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Original poster

Am I right to Identify as English with Nigerian Heritage?

41 replies

Dami090496 · 10/12/2023 16:56

My parents are Nigerian, Mum is technically British Nigerian as she was born in London.

Ok so I was born and raised in London till age 13. Spent 2-3 years of childhood in Nigeria in between.

I went to Nigeria at age 13.

Spent my teenage years and tiny bit of adulthood and came back to England at age 21.

I have been living in London ever since.

I proudly support the 3 lions (England) and Super Eagles (Nigeria) in football. I don't know who I am gonna support when they face off but just enjoying the thrill of supporting 2 different national teams😂

OP posts:
StasisMom · 10/12/2023 18:16

Course you can!

CantFindTheBeat · 10/12/2023 18:17

Whoever you want to be.

I've never heard an England fan say they support 'the three lions' before though.

Every days a school day!! '

salamirose · 10/12/2023 18:21

Identify however you want everyone else does

PTSDBarbiegirl · 10/12/2023 18:21

I would say British with Nigerian heritage. Bearing in mind we're in the UK made up of 4 home nations, England being one. However if you don't have that feeling it says more about the culture you're part of possibly being inward looking. The rest of the UK welcomes you to be part of it too. I like your attitude but I wonder why you ask the question, have you come across opposing views from your English/Nigerian communities?

TeenagersAngst · 10/12/2023 18:24

FlowerBarrow · 10/12/2023 18:13

I would say you are British with Nigerian heritage. English to me is the race whereas British is the nationality.

The confusion/difference is that other countries only use one word for both things.

For example, if white English/British children were born in Nigeria, no one would ever suggest that they are Nigerian (ethnicity) though they could possibly be Nigerian passport holders. They could claim the nationality (ie British) but not the ethnicity (ie English).

I imagine some people don’t consider being English to be an ethnicity, hence the differing views

I think this is a really good point although it is possible to be white African eg white South African.

MaidOfSteel · 10/12/2023 18:30

You're British, with Nigerian heritage.

Reugny · 10/12/2023 18:30

FlowerBarrow · 10/12/2023 18:13

I would say you are British with Nigerian heritage. English to me is the race whereas British is the nationality.

The confusion/difference is that other countries only use one word for both things.

For example, if white English/British children were born in Nigeria, no one would ever suggest that they are Nigerian (ethnicity) though they could possibly be Nigerian passport holders. They could claim the nationality (ie British) but not the ethnicity (ie English).

I imagine some people don’t consider being English to be an ethnicity, hence the differing views

Nigerian is a nationality it isn't an ethnicity.

So white children born in Nigeria who are Nigerian citizens can say they are Nigerian.

However they wouldn't be Igbo, Hausa, Fula, Yoruba, etc which are ethnicities. Some of these ethnic groups which people come from cover areas that are larger than Nigeria. African countries where drawn on a map by Europeans, which is why there is fighting and countries like South Sudan come into existence.

FlowerBarrow · 10/12/2023 18:44

@Reugny I think we are agreeing. In the same way a white English but Nigerian born child can be a Nigerian passport holder but cannot be Igbo/Hausa etc, so a British born child of Nigerian heritage can have a British passport but can’t be English.

So far as I see it’s the same in almost all other countries where the same word is used for both nationality and heritage

Reugny · 10/12/2023 18:55

FlowerBarrow · 10/12/2023 18:44

@Reugny I think we are agreeing. In the same way a white English but Nigerian born child can be a Nigerian passport holder but cannot be Igbo/Hausa etc, so a British born child of Nigerian heritage can have a British passport but can’t be English.

So far as I see it’s the same in almost all other countries where the same word is used for both nationality and heritage

We aren't agreeing as you clearly didn't know, otherwise you would have pointed that out.

Incidentally I have brown, black and yellow friends and acquaintances who say they are Welsh and Scottish.

They are believed.

Cherryana · 10/12/2023 18:57

I always though that British was a sort of umbrella term to bring together lots of differing people, as a way of uniting them. In that way it’s very inclusive and anyone can be British.

I have always thought that being English depended on you actual ancestry and rather than location of birth/residence.

So I would have said that OP is British and Nigerian.

Original poster
Dami090496 · 10/12/2023 19:06

@NorthFaceofthelaundrypile

I see English more as a nationality and culture.

I am happy to say I am British-Nigerian, but feel English as well

OP posts:
Original poster
Dami090496 · 10/12/2023 19:15

@PTSDBarbiegirl

A little bit. Some say I can't be English because it is a an ethnicity and say I am British. I ain't identifying with it in terms of anglo-saxon

People don't know also English can be a national identity and a culture.

OP posts:
LadyBird1973 · 10/12/2023 19:19

I think you are English. Not ethnically but it's still your nationality, where you were born, and where your feeling of home is.

PTSDBarbiegirl · 10/12/2023 20:55

Dami090496 · 10/12/2023 19:15

@PTSDBarbiegirl

A little bit. Some say I can't be English because it is a an ethnicity and say I am British. I ain't identifying with it in terms of anglo-saxon

People don't know also English can be a national identity and a culture.

Yea, I get what you're saying. If you feel that affinity with Englishness and not Britishness that probably illustrates some of the issues, feeling Scottish not British for example is labelled as nationalist. But I guess that's propaganda, like people who feel English and not British but aren't labelled nationalists but who tend to be the only people in UK to brandish a Union Jack flag. Quite telling really.

FlowerBarrow · 10/12/2023 21:02

@Reugny Not sure what you mean, I did point it out? Or are you just wanting to be combative…

Halfemptyhalfling · 10/12/2023 21:12

Another possibility for people where themselves and their families have only lived in London, is that they think of themselves as Londoners rather than English. London is very different from the rest of the England and has been for centuries

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