I have come to understand that "stereotyping is something created through prejudice." Prejudicing means influencing someone in a way that creates bias, harm, or an unfair opinion, often before having enough evidence or knowledge. It can involve causing someone to form an unfavorable view of a person, situation, or idea. This is what many people grew up with; many people get this kind of view from their parents or people who live within the same neighborhood.
Growing up as a kid, I learned so many negative things about the northerners in my country, and I always view them the same way anywhere I see one. I believe they are dirty, uneducated, easily provoked, and many other things I can't mention. However, during my service year in the North, I reconfigured my mind, and I began looking at things from a different perspective.
My mind received a restructuring after I got to the north, and the first thing I realized after getting to the north was that there were "churches" in the north. I was told there weren't any churches in Sokoto in the north, and most of the churches had been closed down. The way the situation of the north was painted to me gave me a lot of fear, but on arriving at Sokoto, one of the core northern states, everything was different from what I was told.
There were a lot of churches, and people were living peacefully even if the state wasn't as beautiful as the place I came from, but everyone was going on with their day without minding anyone.
I also made a friend, "Joshua." Joshua was more eloquent than anyone I have met in the West; his understanding of politics, economy, import and export, agriculture, and many other topics was mind-blowing, and he studied in the North. I asked him again to be sure if he studied in the north, and he said yes.
I also got to see how beautiful and well-dressed their ladies were; it was different from the "dirty, shallow, and skinny" image I had in my head. It was then that it dawned on me that I had been living in a small pond without knowing about the ocean.
One thing I still miss till now is a food called "Dankunnu and Masa." The Dankunnu food is made with corn then molded into a fist, with pepper stew, a lot of onions, fish, and some other things I don't know, but I couldn't get enough of it before leaving. Masa was prepared with rice and some kind of special chilly pepper.
After experiencing all this, I had a mental shift of things I knew before and things I know now. There are still people who still have this stereotype about the North, but I hope they get to experience the good part of the North.
Thanks for reading.
All Images are mine, taken in the North.
This is my entry for the #novemberinleo daily prompt, you read more about the prompt @leogrowth page.
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