture was causing Nigerians to start to losing their roots. It was striking to meet kids who are Nigerian citizens with two Nigerian parents that only know English!
As people who are African, Korean, or any ethnicity -- we need to remember that our ethnic heritage is special. We should never be afraid, ashamed or embarrassed about our roots. Every culture has it’s pitfall and highlights, Yoruba culture for example is very petty on its respect for authority and how we communicate between age groups. It can be especially cringe worthy pertaining how we depict roles in marriage; relationships between husband and wife in Nigeria can consistently be found as abusive or insensitive to the needs of women. Contrasting hashly to white American culture that can be easily misunderstood as making men feel passive or encouraging passivity in the household. Every culture has its extreme nature and patterns. The most important thing to remember is that your culture, whatever it may be, is a gift from God. Our languages, skin tones, origins, and identity determinants are all gifts from God. We should never worship our culture, but we should treasure it and cherish it.
What does it mean to cherish our culture?
A healthy way of cherishing our culture is simply respecting it, remaining grateful, sharing parts of it with others, and passing on the stories of our ancestry. Our ancestors and the components that make our respective countries unique deserve celebration. The Lord has made the body of Christ in a beautiful gradient of skin tones, hair textures, and languages for divine reasons. Generations to come should still have pieces of the past running through their veins.
What does it mean to treasure our culture?
A healthy way of treasuring our culture is teaching our children their native language, maintaining our traditional clothing styles, and keeping certain customs alive. Even though technology is advancing and global communication is improving we should not start to simulate to one plain world. Keep your culture alive and cherish it in a way that would honor the people who came before you.
- Remember to always worship God for your heritage and the heritages of others
- Find other cultures that have a better style in terms of communication, common practices, or quality of life we should embrace the knowledge, but not adapt to a level in which we are not recognizable.
- Respect other cultures .No culture is perfect and no culture should be worshipped, but they are all valuable to the Kingdom of God.
Each heritage is equal and loved in the Lord’s eyes, so keep that spirit of inclusivity in your heart.
Respectfully,
Pastor James Owolabi
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