Hello all,
I’ve observed a trend that I feel is quite fascinating. So here’s an illustration of the trend:
PERSON 1-Amaka
It’s Amaka’s birthday, her friends and invited guests sing the popular ‘happy birthday’ song for her. They are singing the concluding part of the song: how old are you now??…. And Amaka replies: I’m a year older today…..
PERSON 2- Chris
Chris is an actor and he has been invited to come on a popular talk show to have a chit-chat with the presenter and most especially to entertain his fans. So as the question and answer segment is in progress, the presenter asks Chris: So one of your fans on twitter has sent in a question, Bella wants to know how old you are? and I’m sure your other fans want to know as well…..Chris smiles and replies: Hello Bella, shout out to you and my other loyal fans out there. I am 38 years old……
[No one makes a fuss, almost everyone (90%) takes his word for it]
PERSON 3- Fatima
Fatima is an On-Air Personality (OAP), she has just celebrated her 25th birthday. Her pictures of the little celebration, has surfaced on blogs, magazines and all. On the blogs, you see comments like ‘Arrrgh I hate when people tell lies, how can she say she is 25. The first time I heard about her, we were age mates, how come she’s younger than me now’ or ‘Nah!! she is not 25, she does not look it at all. Liar! Liar!!’
So here’s the thing- why is it that when a Nigerian/African says his/her age, most people just believe he/she is being untruthful. But when a Westerner says his/her age, there isn’t a dispute/contention as to the answer given?
I can confidently say that out of 10 instances I’ve witnessed, only 2 are believed to be truthful in the case of an African/Nigerian, while only 2 people may believe the person [most times, celebrities]. With reference to the case of Amaka, you find out that people just keep the age to themselves and say ‘I am a year older, why is my age anyone’s business. After all, if I say it nobody will believe me’.
So when you are asked: how old are you? Do you say your exact age, not being bothered about what the listener(s) think(s)? or do you give the ‘early 20s, 30s, late 40s’ answer? or do you scrutinise the person asking first, before blotting it out?
And why do you think this disparity exist, between the ‘African’ and the ‘Westerner’? Over to you.
Have a lovely weekend.
Precious Thoughts! 
I love this post so much. As opposed to others, I take pride in telling those who care to know about my age irrespective of whether they believe it or not. The question as to whether to keep one's age a secret or tell it is subjective, all I would say is that we should ensure to do things because we want to do it & not because of what others think
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I just love what you said-we should do things because we want to, not because of the thoughts and opinions of people. Thanks for your contribution
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i dont know about other african countries but the country i come from Nigeria, i think is ladies thing, guys hardly lie about their ages, the younger ones even take pride to tell their female counterparts that they are older than them, most ladies in nigeria especially the single ones got 2-3 official ages depending on the occasion they want to apply it.
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Hmmm I have heard people say 'Age lies' is the ladies' thingy, but how can you tell that they are telling lies?
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Well, in my point of view, I disagree with Uche…not because I don't believe females tell lies about their age but I strongly believe both parties lie about their ages. Let's consider these real life examples, few years back, Taiye Taiwo of Nigeria when still playing for Maseille claimed he was 26years while his twin brother was 32years. Months back Falcao of Monaco claimed he was 27 while his birth certificate proofed he was 29years, a friend of mine (name withdrawn) deducted 2years from his age just because he wanted to compete in a competition for teenagers, so many male footballers and sportsmen ranging from our U-17s to the senior team have their different official ages just to play sports for a longer time and for a better fee. These people are all males. Please note that I am not saying that females don't lie, the fact is we are forever humans. We want the best for ourselves and we are forever tempted to go extra mile to get achieve our goals even to the point of lieing. THANKS
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I vividly remember the incident of Taiye Taiwo , I found it quite hilarious. And as you said in your concluding statement, humans always want the best; telling lies will only get that for a period of time as the truth cannot be hidden forever.
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