I am Igbo but I was born and raised in the UK. Unfortunately, my parents spoke to me in English so I don't fully understand the language (I am currently working on rectifying that!) but I did grow up with Igbo culture in my life whilst being a kid living in London.

I understand that Naija born Igbos will see people like me being different because I did not have a full Naija upbringing but it disappointments when some are so quick to assume that you don't belong or care about your culture. Some Naija borns have criticised my inability to speak Igbo fluently or my few visits to my homeland yet they will not offer any advice on how to become more engaged and will sneer at my attempts to practise Igbo with them!

It's also ridiculous at how surprised some people get when I show knowledge of Nigerian current affairs, music and literature.

I may be a Nigerian born in the UK but I am still a Nigerian. Maybe not in the same way Nigerian borns are, I guess you can say i'm somewhat diluted, but there is enough concentrate to make me a Nigerian!

@ Nkeon, I'm in the exact same position as you. They try to belittle you because feel this is the one area they can look down on someone who was "born abroad". They feel they have to take you down a peg or two. If their concern was genuine they would be suggesting solutions, rather than reveling in your area of inadequacy. They do it alllllll the time and at every opportunity, yet most of them hardly know what is going on in their country since they left it.
They are also right, you may not be the same as someone who was born and brought up there, but you ARE Igbo and the culture stands by it. You are from where your father is from, FULL STOP, it needs no other qualification. Do you know the amount of people who are born and bred in Nigeria and cant speak their native tongue, or worse pretend not to? Dont even mind them.

Just try and find someone who is British born/raised who speaks Igbo to teach you. There are resources you can buy also, just google search them, good luck!

I can't stand the expressions:

- You have been brainwashed 

- You are now more Italian than Nigerian 

Imagine someone is stu.pid enough to suggest you date white guys because you are no longer Nigerian. 

And these same people don't know jack about what is going on in Nigeria. Ha wa oooo

@poster
why the hell do you need any recognition from them?
be who you are and to hell with what others think. . . . . .

if your friends tells you that not being born in 9ja or not speaking igbo/yoruba automatically means that you dont belong OR care about the culture then i suggest you look for mature educated friends to hang out with.

life is to precious to be wasted on trying to justify other people's complex.

I understand that Naija born Igbos will see people like me being different because I did not have a full Naija upbringing but it disappointments when some are so quick to assume that you don't belong or care about your culture. Some Naija borns have criticised my inability to speak Igbo fluently or my few visits to my homeland yet they will not offer any advice on how to become more engaged and will sneer at my attempts to practise Igbo with them!

Na wa o. Is it really a critique or just mere jabs? You are taking it too far.

Nkeon:

I am Igbo but I was born and raised in the UK. Unfortunately, my parents spoke to me in English so I don't fully understand the language (I am currently working on rectifying that!) but I did grow up with Igbo culture in my life whilst being a kid living in London.

I understand that Naija born Igbos will see people like me being different because I did not have a full Naija upbringing but it disappointments when some are so quick to assume that you don't belong or care about your culture. Some Naija borns have criticised my inability to speak Igbo fluently or my few visits to my homeland yet they will not offer any advice on how to become more engaged and will sneer at my attempts to practise Igbo with them!

It's also ridiculous at how surprised some people get when I show knowledge of Nigerian current affairs, music and literature.

I may be a Nigerian born in the UK but I am still a Nigerian. Maybe not in the same way Nigerian borns are, I guess you can say i'm somewhat diluted, but there is enough concentrate to make me a Nigerian!

i dont believe that you guys actually know a bit about nigerians from the statements you made.nigerians do not believe in place of birth but rather on tribe,blood and dna.an imo man born in anambra does not see himself as citizen of anambra but a settler.it is thesame with an igboman born in europe.same with yoruba and all nigerians.that of speaking igbo is a different issue.i've met some igbos born and bred in their village but cannot speak igbo because of their parents strict adherence to english.

@ Abagworo

i dont believe that you guys actually know a bit about nigerians from the statements you made.nigerians do not believe in place of birth but rather on tribe,blood and dna.an imo man born in anambra does not see himself as citizen of anambra but a settler.it is thesame with an igboman born in europe.same with yoruba and all nigerians.that of speaking igbo is a different issue.i've met some igbos born and bred in their village but cannot speak igbo because of their parents strict adherence to english.

You've kind of proved my point by stating that I don't know ANYTHING about Nigerians because you spotted one, what you considered an error!
Actually, I DO understand Nigerians identify with their tribes, that's one thing my dad did teach me! However, it appears not all Nigerians share that philosophy as some tend to associate others with their birth place.

Dude, I hope you are not taking beer parlour banter seriously??

@Abagworo, your attitude is exactly what we are talking about. Nkeon obviously knows we identify through tribe, hence she stated that she was IGBO. I would have thought that obvious.

