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| Cultural Dimensions of Expatriate Life in Nigeria |  | Manufacturer: William Drake & Associates
Category: EBooks
List Price: $9.95
Buy New: $7.96
You Save: $1.99 (20%)
Sales Rank: 98647
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Edition: First Electronic Edition
ASIN: B001EQ640E
Publication Date: August 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
"Cultural Dimensions - Nigeria" reflects the author's love of West Africa, as well as the combined observations and experiences of many other expatriates whose views have contributed to this book. Here is a brief sample of the kind of "street-smart" information you will encounter throughout the book.
Nearly all rural Nigerians and even many urban dwellers, including many Muslims believe in the existence of nature spirits. These are spirits that animate water, trees, rocks, etc. In some areas there will be a special Chief in charge of a shrine to a particular spirit. Many Nigerians believe in the power of these spirits to help and to harm. Illness, injury and death are often attributed to a strong juju cast by an enemy, and drought and famine are seen as signs of the anger of these spirits, while equally often good fortune and good crops, along with healthy children and productive animals are attributed to the positive spirits.
African culture is rich in spiritual experience throughout everyday life because spiritual experience is not limited to formal practices and ceremonies but occurs many times a day as a person goes about the ordinary tasks of living like working, communicating, eating, talking, or thinking. Westerners tend to pride themselves on not being superstitious, and may sometimes characterize the kinds of beliefs they flatter themselves to think that they observe among Africans as primitive or magical. This kind of culturally biased observation may appear to have little to do with technical or business issues, however, West Africa is not kind to Western managers and technical experts who fail to understand the power of the unseen.
For many Africans, especially those who are not technically or broadly educated, the world is full of unseen forces that act on people and on mechanical systems as well. When a complex system begins behaving erratically or breaks down, the Western analytical mind immediately begins to look for the mechanical or electrical cause, and only jokes about bugs and gremlins. From the traditional African point of view, a highly probable cause of any given system failure would be what Westerners call magic or witchcraft. Many educated Africans reject the notion that they are affected by such thinking, but that rejection may sometimes be due to concern for how their western colleagues would judge them if they admitted even an academic interest in the topic.
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