“White man”/big man on campus

I wrote earlier about how friendly people are. The rest of that story is that I have since realized that I am popular in part because I’m white.

I’ve experienced it before – people in China would come up want to take a picture of me holding their baby – but didn’t expect it here because Nigeria has a decent number of white foreigners running around (and a lot of Chinese) and I’m working with a fairly developed/international company that regularly partners with non-Nigerian companies.

I started to notice it when everyone I passed started saying “hello, sir,” when normally languid guards sitting in chairs would call out a hello to me, and when two random people (found out one is the cleaning lady, still don’t know who the other is) introduced themselves to me. I was convinced of it when those two started to drop by the room I work in just to say hi and chat. It was obvious when I walked past a guy who said, “White man! How are you doing, white man?” and shook my hand. (Three others have done the same since.) One older security guard calls me "master," which I frankly find a bit uncomfortable. Some of it is that I am in Benin City, which is not a foreigner hotbed. Another aspect is that a lot of people who gawk are in positions where they don’t travel and aren’t as widely exposed to the world.

It has its pros and cons.  The upshot is that everyone takes me more seriously/respects me more simply because of my skin color.  My older, more experienced Nigerian colleague has to show more deference to his own fellow nationals than I do.

There are downsides, however.   Part of it is just not wanting to observe/engage Nigeria without sticking out (read Jurassic Park II), but no tanning bed will fix that. Part of it is the random drop-bys, since they interrupt work.  Part of it is that some, at least, have stereotyped me as the rich American and want stuff (including help with visa applications to the U.S.).  Admittedly I am rich compared to the Nigerian median.

I’d really be interested in knowing what they think I make; in US$ terms most of the people I work with make a multiple of what I do.