UNFAIR! Why Is Using The Left Hand Is Considered As Rude And Disrespectful In Nigeria?

Nigerians see it as a sign of disrespect and disgusting to greet, eat, hand over, or collect things from people with your left hand unless you’re left-handed or have no right arm.

And even then, it might be difficult to be granted exemption from the rule. It’s worse when the person you extend your left hand out to is older than you are.

The Nigerian society frowns at using the left hand. Being left-handed is considered weird because the general perception is that, it is a bad habit.

Growing up as children, many Nigerians were told that using the left hand to collect or give something to an older person is seen as a sign of disrespect.

If the children even by mistake used their left hand to give or collect something from an elderly person, they get into big trouble. Even in schools, teachers scold kids for using their left hand.

However, this sounds unfair because some people happen to be leftists right from birth while others are not. The preferred use of the left hand to the right is not an issue of choice as some children are known to either be born with that preference or grow up with the habit.

However, the left hand is associated with disrespect and bad manners in arguably many (if not all) Nigerian cultures. It is the hand usually used to perform acts that are otherwise irritating to a person.

Such acts could be the picking of a dirty object, washing or wiping the backside after defecating. These, of course, are merely cultural ideals that have no real basis.

Many studies suggest that Left-handed people are better at maths than righties and they demonstrate superior spatial skills, mental flexibility, and working memory. Lefties are also more common among mathematicians, architects, artists, and chess experts.