The Relentless Builder: T Sharp

The Myth of the Nigerian Accent [Featured Artiste: T Sharp]

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Apart from the shock of seeing a certain cousin in a gospel music video today, my week has been quite good. How has yours been? So-so? Ah well, stay positive. Like Nigerians say, “God Dey.” Speaking of which, today’s topic is something that has been sitting in my heart for a couple of years now. I debated on whether or not to actually discuss it, and after torturing myself and oscillating between two choices, I settled on this one, i.e. to air my views on this singular issue. Now, this is highly subjective, so feel free to share your own thoughts as well.

In several classes in college here in the US, I found myself to be the only black person in the classroom, and consequently, the only Nigerian (Well, duh!) I still do not know if it was just culture shock, or just me having a “deer in the headlights” moment (more than one moment, actually, if you count all the classes I took). But what usually happened was that when the teacher or professor called on me to answer a question, my own voice sounded very different to me, like the voice of another person.

That was a major shift from the two years I spent in UNILAG where everyone pretty much sounded the same way. It was a lot worse in law school where they practiced the so-called “Socratic Method,” i.e. the professor can “call on” you randomly to answer a question, and depending on the professor’s teaching style, he might call on ONLY you for the entire class period. Needless to say, for those who were caught unawares (which was pretty much everyone), “boys were not smiling.” In fact, I have had a few people (Americans obviously) tell me that I sound Jamaican! *rolls eyes* Of course, there is nothing wrong with sounding Jamaican, except for one thing: I am a NIGERIAN. And that begs the question: What does a Nigerian accent sound like?

Free Music Friday: 3rd Edition

The Myth of the Nigerian Accent [Featured Artiste: T Sharp]