12 Different Types Of Nigerian Neighbors And How To Deal With Them

Your neighbours can either make or mar your experience at home. Living in Nigeria entails knowing how to manage difficult neighbours. You will be puzzled by the types of neighbours you can have in Nigeria. Whether you live in a flat or in a “face-me-I-Face-you apartment, you will encounter them.

One way or the other we have to learn to deal withe people of different background in the course of our life’s journey. Invariably, interpersonal skills is key in managing people and starting with your neighbours at home could possibly be a good head-start.

Below are some unique types of neighbours you can have in Nigeria.

1. The Over-Cordial Neighbour

These people are too friendly, albeit they have a mission. They want to subtly enter into your life and have all the details of your family. They want to intrude into your business. They love to stay in your house and wouldn’t even mind helping you out with your daily chores. They don’t know where to draw the line. Most times, they know they can get financial or material rewards from you.

Solution: Accept their kind gestures but set boundaries. Bridle your mouth and be careful about the quality of information you let out. In a short time, they will stop visiting you

2. The Strange Neighbour

This person is quite mysterious. No noise comes from his apartment. The only dialogue you ever had with this type of neighbour probably consists of “Hello!” and “Nice weather today, huh?” This strange neighbour probably comes back home either late at night or early in the morning. And he doesn’t appear to be drunk. You have no idea where he goes, and what he does. At times, you get scared whether you should be worried that he might be a criminal or not.

Solution; You better stick to just ‘hello’ when talking to this neighbour and never ask him anything because you know what happened to the curious cat, right? It became a victim of its really mysterious neighbour.

3. Alcoholic neighbour

This guy keeps late night. You can’t avoid the loud knock on the gate every night. Even if you are not the one to open it. The noise interrupts your sleep. Sometimes you will hear someone knocking on your door at 4.00 a.m in the morning. No need to worry, it’s just your alcoholic neighbor who has once again confused your house for his. At other times, this neighbor will spend around an hour trying to open his door because he just can’t locate the keyhole. He is seeing several of them. Poor guy.

Solution: Choose to Sleep or write the landlord.

4. The Copy Cats Neighbour

This is the first category of neighbours I encountered from childhood. They will always want to buy the same types of clothes, shoes, kitchen equipment, generator and everything you buy. They would scan through everything in your flat if invited for a chat and when you go to their house, you will find a perfect replica there. It is not a sheer coincidence – it’s copying.

This class of people love to compare your pattern of life to theirs. Some extremists will change their children’s schools to the same school your children attend even when they can’t afford it.

Solution; Ignore them completely, there is a form of inferiority complex that makes them act that way. Consider yourself blessed to have people who love to imitate you.

5. The Borrowing Neighbour

Ah, this person can borrow salt and matches. They can even borrow pepper. The same neighbour who keeps asking you for one thing or another is here again to ask for a bottle of oil. Their watchword is “Help” and they would constantly keep borrowing things from you.

Solution; If you have these type of neighbours consider adding a separate list in your monthly budget called “Neighbours list”!

6. The Party/music Freaks

These are specialised Owambe people. They have possibly tried to invite you to a party once or twice. They love to go out for parties and always invite their friends over for a party in their house. The sound of music and their loud voices is what you get often.

Solution; You may have to walk up to them in a subtle manner to reduce their voices and their music.

7. The Trouble Makers

These neighbours are always ready for a fight. They are just too fussy about everything you do from moving a chair at your home to having a social event at your home. Every single action of yours bothers them. They are the ones who are unhappy about everything about their neighbourhood and would constantly keep bickering.

Solution; Always avoid them. Define your boundaries. Don’t let their actions bother you. If this despite your action, they continue their action walk up to them once and give them a strict warning.

8. The player/playeress.

It’s like the whole universe has been to this person’s home. Every night you see them coming with someone new and seeing them off the next morning. You wonder how they pull it off. Chances are that you both respect and hate this person at the same time.

Solution; Keep your distance, otherwise you get played oo

9. The neighbor that won’t stop visiting you.

Personal space? No. That’s like calculus to this neighbor. They don’t understand what that is. This neighbor will literally stay in your house like they help you pay rent. More often than not they cross the line and you feel like telling them off. But then you don’t want to have an enemy next door.

Solution; Always keep your door locked. Ignore knocks when you’re not ready to entertain any visitor.

10. The cool neighbor.

This neighbor doesn’t make noise or look for trouble. He doesn’t seem to have any problem with anyone and just takes life as it comes. He socializes with everyone and helps out whenever there is a problem. He’s a neighbor everyone would love to have.

Solution; This is the kind of neighbor you want to move close to and be friends with. However, it doesn’t mean you have to encroach on their space too.

 

11. The peeping one.

This neighbor can make a good spy. And they are addicted to the window. The curtain probably has their fingerprints all over given the number of times it’s slightly adjusted so this neighbor can take a look at what the humans nearby are up to.

Solution: Just ignore them.

12. The gossip champion.

Eagerly airs the unsolicited dirty laundry of nearby residents with little to no regard for truth. In fact, the more sensational and elaborated, the better! The gossip champion pretends to be friendly, but in reality, he/she is just covertly scavenging for juicy information about you to broadcast next door.

Solution: Make sure you avoid this ones at all cost else they would just suck you into their controversial lifestyles. Also make sure you don’t divulge things you don’t want heard in public to them.

Does any of these descriptions fit a neighbour you know?

Also check out a previous article we did on 10 Different types of Nigerian Landlords.