Saturday, 3 August 2019

THE PERCEPTION OF TIME IN NIGERIA

The perception of time in Nigeria has not changed since I wrote a chapter titled 'The Perception of time in Nigeria' in the 1998 publication edited by Souleymane Bahir Diagne & Heinz Kimmerle titled: 'Time & development in the thought of Sub-Saharan Africans'. The publication was the result of a two-day conference held in Dakar when I was Head, Department of Political Science, Lagos State University (LASU). See http://books.google.com/books?id=fm11EvIOKykC&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=perception+of+time+nigeria...



African scholars from more than twenty countries converged in Dakar to x-ray the concept of time in their various countries. Nigerians continue to attend serious conferences, symposia, parties, workshops, etc very very late. This is what I wrote about Nigerians and their lack of respect for time in 1998. The situation remains the same.

'The average Nigerian believes that time should understand him/her and not that he/she should understand time. That is why he/she always comes late for every occasion/event because he/she does not want to be the first to arrive. Someone or many people must come before him/her. Since each person wants the other person to come before him/her, then nobody is there early and almost every event begins late.' - Dr. Dayo Oluyemi-Kusa (1998)

Nigerians seem to have a cyclical perception of time. This lack of respect for time remains a national embarrassment! Many believe the more behind schedule you are when you arrive at any event is a measure of how 'important' you are. Some even want every other person seated so that their so called 'show-stopper attire' is easily noticed - those labelled 'slay queens & kings' come to mind. They then pose for the cameras. But we are ridiculing ourselves before the rest of the world! How wrong can individuals be when assessing their 'level of importance' vis-a-vis how late they attend events. In my opinion, those who come late to events ridicule themselves...

Related Links

*The time illusion: How your brain creates now   https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530030-500-the-time-illusion-how-your-brain-creates-now/
*The time paradox: How your brain creates the 4th dimension   https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332370-500-the-time-paradox-how-your-brain-creates-the-fourth-dimension/
*Metaphysics: Is time an illusion?   https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23130890-900-metaphysics-special-is-time-an-illusion/
*Quantum weirdness isn't real: We just got space & time all wrong   newscientist.com/article/mg24332440-600-quantum-weirdness-isnt-real-we-just-got-space-and-time-all-wrong
*Why you never have enough time, and what to do about it   thriveglobal.com/stories/why-we-never-have-enough-time/
*How to figure out what's worth spending time on   thriveglobal.com/stories/time-management-skills-productivity-focus-tips/
*7 non-essential tasks to give up to regain your time    thriveglobal.com/stories/nonessential-tasks-let-go-give-up-tips/
*You are not crunched for time, you are just making these 8 time management mistakes    entrepeneur.com/article/3589832.../   
*Is reality real? How evolution binds us to the truth about the world   newscientist.com/article/mg24332410-300-is-reality-real-how-evolution-binds-us-to-the-truth-about-the-world/
*Time nature of consciousness: Solving the biggest mystery of your mind   newscientist.com/article/mg24332480...time-nature-of-consciousness-solving-biggest-mystery-mind/
*Why it's time to call time on the 'nature vs nurture' debate   newscientist.com/article/mg24432601-800-why-its-time-to-call-time-nature-vs-nurture-debate/
*The tyranny of time   https://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/.../2436/the-tyranny-of-time/
*What's reality? What's the world's true nature?   newscientist.com/article/mg24532670-700-what-is-reality.../
*True nature of consciousness: Solving the biggest mystery of your mind   newscientist.com/article/mg24332480-00-true-nature.../
*The time paradox: How your brain creates the 4th dimension   newscientist.com/article/mg24332370-500-the-time-paradox-how-your-brain-creates-the-fourth-dimension/
*Time-travel paradoxes via William Gibson's Agency   newscientist.com/article/mg24532640-500-william-gibsons-agency-drops-time-travel-paradoxes-for-big-questions/
*Time lapse   blognostics.net/blognostics-an-innovative-experience-in-literature-poetry-and-art/2020/02/16/time-lapse-biognostics/
*Limitation to time & space: Even a computer the sizeof the universe can't predict everything   newscientist.com/article/2239097-even-a-computer-cant-predict-everything/
*Make time when there is none  https://reclaim.ai
*Inside the incredibly slow race to re-invent time   newscientist.com/article/mg2432960-900-inside-slow-race-re-invent-time
*How to calculate the true value of your time   https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/356697.../
*Introduction to the Big O Notation, Time & Space Complexity   https://dev.to/skaytech/a-gentle-introduction-to-the-big-o-notation-time-space-complexity/
*6 ways to maximise your time while working from home   entrepreneur.com/article/356979/
*NWU confers Africa's 1st Ph.D in African indigenous astronomy: For centuries, Africans have measured time/seasons/directions by the stars    https://pressoffice.mg.co.za/content/dg45va620e7X9l8
*Did time flow in two directions from the Big Bang making two futures?    newscientist.com
*According to neuroscience, taking a break from our busy schedules & devoting some to time to doing nothing is key to fostering creativity    entrepreneur.com
*The 21st century time machine: Virtual Reality (VR) in the history classroom     carleton.edu


 


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