1. Preparations:
Preparations
for the interview
For my interview, I first came up with a list of 12 questions. I knew as
the interview went on, I would develop more, but I wanted to have a solid 12 to
start out with. I also developed a list of objectives that I wanted to achieve
by the end of this interview. I wanted to learn about Nigeria, learn how
we differ in things such as school and politics. I wanted to know the
experience about coming to America. And about their culture as a whole. I first
started out by doing a little research about Nigeria, just to gain some idea on
what to expect.
How
Did You Approach People?
To find a student from Nigeria was simple for me. One of my best friends
is from Nigeria, so I just chose to interview him. So approaching him was easy!
When,
Where, and How did you Conduct the Interview?
To conduct my interview with Celestine, we set up a time to meet. We met
Thursday, November 1. We met at my apartment in the morning. Since he is like
my best friend, meeting him at my apartment was fine. I made coffee and muffins
for us before we started the interview.
Whom
did you Interview?
I interviewed Celestine.
He is a graduate student here at SCSU.
2. Interview Report:
Describe
the Interview
The interview went extremely well. He has been here
in Minnesota for over eight years, so he spoke awesome and was easy to
understand. He knew a lot about his country and was very interesting to sit and
talk to. It surprised me how similar but yet how different Nigeria and United
States are.
3. Country
Report
Nigeria
is located in western Africa. It’s neighboring countries are Cameroon, Niger,
and Benin and also borders the Gulf of Guinea. The capital of Nigeria is Abuja,
but its largest city is Lagos. Alone Lagos has nearly 15 million people. The
terrain of Nigeria ranges anywhere from swamp, tropical forest, woodlands,
grasslands, and semi-dessert in the far north.
The
people of Nigeria are mostly Christian and Muslims. But there are some
indigenous religions. The population of Nigeria is over 160 million people.
Some of the major ethnic groups are Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, and Kanuri.
Those are the largest groups. The official language of Nigeria is English, but
Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Fulani, Kanuri are the other major languages.
The
government of Nigeria is Federal Republic. Nigeria gained its independence on
October 1, 1960. The country of Nigeria is divided into 36 states. The economy
of Nigeria consist of the following: Natural resources include, oil, natural
gas, tin, columbite, iron, ore, coal, limestone, lead, and zinc. Some agricultural
resources include: cocoa, palm oil, yams, cassava, sorghum, millet, corn, rice,
livestock, groundnuts, and cotton. Industries include: tetiles, cement, food
products, footwear, metal products, lumber, beer, detergents, and car assembly.
Trade wise, Nigeria exports $101.1 billion, petroleum and petroleum products
(99%); agricultural products, and manufactured goods. Nigeria’s main trading
partners are United States, India, Brazil, and Spain. Nigeria imports about
$67.36 billion in machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, and manufactured
goods. And the currency of Nigeria is Naira, and as of April 2012, one US
dollar was 157.5 Nairas.
Nigeria
is the United States largest trading partner is sub-Saharan Africa, largely due
to high levels of petroleum. Nigeria is the 5th largest exporter of
oil to the United States. Also, after the United Kingdom, United States is its
largest trading partner. The United States is the largest investor in Nigeria. The stock of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nigeria
in 2010 was $5.2 billion, down slightly from $5.4 billion in 2009. U.S. FDI in
Nigeria is concentrated largely in the petroleum/mining and wholesale trade
sectors. ExxonMobil and Chevron are the two largest U.S. corporate players in
offshore oil and gas production.
Nigeria
is the most populous country in Africa. It accounts for over half of West
Africa’s population. Although 25% of Nigerians are urban dwellers, at least 24
cities in Nigeria have 100,000 people or more. Nigeria has 250 ethnic groups
that comprise Nigeria. This creates a variety of customs, languages, and
traditions, which makes Nigeria a country of rich diversity. The major ethnic
group is Hausa-Fulani, which is about 2/3 of Nigerians. The Yoruba people are predominant in the southwest.
About half of the
Yorubas are Christian and half Muslim. The predominantly Catholic Igbo are the
largest ethnic group in the southeast, with the Efik, Ibibio, and Ijaw
comprising a substantial segment of the population in that area. Persons of
different language backgrounds most commonly communicate in English, although
knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is widespread. Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo,
Fulani, and Kanuri are the most widely used Nigerian languages.
The
history of Nigeria is interesting. In the northern cities of Kano and Katsina,
history dates back to about 1000 AD (that has been recorded). In the centuries
that followed, these Hausa kingdoms and the Bornu empire near Lake Chad
prospered as important terminals of north-south trade between North African
Berbers and forest people. These people exchanged everything from slaves to
ivory, and kola nuts for salt, glass beads, coral, cloth, weapons, brass rods,
and cowrie shells used as currency. Nigeria gained full independence in October
1960, as a federation of three regions (northern, western, and eastern) . Under
a constitution that provided for a parliamentary form of government. Under the
constitution, each of the three regions retained a substantial measure of
self-government. The federal government was given exclusive powers in defense
and security, foreign relations, and commercial and fiscal policies. In October
1963, Nigeria altered its relationship with the United Kingdom by proclaiming
itself a federal republic and promulgating a new constitution. A fourth region
(the midwest) was established that year. A constituent assembly was elected in
1977 to draft a new constitution. This of which was published September 21,
1978, when the ban on political activity, in effect since the advent of
military rule, was lifted. Political parties were now formed, and candidates
were nominated for president and vice president. The two houses of the National
Assembly, governorships, and state houses of assembly were created. In 1979,
five political parties competed in a series of elections in which a northerner,
Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), was elected
president. All five parties won representation in the National Assembly.
