WHY AFRICANS ARE NOT SWIMMERS DESPITE THEY ARE CLOSE TO WATER.
The African continent is surrounded by much rivers, lakes, lagoon and oceans. Some Africans live along these bodies of water, and most of them are fishermen, and as well a local swimmers. But this is limited to those whose houses are built on the water or near water, thereby believe they have to train their children to be a good swimmer in case of any water storms, but not for any professionalism or recreation. For example, in Nigeria, some ethic groups or tribes live close to water, such as lakes or rivers, and their livelihood is also there. A good example of such people are the Ilaje people, the Ijaw people and the Egun people. Most of this people are good swimmer in their local environments.
However, a strong swimming culture is not sustained on the African continent due to social and economic factors. One of the things that I believed prevented Africans from being good swimmers is the superstitious stories some Africa parents tell their children; that they should not go close to the water bodies because of Water goddess or mermaids ("mami wata" as Africans do call it). This superstition is not in stories alone, it is also in culture and traditions, as some regions in Nigeria (Africa) worship this so-called river goddesses as their deity i.e (Osun river), base on African cultural beliefs, this water spirits can embody both good and evil, and when the river goddess is angry she can kill anyone who come near the river to swim. It is because of this belief that most African parents do tell their children to avoid swimming in major water bodies. And of course, water spirits do exist in traditional African religions, and this discourage some potential African swimmers.
Another thing is economic reasons. Access to swimming facilities remains a key barrier why Africans are not known for swimming. There are very few or no public pools in communities in Nigeria and many Africa nations; where the people can go to practice swimming. The costs of maintaining a swimming facility is much that only those using such facility for commercial purpose can afford to maintain one. It is not that local and state political actors cannot finance one, but they don't just see need to do so.
I must admit that there are some privately owned swimming facilities in Nigeria; in area like Ikoyi (golf club), lekki and Victoria Island: some hotels, private schools, recreation centers and even some wealthy people have pools in their premises. These privately owned pools sometimes open their facilities to the public, but they charge a non-membership fee which is very expensive for a common man.
Unlike in Germany and other European nations where swimming facilities are almost on every street in the metropolis, the story is different in Africa. This is why a lot of Africans (particularly Nigerians) cannot swim on a competitive level. Social and economic factors continue to hinder most of the black Africans from taking part in swimming at competitions like the Olympics. One will wonder when one visit a pool in Germany, it is rare to find black Africans at the pool, not about discrimination this time, but because it is a known fact, even to Africans themselves, that Africans are not good swimmers.
Few weeks ago, I visited the Burg swimming pool in Altleininge, I could not swim in the adult section because i'm not a good swimmer. I was so scared of the water, that I have to move to children's pool. The Kids there, continued to stare at me, maybe they could not understand why an adult like myself cant swim better even in a small pool. Anyways, I still enjoyed myself because I made water slide and I played in the water like the kids. One thing I have learned in Germany is that I can do all things if I open myself to the Universe. Although, I am so thankful for the opportunity of living in a country like Germany, where children have the opportunities to learn a lot of things as they are growing, Yet, I do wish my country can grow to that stage, where kids will have access to basic necessities and facilities that can help them develop their skills and talents. This is another story of an Africa Child. My thought!
QS
