Because he is so well-known among Union students and he speaks near perfect English, you might not realize that Hananiah “Hani” Nyabam is a native of Nigeria rather than the USA. Having received a good education in Nigeria, Hani was accepted into several colleges throughout the United States, but Hani moved to the United States in August of 2005 to attend Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia on a soccer scholarship. Since then, he has remained in the USA, fearful that, if he returns to Nigeria, he may not be permitted to return to the United States because of the tricky visa-granting system. After a year in Georgia, Hani decided to transfer to Union University when both he and his best friend from home, Rabo, were offered soccer scholarships.
Hani has played soccer for as long as he can remember. In school, the 1-2 graders had their own quarter-field, as well as the 3-5 graders, so they were always kicking a ball around every chance they got. The middle school and high school each had their own full-sized field. However, in middle school they played mostly on the basketball court. “This improved our accuracy and control,” said Hani, “because we would have to learn to balance better on the concrete, as well as have to shoot at a pole rather than a goal.” Although Hani did not come to the United States solely to play soccer, his athletic ability funded his education.
But how on earth did Hani learn to speak such excellent English? According to Hani, he attended an American Accredited School in his hometown, the city of Jos, during 1-2 grade and then 7-12 grade, taking a small break to attend a boarding school in another city from 3-6 grade. The Nyabams worked to send Hani to the AAS so that one day they could hopefully send him to college in the United States, his oldest brother having moved to the States for school years earlier. In addition to this in-school immersion in English, Hani spoke English at home, as he did not speak his parents’ native languages. “Everyone grows up speaking the language of their village,” Hani explained. “You know many different languages, but not all the same ones as everyone else. I speak some French, as well as Hausa (the language of my state), and West African Creole (which is basically a form of broken English).”
Despite his excellent education in Nigeria, Hani struggled at Union to do well, as he had been taught to do many things differently. Although he took Literature classes in Nigeria, they were constructed quite differently than in the USA. “Writing styles were also different,” said Hani. “I was taught differently how to write and make essays. They never taught us good reading skills, so I am a very slow reader.” Because of this, Hani says that he not only struggles with spelling, but he doesn’t like to read books, especially textbooks.
Teaching styles are not the only thing in Nigeria that are different than the USA. The way of life is almost foreign to the American fast-paced, do-what-you-need-to-get-to-the-top way of life. “Time is of no essence to us,” Hani stated. He gave the example that if a couple says their wedding is going to be at 10am, the couple themselves probably won’t even show up until 11 or 12 o’clock. Being on time is not important, and being late is not considered rude. Although Hani believes that the majority of the people in the southern United States are fairly kind, Nigerians beat them to the punch any day. “For example,” Hani related, “if someone comes to you and asks you for money, even if you know that you need that money to pay a bill in a couple of weeks, you give them that money.” Regardless, theft is still prevalent. “One year our house was broken into three times in a five month period!” exclaimed Hani.
Another concept now foreign to the American way of life is the idea of a curfew. Nigeria is split about 50/50 between Muslims and Christians, with a slight Christian majority. As a result, religious riots are not uncommon. “I live in the city Jos, which is considered to be the gateway to Christianity for the country,” said Hani. “After the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01 terrible riots broke out in my city because the Muslims wanted to gain control of the city.” The rioting comes and goes. Hani’s mother told him in a recent telephone conversation that there has been religious rioting for some unknown reason near their home lately, and so a curfew has been reinstated.
So what religious beliefs do Hani and his family espouse? Well, Mr. and Mrs. Nyabam learned about Christ through missionaries in their area many years ago. Mrs. Nyabam worked in banking and then insurance while Mr. Nyabam worked for a textile company called NASCO while Hani was a child. Now, however, both have stopped their jobs to work as missionaries for a ministry called Prevailing Prayer Ministry (PPM). Hani received Christ as a young child when, just after his grandmother’s funeral his sister asked him if he wanted to end up in heaven where she had gone. And so, he accepted Christ. Despite his Christian heritage, Hani had never heard of John Calvin when he first attended the Presbyterian Covenant College. The prevalence of Baptists who lead double lives at Union University caught Hani by surprise also. Regardless, he is glad “to be surrounded by a Christian environment.”