Some Nigerians of today DO believe that those born outside are not Nigerians, because even when you go to Nigeria, they may call you OYINBO, the same as a foreigner.

To me, noone can tell me I'm not Nigerian or Igbo, whether I speak or not.

Thanks Londoner. Nice to see we're on the same page!
I admire your stance as well!

ok poster

let tell u one reason that they igbo guys didn't call u igbo is because i didn't speak igbo, for instance a igbo guy who live in South East before travel aboard when ever they meet their fellow igbo people they will like to talk in their native language. and some of u guys are the coz of this things, u guys like to call urself British than Nigerian.

8 words:

ok poster

let tell u one reason that they igbo guys didn't call u igbo is because i didn't speak igbo, for instance a igbo guy who live in South East before travel aboard when ever they meet their fellow igbo people they will like to talk in their native language. and some of u guys are the coz of this things, u guys like to call urself British than Nigerian.

You need more words and grammar!

How can someone born outside of Nigeria be a Nigerian, unless [s]he has  dual citizenship? Is "Nigerian" no longer a nationality?
Also, I would think that tribe and ethnicity is a separate discussion from [not] being Nigerian.

ChinenyeN:

How can someone born outside of Nigeria be a Nigerian, unless [s]he has  dual citizenship? Is "Nigerian" no longer a nationality?
Also, I would think that tribe and ethnicity is a separate discussion from [not] being Nigerian.

Yes, I'm not talking in terms of nationality. I don't have dual citizenship so of course my nationality isn't Nigerian.

So then, are you talking in terms of tribe and ethnicity, Nkeon?

ChinenyeN:

So then, are you talking in terms of tribe and ethnicity, Nkeon?

Yes I am. I know I made statement in my original post about being 'Nigerian' but the issue I wanted to highlight is still Igbo in terms of ethnicity and identity.

EDITED ::
Oh okay, well, as far as I know, in regards to ethnicity and identity, the emphasis isn't on where you were born. For example, I was born in Lagos. So as far as the Nigerian government is concerned, I'm Lagosian, but as far as my people are concerned I'm Ngwa.

Well I was born and raised in the UK, DONT speak Igbo and yes, I have a Nigerian passport (got it last year). I was able to do that because I am Igbo, so it all goes hand in hand to tell you the truth.

You guys are taking it too far. The oyinbo comments are not to be taken seriously. I can see why they say you need more Nigerianess. It's just the same way you call an American woman fat and she begins to have serious self esteem issues. Not saying you have self-esteem issues.
I don't think the critique you get is more than the ones I have received since I was born and bred in Nigeria but still can't speak Igbo. You have a reason because you were born in a foreign land, what is my own?
But I see these things as mere jabs or pure comedy. You need to develop a thick skin when those comments are made unless if the person is becoming so sadistic about your Nigerianess, then you have a right to put him in his place.

Nigerians are identified by their tribes. Even if you were born in Kaduna and your parents are Igbo, you are Igbo. The same thing applies if you were born abroad, excluding the ones that don't want to identify with us.

Nkeon, thanks for clearing that up, I was thinking the same thing as ChinenyeN. Technically, one is from where they were born, most Nigerians born here consider themselves Americans or Nigerian-Americans. But like londoner said, if you have a Nigerian passport, you can claim both Even if you don't have one, it's left to you to decide your identity.

I don't know the severity of these criticisms you talk about, the ones I've experienced are merely jokes and nothing to get bothered over. If they are not jokes, then maybe those people feel threatened by something you do. Really, who goes about having a headache about what one's identity should or shouldn't be?

Well I always considered myself american.

@chinenyeN.internationally,one is a citizen of where he or she was born but in nigeria,you are a citizen of your grandfather's village.igbos born in lagos cannot contest for elections as full citizens.you as an ngwa,if you were born in umuahia just very close to your ancestral land,you will still be seen as an ngwa.

Dang, u got time for folks tryna tell YOU that you're not Nigerian? WTF? Do they work for the Nigerian immigration and naturalization services?

ghettochyk:

Dang, u got time for folks tryna tell YOU that you're not Nigerian? WTF? Do they work for the Nigerian immigration and naturalization services?

LOL, good one. . .

If your parents are from Nigeria then you're a Nigeria
Unless none of your parents is from Nigeria
Then you wouldn't be a Nigerian.

ghettochyk:

Dang, u got time for folks tryna tell YOU that you're not Nigerian? WTF? Do they work for the Nigerian immigration and naturalization services?

Lol, thanks; I probably needed that!

mama-gee:

If your parents are from Nigeria then you're a Nigeria
Unless none of your parents is from Nigeria
Then you wouldn't be a Nigerian.

Thats not true. If your parent are Nigerian that doesn't make you Nigerian. It only makes you a Nigerian nationl. There is a difference.

Just as there is with an American and an American citizen. One is cultural the other is national.