The
government today; 1999 constitution provides for a bicameral National Assembly
consisting of a 360-member House of Representatives and a 109-member Senate.
The president heads the executive branch. The judiciary includes a Supreme
Court and lower courts.
Resources (all information was
paraphrased from the following)
4.
Transcribe the interview:
B: Brittany: Interviewer
C: Celestine: Interviewee
B: Good Morning, thank you for meeting me here
C: Good Morning, and you are welcome
B: First off, I would just like to say thank you
for agreeing to this interview and helping me today
C: Not a problem
B: Ok lets get started
B: My first question, Could you tell me about
yourself? For example what is your name and where are you from.
C: Sure, My name is Celestine and I am originally
from Nigeria.
B: What city from Nigeria are you from?
C: I grew up in Lagos
B: Is that the capital?
C: No, the capital is Abuja, but Lagos is the
largest city in Nigeria
B: Oh that is neat. So tell me, why did you choose
to attend St. Cloud State University?
C: I chose St. Cloud State because it was one of
the most affordable colleges here in Minnesota and in the United States as a
whole.
B: What are you studying?
C: I studied finance and marketing.
B: What year are you in school?
C: I have finished my undergrad and now working on
my masters. It is my first year in working on my masters.
B: Ok, that’s cool. So before we get to specific
questions on your country, what would you like to tell me about Nigeria first?
C: Well, Nigeria is the most populous black nation
in the world today. I think the population of Nigeria is nearly 170 million
people.
B: Wow that is a lot
C: Yup, and Nigeria has a democratic government
B: Oh ok, we will talk politics later, that is one
of my questions, ha
C: ok, Nigeria also has more that 200 tribes and
has more than 150 languages.
B: That is a lot, language is another question we
will get too later!
C: My last fact that I know is, Nigeria is one of
the biggest oil producing country in Africa and I think we are 5th
in the world of oil production if I’m not mistaken. But I could be wrong.
B: Oh, I never knew that, interesting
C: Yup
B: Ok, now for some specific questions, ready?
C: Yes, ask me anything!
B: Can you tell me about activities that young
people like to do in your country?
C: They prefer to hang out, watch sports especially soccer. Nigeria
youth love music; they consider music as an inspirational tool for day to day
life.
B: What are major holidays in your country?
C: The major Holiday would include: Easter, New Year, Independence, Christmas,
and Ramadan to mention a few.
B: What is your traditional food and if you could please name and
explain what it is that would be awesome?
C: Nigeria has so many delicious foods. My main traditional food will be
edikang ikong. Which is Sort of a vegetable soup, with fufu or Garri to eat
with.
B: How is the political system of your country structured?
C: Like I said earlier my country practice democracy and its system of
government is Presidential system and all government representative are voted
for through a voting system called the Electoral College.
B: What are your country's major religions?
C: The major religions would be:
Christian and Muslims. But there are other religion that are not popular too
like the: Hindu, traditional worshippers and so on.
B: What’s considered offensive in your country?
C: Looking at an adult in the eye when they are talking to you.
B: That is so much different from here, if you don’t look someone in the
eye, that is rude
C: Yeah it’s different
B: What do you perceive as differences between your culture and the
American culture?
C: American is a closed culture while Nigeria is an open culture. Where
all culture is being respected, no matter where you find yourself in the
country
B: What do you houses look like in Nigeria?
C: Most houses in my country are made with bricks unlike what is seen
here in the U.S and they have big fences that surround them.
B: Why a big fence?
C: For security reasons
B: Oh that makes sense, when I was in South Africa all the house had
fences too with some kind of barb wired or spikes at the top. That interesting
C: Yup you will see that
B: What are you marriage traditions? For Example, how does a guy go about
asking a girl?
C: The marriage situation in Nigeria is one wife one man. Sometime the
Muslims are okay with one Man numerous wives. But no gay marriages whatsoever
B: What is your public transportation like?
C: They are usually bus transportation, with few trains. Air transport
is also common as well as water transportation.
B: Do you drive mostly or walk, or use motorcycles?
C: We drive only if the distance is up to like 50miles otherwise there
are people who chose not to drive to a distance that is less than 10miles.
Walking is common.
B: What language is you native language?
C: Ibibio is my Native language
B: So how many languages can you speak?
C: I can speak about 4 or 5 native languages of my country. But I can
speak 6 or 7 languages all together.
B: What is your school system like from ages 3-graduate high school…
like boarding school or something like that?
C: We have the usual Kindergarten, elementary, junior high, senior high,
college, post graduate and graduate schools.
B: Do you have boarding schools at all?
C: Boarding school is just an option for most families to choose from. So
yes, we do have some.
B: Does Nigeria have more big stores or markets?
C: There are more of markets than stores in Nigeria
B: What are the markets like?
C: The traditional road side selling or kiosk otherwise the stores are
in specific area
B: Oh ok cool
B: So, tell me about your family. How many siblings do you have,
parents, where are you siblings living now?
C: To start with, my Dad is passed away, but I have a brother and 4
sisters plus my mom
B: Do all your siblings still live in Nigeria?
C: No, my brother is in London, and my sisters are all over, but my mom
is still in Nigeria
B: Is there anything you would like to add before we end our interview?
C: Nothing really, just that Nigeria is one of the richest countries in
the African region and in the world at large, but; corruption is the order of
the day.
B: Do you have any questions for me?
C: How about you tell me what you think about
Nigeria!!!
B: Ha ok, well I think it sounds like a nice
country and a interesting place to visit!
C: Ha ok
B: Thank you Celestine for helping me today
C: Not a problem, anytime I get to talk about my
country for an hour it is a good day
B: Well I am glad I got to interview you then. Have
a great rest of your day!
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