If American children think they have it bad with an occasional spanking, they should be thankful they are not Nigerian! “I was raised to be obedient,” stated Hani. “Disobedience was not tolerated at all! If we disobeyed we were whipped with branches, twigs, belts- anything our parents could get their hands on.” Hani did not lead the life of an abused child, though. He is the youngest of four, with two older brothers and an older sister, all 10+ years older than he. He specifically remembers family dinners, especially on Sundays, to which everyone contributed by cooking something.
“The food is one of the things I miss most- I love Nigerian food!” said Hani. Although they had two fast-food restaurants, a knock-off McDonalds called Mr Bigs and a wanna-be Chic-fil-a called Chickin Lickins, they were high-priced and not very good. Nigerians eat lots of different vegetable soups, rice, and a variety of meat, including goat, beef, lamb, kabobs, and chicken. “One tribe in Nigeria (not mine!) even eats dog!” recalled Hani. With their meals they also eat a bread-like substance made from corn flour called Tuwo. Most of their food they grow themselves. In Nigeria, you buy a plot of land on which you build a compound with a 13-15 ft high wall and a gate around it. Inside their walls the Nyabams grow many different kinds of fruit trees, including guavas, mangos, and papayas. They also raised poultry. On the outside of their wall they grow corn, tomatoes, or whatever may be in season at the time. Also inside the walls is their home. Hani recalls that if family or friends decided to come work in the city for a while, they would live with them indefinitely, without any question of paying rent or any such obligation. Friends and family would also just stop by unannounced at any given time, as many people did not have telephones in their homes to call ahead.
While many people have electricity and other such amenities, they are not a given in the average Nigerian household. “Electricity will be off and on- you never know how long you will have it,” said Hani. “When it goes off, you just do something else. We played a lot of cards and boardgames.”
Not only time and electricity are relaxed, but so are many of the country’s laws. “We can pretty much do what we want,” said Hani. “There is no legal age for smoking or drinking. Neither is there a speed limit.” Surprisingly, however, there are fewer accidents than in the United States because people are generally better drivers. They also drive mostly European-made cars like Mercedes, Mazda, BMW, and Peugeot. “I never saw an American-made car, like a Mustang for instance, until I came to the USA,” remembered Hani. The Nigerian public transportation system is also unusual. Some larger cities had buses, but they don’t stop for you to get on- you must jump off and on them at your desired location. Instead of calling a taxi-cab, in Nigeria you walk about 15 minutes to the highway near your town and wait for a taxi to come by. Then, you hail cabs until you find one going where you need to go, and then you barter with the driver for a reasonable price. “Usually in a typical 5-seater sedan, you will fit 7-8 people,” said Hani. “The other option is to cram several people on the back of a motorcycle-taxi.” Generally though, within your own town, you walk or bike to your destination. Because they walk so much, the sight of fat people upon landing in the USA shocked Hani, as he had never before seen obesity in his life.
The medical system is also quite different from the USA. There is no medical insurance- you can only buy insurance for physical property like your car or your house. “When you get sick,” explained Hani,” you go to your family physician. They write you a prescription and you take it to the drug story where you pay for it all out of pocket in cash. It is not a solid medical system.” Hani gave an example in passing of the extent of its deficiency. Apparently when he was born, the Nigerian doctors told his mother that he was dead, and so they had to fly to London to find out that he really was very much alive!
Hani plans to stay in the United States as long as possible. “It would be hard to reintegrate myself into the Nigerian culture after being gone so long,” said Hani. After graduating from Union University in December 2009 with a degree in Computer Science, Hani was hired by Aeneas Internet &Telephone as an Account Executive where he works to educate people on how they need to improve their electronics and, in turn, sells them these improvements. Although he never planned on becoming a United States citizen, after the recent Christmas Day attack by the Nigerian Muslim man, Hani is thinking about pursuing citizenship. At the minimum, he plans to get his green card so that he can visit home and still be allowed to return to the USA to work. Although he had no desire to return to Nigeria permanently, he said that he “most misses his family, the people, and their simpler, more laid-back way of life.”
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