There must be something exciting about Nigeria that has prompted practically every famous person who has visited the country to yearn to return, and those who have not – wished to visit at least once in their lives.
It is a well-known fact that tourists usually prefer safari areas when visiting Africa, despite Nigeria’s excellent heritage of hosting traditional cultural and popular sites centers that British colonizers so much admired.
Even with that, Nigeria is currently adored because of its people’s never-ending energy, the abundance of natural attractions, local and international cuisine, and a raucous and internationally recognized entertainment industry.
According to Forsige, this bustle experience made Nigeria one of the most visited places by celebrities, prominent personalities, and world business individuals after South Africa.
Consider Nigeria as if it were your home country; it has practically everything your home country has to offer, plus more. The country’s population makes it exceptionally diverse in terms of experience. And the country’s varied geographical, ethnic, and linguistic conditions are open to presenting you its various lifestyles.
Above all, the purpose of this article is to provide a clear picture of why you should visit Nigeria at least once in your life.
1. The People: When visiting a new place, one of the first things to examine is the people who live there. Are they generally pleasant, will you be welcomed, and how would they value your presence? Despite the country’s economic difficulties, Nigerians remain among the happiest and friendliest people on the planet.
They are quite welcoming to visitors and their conversation is delightful. Most Nigerian families can choose to stay without fully feeding themselves, but they make every effort to ensure that visitors are properly fed.
A clear example of such a circumstance was the millions of dollars spent on Cardi B’s visit to the country by Nigerian artists such as Davido, Tiwa Savage including ordinary people. Though one would argue that it might be for her prominent as a celebrity.
A couple of Drew Binsky‘s experiences from the people which he shared on his YouTube channel could convince you.
The YouTuber traveled to Nigeria and conducted a tour of a few locations to see how the locals would respond. Even young boys who are still trying to survive offered to pay for the items he purchased, indicating that he was well received and given all required assistance and acknowledgment.
Also, while walking down the street in Lagos State, Nigeria, he was frequently called ‘Oyibo,’ which means ‘Whiteman,’ by someone he had never met before, and they would wave and sometimes stand to have a small conversation together without encountering any problems, and in most cases, many passersby would wait to join and prolong the question.
This is, in reality, a clear description of how Nigerians appear. People who are happy and hospitable without being prejudiced in any way.
2. The Food: It is unnecessary to compare the fact that Nigerians enjoy the most popular and arguably healthiest diet in Africa. There have been videos of foreigners from the United States, China, and the United Kingdom purchasing and eating Nigerian food in Nigerian restaurants in their home countries.
Among the best Nigerian foods to enjoy are Nigerian Jollof rice, Amala and Egusi with Beef and Pormo, Palm Wine, Eba with Beater Leaf and Ogbono, Effo-riro, and Yam Porridge.
In reality, most foreigners who have tried Nigerian food have a favorable opinion of it. recognizing the fact that it is quite tasty. Although, in most situations, many people fell in love with Nigerian Jollof Rice, Suya, Amala, and Akpu. However, there are other types of Nigerian food to try, all of which are incredibly nutritious and provide a significant amount of body nutrients.
Nigerian foods are usually spicy and chilly to eat. They are prepared using predominantly locally made ingredients such as sea salts, fresh onions, tomatoes, etc. And that is what makes them very healthy and nutritious. The uniqueness of these foods makes visitors always want to try them.
Nigerian food shares the same characteristic with the nature of the country, differing among ethnicity. Food eaten by Yoruba people in the country differs from that eaten by Igbo or Hausa people, therefore everyone has their own way of preparing meals and places higher importance on one type of food than another.
If you want to get a sense of how diverse the country’s food is and how tasty it is, eat from as many parts of the country as you can.
3. The Languages: Nigeria has very diverse languages due to its ethnic and tribal multiplicity. It contains around 500 spoken languages, with Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo standing out due to the fact that only these three major tribes are widely recognized owing to their population size.
Be that as it may, other languages that are of high significance in the country include Ebira, Igala, Fulfulde, Ibibio, Kanuri, Tiv, and many others.
Foreigners loved to visit Nigeria to learn one or two of the languages, and the most preferred among them are either Yoruba or Igbo due to the people’s globalization nature.
Nigerians are so proud of their language that they pay close attention to strangers speaking or attempting to speak it. A video from the Xiaomanyc YouTube channel, in which a white man speaks one of the languages, tells it all. It goes to the extent that even those that are not native of the language but are from Nigeria will recognize and welcome a person for speaking the language.
To surprise native speakers, the YouTuber mastered a few sentences in Yoruba and Igbo languages and visited Nigerian stores and eateries in the United Kingdom.
As the first person he encountered pulled in additional Nigerians in the store to see an ‘Oyibo’ speaking their language, he was respected, appreciated, and recognized for it.
4. The Culture: Nigeria has the most ethnic groups and tribes in Africa, making it culturally diverse. It is a true statement if one goes so far as to say that Nigerians are the most cultured people in Africa and among the top five in the world, as Nasiru Eneji Abdulrasheed claims.
Despite their colonial history, Nigerians remain cultural and apply it to everything that is offered to them. Nigerians’ transition of British English into their own tone, dubbed Pidgin English, is a good illustration of this. The Nigerian usual way of living is also thwarted to reflect the people’s culture, and another example is the Music, Religion, Education all of which are now products of colonization.
Nigerians are highly cultured individuals who place a high priority on their own way of life. This is why every important foreigner is usually greeted and shown off with the people’s traditions, such as dancing, food, arts, and a variety of other things that the people appear to hold to their beliefs.
According to history, when Sir Lugard arrived in Nigeria for the first time and settled in Lokoja, he was greeted by the landowners in the traditional style, rather than the European way. During Nelson Mandela’s trip to Nigeria, he was treated in a similar manner.
And that is the same thing that will apply to you. The Nigerian people would treat you with respect and amaze you with their cultural and traditional hospitality.
5. Tourist and Attraction Cites: Another significant aspect of your journey to Nigeria is to go to well-known and appealing locations. And one of the very few places you should consider visiting is event centers where entertaining performances are held; it is in fact one of the best places to enjoy Nigerian foods.
You could also visit holy or market places. Although not all holy places are a site for foreigners, you will have to consider getting guidance on your journey or you might end up getting consumed by the gods of the land. Check out my earlier article on how to travel safely in Nigeria.
You may also consider touring attraction cites like the Ibeno Beach, Obudu Mountain Resort, Ngwo Pine Forest, Awhum Waterfall, Gashaka Gumti National Park, Gurara Waterfalls, Yankari Game Reserve, Lekki Conservation Centre, the popular Zuma Rock in Abuja among other places. Whatever you do in Nigeria, you will definitely enjoy it.
