Do Nigerians Hate their Own Accent?



Let's try an experiment.  Go to Tunein.com.  It's a website where radio stations are streamed live from all over the world.  Since Nigeria is in the world, our radio stations are also included.

Next, go to the Nigerian radio stations.  Here's a shortcut to make your life easier: Nigeria Radio Stations on Tune in.

Then, just pick a random radio station on the list.  Any one.  Note the accent of the presenter or on air personality (assuming they are not playing commercials).

Repeat the process 5 or more times.

What were the results in terms of Nigerian accent versus American, British, etc?

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Whether you took part in the experiment above or not, I am pretty sure that if you listen to Nigerian radio regularly or even watch our TV stations for news, entertainment, sports or whatever, you will come across presenters and other people speaking with something other than a Nigerian accent.  

Isn't it strange?  

You're in Nigeria communicating with mostly Nigerians, and yet you have to change the way you speak to what end?  For clarity, you say.  I'm not buying it.  With the way some people jumble all the accents together, it is more of a distraction than anything.

As to whether there is such a thing as a Nigerian accent in the first place, I touched on it here.

Since it appears that Nigerians value every other person's accent above their own regular accent, shall we conclude that they hate their own accent? I am leaning towards that conclusion.

What about you?

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I understand what you mean! I used to think accents were a 'bad' thing until I schooled in the UK and I was hit with local accents left, right and centre - I was like so why are we ashamed of our identity in Nigeria biko?
It's a really serious issue that goes deeper than the way we speak but in taking pride in who we are..

1 + The One

We hate our accent because we want to be like 'them' forgetting that we are unique in diverse ways for a purpose. For me, hating your accent is hating who you are a la colour et al. Funniest part is we do a very poor job of imitating our western friends that it comes across as what it really is...fake...not good on anyone.

Abiola Olaleye

1 + The One: I certainly agree with you: the accent issue is just a symptom of a deeper issue: our national identity. We don't take pride in who we are, and we wait for others to celebrate what we have before we acknowledge it is worth celebrating.

Abiola: What you've said is true, and goes with what 1 + The One said too. It's an identity issue.


I believe we have our own originality and uniqueness, but as long as we keep blindly copying others, we will come across as second-best. Never good enough.

I've actually noticed this too. I think it is also due to a lot of young Nigerians now getting their higher education abroad and coming back with "mixed accents". You kind of have to change/modify your accent when you live abroad though to avoid communication headaches.

Naija Sisters

Naija Sisters: *waves* Hello and welcome o!
I understand changing your accent to avoid communication headaches. It's normal here, but the thing is, it makes sense to do that with non-Nigerians. They're the ones likely to have trouble understanding you because of your accent. But among your fellow Nigerians, what's the point?

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