Disclaimer: "Please be nice to the cleaners, security etc. Just greet. Can you imagine going to work every day and people acting like you don't exist?" - @siyanyezi
Greeting is perceived to be an important part of the African culture. For the sake of this conversation, let's narrow it down to Nigeria.
So in Nigeria, from childhood, we are taught to greet people (our elders especially) as this is a sign of respect. Big props to the Yoruba people on this one, they have made greeting an art form.
In churches and big occasions, you can instantly know who is the "big man" in such gatherings just by the way people greet him/her.
"Ah! Daddy G.O good afternoon sir *kneels down*. How is family sir?"
But then how much do we encourage our children to greet those people in society who we consider "beneath us" - the driver, the cleaner at work, the security guy at the door of the bank, the help?
Right from childhood, my parents drummed it into our heads that we had to greet everybody regardless of their social standing. Trust me it wasn't fun then.
So whenever we went out with my mom say to the market for example, we would be standing beside her sheepishly(or impatiently, depending on the day) waiting for her to conduct her business. Oh and God help you the market woman opens her mouth to address you before you had the chance to greet her "good morning ma", you were in for a tongue lashing that day.
See eh, you dare not mumble your greeting (as I often did being a shy child), my mom would turn around and ask if your mouth was paining you!
"I greeted her and she didn't hear me" or "She was too far away for me to greet her" was never an excuse for my mom.
I remember one of the advice my Dad gave me when I was leaving for the university was to cultivate the habit of greeting people especially the handy men/cleaners in my building.
It was weird initially at first because people on the street will be shocked when I greeted them and by the time they gathered their wits to respond, I would have already walked past them. To be honest, it served as a deterrent for a while.
It's funny how some of the things I rebelled against doing as a kid turn out to be the things I do now without prompting from my parents.
This is a gentle reminder to my future self as the mother of two lovely kids not to get frustrated when it seems like they are not paying attention to anything I teach them.
After all, didn't the Good Book say, "Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is OLD he will not depart from it"
Keep calm, maturity and good sense would come in due time.
Greeting is perceived to be an important part of the African culture. For the sake of this conversation, let's narrow it down to Nigeria.
So in Nigeria, from childhood, we are taught to greet people (our elders especially) as this is a sign of respect. Big props to the Yoruba people on this one, they have made greeting an art form.
In churches and big occasions, you can instantly know who is the "big man" in such gatherings just by the way people greet him/her.
"Ah! Daddy G.O good afternoon sir *kneels down*. How is family sir?"
But then how much do we encourage our children to greet those people in society who we consider "beneath us" - the driver, the cleaner at work, the security guy at the door of the bank, the help?
Right from childhood, my parents drummed it into our heads that we had to greet everybody regardless of their social standing. Trust me it wasn't fun then.
So whenever we went out with my mom say to the market for example, we would be standing beside her sheepishly(or impatiently, depending on the day) waiting for her to conduct her business. Oh and God help you the market woman opens her mouth to address you before you had the chance to greet her "good morning ma", you were in for a tongue lashing that day.
See eh, you dare not mumble your greeting (as I often did being a shy child), my mom would turn around and ask if your mouth was paining you!
"I greeted her and she didn't hear me" or "She was too far away for me to greet her" was never an excuse for my mom.
I remember one of the advice my Dad gave me when I was leaving for the university was to cultivate the habit of greeting people especially the handy men/cleaners in my building.
It was weird initially at first because people on the street will be shocked when I greeted them and by the time they gathered their wits to respond, I would have already walked past them. To be honest, it served as a deterrent for a while.
It's funny how some of the things I rebelled against doing as a kid turn out to be the things I do now without prompting from my parents.
This is a gentle reminder to my future self as the mother of two lovely kids not to get frustrated when it seems like they are not paying attention to anything I teach them.
After all, didn't the Good Book say, "Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is OLD he will not depart from it"
Keep calm, maturity and good sense would come in due time.
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