Only Bad Boys Wear Jewelry; Good Guys Wear Wristwatches




Confession:  I thoroughly enjoyed looking for the picture to use for today's post. So many hot guys with or without jewelry. *fans self*

*in a deep Southern preacher's voice* : God is good!  *wink, wink*

So, after getting that confession off my chest, let me dive into today's post.

Whoosh! 

That was the sound of me diving.  In case you were wondering.  Or not. No, I didn't hurt myself.

Okay, let's start with a quick definition.

Jewelry are "decorative objects (such as rings, necklaces, and earrings) that people wear on their body."

Let's jump on the specific examples in the definition: rings, necklaces, earrings.

I can't tell you how many times I heard relatives (especially those in earlier generations like grandparents), pastors, teachers, etc make comments on a boy or man's character based on the jewelry he was wearing.

The common culprits are:

Why Nigerian Men Grow Bald: NTA Newsline Edition



Once upon a time, NTA's Newsline was hosted by Abike Dabiri (now Honorable Abike Dabiri-Erewa).  Many of us tuned in on Sunday nights to watch compelling stories of  other Nigerians we had never heard about before.

There was one particular episode I remember watching.  It was a street-type interview, and the news crew went in search of answers to this question: What makes Nigerian men bald?

The Gentleman Series | 5: He Must Not Be a Womanizer




Initially, I had planned to use the words "morally upright," but I figured that womanizer would pass along the message faster.  A womanizer, of course, is a man who is unfaithful, cheats regularly without remorse, and a generally promiscuous man.  In short, a casanova.

This is the last entry in The Gentleman Series and this point needs to be made:

The Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman is 
NOT a Womanizer

The Gentleman Series | 4: He Must Be Responsible


Can you believe we are on Number 4 already? Thank you to everyone who has been following this series.

The Gentleman Series | 3: He Must Not Be Physically Abusive




This needs to be said.  I am anti-physical abuse, before, during, and even after a marriage.  It is simply thuggish, bully behavior that should not be tolerated.  Besides which, you cannot put the words "gentleman" and "physical abuse" together.  It is contradictory.

In short:

The Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman is 
NOT Physically Abusive

The Gentleman Series | 2: He Must be Well-Groomed



Spiffy. Smart. Dapper.  Those are just a few words that are related to "well-groomed."  Technically, well-groomed means "well-dressed and scrupulously neat." In short:

The Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman must be well-groomed

And if you're not tired of hearing me repeat the word 'Quintessential' by now, you must be very patient ;-)

Now, let's break it down.  

The Gentleman Series | 1: He Must be Polite

Thank you for joining me for this series.  I hope we can share and learn together.  Now, let's get started.

There are all kinds of gentlemen.  In fact, you can tack just about any adjective in front of the word 'Gentleman' and you'll arrive at a different result.  We assume that a gentleman is also a good man, but there are cases where the two are mutually exclusive.  Why? Because being a gentleman has to do with etiquette and manners, while being good is a moral issue.  They are two different things.

However, our focus for this series is the Quintessential Nigerian Gentleman.  Because he exists.


The Perfect Nigerian Gentleman: Endangered Species or Non-Existent Mythical Creature?

Okay, I will concede that I went a bit overboard with the title.  I mean, there's no such thing as the perfect anybody or anything.  Maybe there's the perfect cupcake, or dress, but human beings are flawed.  It's in our nature.  So, why on earth would I, Relentless, even think of using the words 'Perfect' and 'Gentleman' in the same sentence?  Of course, I skipped right over Nigerian.  I am guessing you saw it.  I did.



Going back to the title, if I had to answer this question out-rightly  I would say: Yes, Nigerian gentlemen exist.  That of course, rules out the mythical creature option.  But, then if they do exist, what percentage of Nigerian men are gentlemen?  That's a difficult question to answer, especially if you don't know what the criteria are.  So, I need to start there, i.e. who or what is a gentleman, and specifically, who is a Nigerian gentleman?