The Culture of Nigeria, Speech Example

Introduction

• Introduction to cultural aspects in Nigeria
• People and communities
• Political background
• Thesis statement

Nigeria has a colorful and diverse ethnic cultural society. The country supports some 50 different languages and 250 dialects. The largest of these are the northern dwellers (Hausa-Fulani), the south east inhabitants (Igbo) and the south western people of the Yoruba. The middle section of people are mainly Muslim whilst others support Christianity and other deities. There is a darker side to the culture that consists of human rights violations and a culture of rape. Tribal wars that often focus upon religious differences and the displacement of people from their homes. Nigeria is an important oil producing country and much of the wealth is consumed by rich corrupt government officials supported by the military. This detracts from distribution of the wealth to the people and the development of cultural pursuits in society. (Falola)

Analysis

• Corruption and its impact on culture in Nigeria
• Types of cultural activities in Nigeria
• Influence of English language in Nigeria
• Passion of soccer and sports

It has been argued that Nigeria is a culture shrouded in corruption. Its’ concentration is focused on the generation of oil production that is syphoned off by corrupt officials and this negates from cultural improvements within Nigerian society. The people are acutely aware of this problem but so far have not been able to do anything to stop this. (Smith). Traditional cultures in Nigeria focus around different types of masquerades and folk music; this often accompanied by the Gongon drums. The English have widely influenced cultural development and the language is widely spoken amongst the Nigerian people. More recently the younger people have great interest in Soccer with the African League of Nations and the influence of English Clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Nigeria has a national team called the Super Eagles and FIFA considers this to be the top soccer club in Africa. (Oluonye)

References

Falola, Toyin. Culture and Customs of Nigeria. London UK: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001.

Oluonye, Mary N. Nigeria. London: Lerner Publications, 2007.

Smith, Daniel Jordan. A Culture of Corruption :Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010.