Meet The Leaders and Their Cultures: The Interview - Akeem

Akeem is a Project Management Apprentice and a Network Leader for the Multicultural Network, check out the interview below:

What is your favourite thing about your culture?

Hey! I’m Akeem a Network Leader for the Multicultural Network. My family is from West African. My maternal family are Nigerian whilst my paternal family are Ghanian. 

Naturally, both countries have a special place in my heart, even though they are countries within close proximity they’re incredibly different. Whilst most countries in West African are predominantly French-speaking. Nigeria and Ghana share the official language of English. 

My favourite aspect of my culture would be diversity. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups, so never assume someone is just Nigerian, this is something you’ll find with most African. Just like Emily, our diversity is shown in art, cuisine, history, customs and traditions. 

What kind of traditions do you have in your culture?

Many traditions exist in both Nigeria and Ghana, but something they both share is their love of parties. I’m pretty sure this is something we all share. But a tradition that exists at parties is the act of throwing money (spraying money) at the celebrants whilst dancing, reasons for the act (or art) of spraying money include portraying the social status of those being celebrated, showing how much they are appreciated and a basic show of flamboyance and affluence.

Give us a fun fact about your culture/country?

As I’m from two countries, I’ll cheekily give you two facts:

1. On 6 March 1957, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) became the second sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence from European colonisation.
2. In Nigeria, the country's film industry, known as Nollywood, is one of the largest film producers in the world, second only to India's Bollywood. If you are ever in need of cheering up or just need more drama in your life I recommend you give Nollywood a shout, here’s a list of top Nollywood shows you can catch on Netflix.

What is the best place to visit in your country?

There are so many places to choose from, so I’ll just say any beach you can find in either country, they’re incredible and fun-filled, plus the weather and food makes it even better. To end I’ll leave you with a famous quote from a Nigerian author who sums up what it is to be Nigerian:
  

‘Being a Nigerian is abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting' - Chinue Achebe
 

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