A child of two british parents who is born in Greece and grew up in greece culturally is a greek person though they may claim british nationality.

Wow, seriously? The Igbo born in Lagos cannot contest as full citizens? I guess ethnicity is much more institutionalized in Nigeria than I thought. If only this level of institutionalization would coerce people into developing their regions. . . if only.

As someone born and bred in Britain, I identify fully as a Briton of Urhobo ethnicity. Nigeria is too diverse (250+ ethnic groups with their own unique languages, style of dress and food) to start claiming it patriotically and nationally when I was neither born or grew up there.

ChinenyeN:

Wow, seriously? The Igbo born in Lagos cannot contest as full citizens? I guess ethnicity is much more institutionalized in Nigeria than I thought. If only this level of institutionalization would coerce people into developing their regions. . . if only.

Exactly and Nigerians have the nerve to look as us in the diaspora and call us 'Second class' citizens.


This is the reason why I personally think it is stupid to try and claim one's father's land as you own when you have not lived his life or shared his life experiences. In short why should I try to fit in when I don't? I would rather find others like me, born and bought up in the UK to African, Nigerian, Urhobo or other foreign parents to identify with as I would probably have more in common with them than someone born and bred in Nigeria .

Had Obama being born in Nigeria to Kenyan parents he would never have been allowed to contest for leadership in the country of his birth. I know plenty of Non-Yoruba families who have been in Lagos for generations, operated businesses, paid taxes and contributed to society in the state but their descendants would never ever be able claim state benefits of scholarships that are set aside for 'indigenous' residents of the state. The story is the same throughout Nigeria. Some can even be deported from a Nigerian state to their Nigerian state of origin. Imagine that BS going down in the US or the UK?

In Nigeria you are from where our father came from. We must not copy copy british or US. why can;t we have our own identity. If you are born in Uk and you chose to be called British good for you and don't worry when people call you one. You trying to be Nigerian when you are chose british means that you are neither here nor there. The idea of half Nigerian half british is nonsense. If your father is a Nigerian your are automatically a nigerian. Some Oyibo will ask a black person who tell him he/she is brit " Where do you come from originally" that question makes you a fake brit simple and that is what you are to him/her.

olabukola:

In Nigeria you are from where our father came from. We must not copy copy british or US. why can;t we have our own identity. If you are born in Uk and you chose to be called British good for you and don't worry when people call you one. You trying to be Nigerian when you are chose british means that you are neither here nor there. The idea of half Nigerian half british is nonsense. If your father is a Nigerian your are automatically a nigerian. Some Oyibo will ask a black person who tell him he/she is brit " Where do you come from originally" that question makes you a fake brit simple and that is what you are to him/her.

You worry too much about what the oyibo man thinks and says. In any case only ignorant white people will ask you that and in most cases it is when the person who they are speaking to clearly has a non British accent. If I came across a person with an accent that was claiming to be British I would also want to know more about that person's cultural background to determine where the accent came from.

FACT: If you were born in the UK before 1982 or were born after 1982 and spent the first ten years of your life there then you cannot be deported. You are British to the bone no matter what anyone says. Calling someone a 'fake brit' because of their colour is racist.

FACT! A Nigerian can be deported from one part of Nigeria to another. i.e. A Nigerian originally descended from the Eastern part of Nigeria but who has spent most of their life in Lagos can be deported back to the father's land in another part of Nigeria. That is BS and needs to stop. My father was born in a mud hut in a small village in the Delta region of Nigeria. Should I and my descendants forever claim that mud hut in the village as our own and disregard all my life experiences of being born and raised in a different land , Please?


Say I want to live in Nigeria, the land of my father but choose to live in Abuja, whose to say that I won't be deported from there to the village my father was born?

http://allafrica.com/stories/200910090721.html

There is a very worrying trend that is rearing its ugly head in many states of Nigeria. This trend sees many Governors expelling Nigerians from a state they have chosen to live and forcefully sending them back to their so called "States of Origin" for non-just cable reasons.

For want of a better term to describe this very strange practice by some state governments, I will refer to it here after as "internal deportation". Deportation by its very legal definition has to do with deportation of an alien out of a country either because he was not legally supposed to be in the deporting country or because he has committed a crime.

The trend started a few months back in Lagos when the state government in it's mega -city drive on various occasions expelled so called destitutes loaded them unto buses and sent them back to their so called states of Origin.

The whole business of claiming one's father's land as your very own and disregarding the culture and country or city you were born and grew up in is silly and not to mention retarded that is why Nigerians born and raised in Nigeria will laugh at you because they feed on your insecurities. Yes by all means recognise and embrace your family background, ethnicity and culture ( I do - Urhobo for life ) but don't go the extra mile trying to be what you are not. An Igbo or Urhobo girl born and raised in the UK or US is dramatically different culturally from one born and raised in Nigeria whether you like to admit it or not. Your father has his land and you have yours and God bless the child that has his own.