In My country, any visitor to Nigeria is in for a cultural adventure. One thing we all have in common though, is the importance we attach to greeting. This has somehow spilled over from our cultural heritage, to become very much part of our urban life and indeed, to some extent, has also crept into our corporate world.
The intermittent bleeping of my cell phone this morning, underlined this fact, as I received text message after text message, from various friends, well-wishers and even staff, greeting me on the commencement of a new month and praying down God’s blessings and protection over me and mine for the month of July. These messages have become a regular feature at the beginning of each new month and indeed week, in some instances.
One of the highest forms of offense in Nigeria is not to respond appropriately to a greeting. Yesterday, for example, I stepped into an elevator in the offices of a multinational company and politely greeted two expatriate staff, who promptly ignored me and continued with their conversation, as if I didn’t exist. The lady who was with me and I exchanged glances and smiled. What went through our minds was that it would not hurt at all for foreign visitors to receive some orientation as regards Nigerian Etiquette.
There is no better place to start, than with the Art of Greeting. Below are some tips, which you can share with would-be first-time visitors to Nigeria.
- Answer every greeting. In a business situation, shake hands with all present, but wait for the lady to extend her hand first, as there may be religious considerations.
- Be prepared to be asked after the wellbeing of your family.
- Upon a second or third meeting, be prepared to be greeted with a heightened degree of familiarity.
- The person who enters the house/room/office/elevator is expected to greet first.
- The younger/subordinate greets the elder/superior first.
- In traditional settings, you are expected to bow or stoop before a Traditional Ruler, Titled Chief, or an Elder. The older person always extends his/her hand first to a younger person.
- As a mark of maximum respect, the younger person often receives the outstretched hand of an elder with both of his/hers or supports his/her right forearm with his/her left.
- Females of any age often courtesy as a mark of respect when greeting an older person, while the men bow, stoop or prostrate.
The advent of modern technology has in no way diminished the practice of greeting. What was in times past expressed through genuflection and prostrating, is now expressed through flowery, eloquent words of blessing and goodwill;
Below is the text of the first July text message greeting I received this morning. “Welcome to the month of July. 7 is the number of perfections. May the God of perfection prevail in your affairs this month.
Exactly that is my prayer for you; Happy New Month!