Similarities Between Nigeria And America

One question that is frequently directed towards me is “where do you prefer living: Nigeria or America?” Unfortunately, I cannot really answer that question because both places are completely different in my eyes. I have come to the realization that I am torn between two places I dearly love. Nigeria, my homeland, was my first love and where I spent majority of my childhood. America, the land of great opportunities, was where I cultivated most of the beliefs I brought from Nigeria. Although both countries share my common love for them, they differ on the grounds of education, lifestyle, gender role, diversity, and norms. I remember when I first came to America and my mom took me to register for school. There is not enough words to describe how surprised I was to find out that I will be attending a public school. In Nigeria, there are three major types of school you could attend. On top of the list were international schools, schools that follow the
It is no surprise that developing countries and developed countries have different gender roles. In America, we are taught that both the husband and wife can be head; they can pay bills together, take care of the kids together, and provide moral support for one another. In Nigeria, the husband is the head; he goes to work, provides money for the meal, pays for his children’s school fees, and puts down money for their clothes and shoes. The wife, however, is the neck, torso, and appendage. She cleans the house, takes the money the husband makes, use it to cook him hot dinner every day, buys the kids what they need, compensates her husband with “good sex,” and provide everybody support. In America, the changing of last name after marriage signifies marriage. In Nigeria, it signifies that the husband now owns a new property. After all, the husband had to pay a bride price before receiving her family’s