The Nigeria Complex

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the dominant power in West Africa.  Its products, cinema, and people spread far beyond its own borders, and as the world’s eighth largest oil exporter, its fuel is the lifeblood of the region.  However, Nigeria does not have a good reputation in Ghana.  As the Vietnamese perceive China and many Canadians regard the U.S., so Ghanaians seem to view Nigerians.  Officially the relationship is friendly and cordial, but among many Ghanaians that I’ve spoken with they seem to view Nigeria with both suspicion and resentment.  Nigeria is big, it’s loud, and I get the impression that many regard it as domineering.

 In 2006 when Nigeria put a ban on certain Ghanaian products like textiles it made many businesses very angry; and in February when a few Ghanaians living in Nigeria were rumored to have been roughed up following Ghana’s defeat of Nigeria in the African footfall championships it only furthered this displeasure.  The relationship between the two countries reminds me of a quote by Canada’s former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.  In reference to the United States, Trudeau said, “Living next to you is like sleeping with an elephant; no matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”  Yet I don’t think that the tense feelings towards Nigerians necessarily depends on policy, but often speaks to a human desire to be noticed. 

Just as people want to be noticed by their peers so do people want their country to be noticed.  I find this with myself and other Canadians as well.  “Americans can’t even name the capital of Canada”, I’ve lamented and heard from others Canadians as well.  Many Ghanaians that I’ve spoken with complain, “Nigerians don’t care about anything that happens outside of Nigeria”.  I think that the smaller countries in these dichotomies often turn to bitterness as a way of dealing with this inferiority complex.  We Canadians often have a lovely way of spinning this inferiority complex into a superiority complex by boasting about our health-care system when compared to the Yanks, as well as our inclination towards peacekeeping compared with the American war-machine. Yet I doubt if other countries would think a health-care system ranked 30^th by the WHO and the 50^th most generous peacekeeping nation in terms of troop commitments to UN missions is anything to boast about.  Yet Canada has so much to brag about, but often seems consumed with defining itself not by who it is, but by who it isn’t.  The same I find in Ghana.  Ghana is a model of stability in West Africa, its government is trusted by foreign donors and aid agencies, and most importantly, its people must be regarded as some of the most friendly in the world.  Just as Canadians should not use the crutch of anti-Americanism to define what they stand for, so Ghanaians need not stand against Nigeria in order to see themselves in the mirror.  Ghana is defined by its people and in that respect they have much to be proud of.