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Abdulazeez Abubakar
4 months ago
Overview
Why Hausa-dressing, culture earn respect in Czechia, Poland, Ukraine
Waking up and walking through the length and breadth in this part of the world leaves me with a feeling and understanding that Central and Eastern Europe are the most misunderstood part of Europe arising from a lot of misconceptions and misunderstanding. And these are majorly due to some factors associated with misinformation/disinformation and more importantly the African countries’ bad history and experience of colonialism by some European countries.
To set the record straight, countries like Czechia, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Latvia etc did not colonise any African country. What many did not know was these countries were colonised by Russia and also occupied by Germany, Austria and Hungarian empires.
Czechia with pride
Proudly donning my Hausa attire, I visited the Central European country, Czechia, which is popularly known as Czech Republic.
I was among the 11 journalists from eight African countries that attended the 20th Global Security Forum 2025 in Prague, Czechia capital. I was surprised how I was respected, loved because of the way I dressed. After meeting Czechian president, Petr Pavel, one of the foreign ministry officials told me that some of the presidential officials had actually admired my dressing and they loved it.
Czehian foreign ministry staff, Nick Ojo Omorodion, and Katerina Zykova told me to maintain my Hausa dressing because it looks good on me. I spent four days in Prague, the day I was leaving Prague for Warsaw I wore English. However, the Czechia foreign ministry staff were not happy that I wore a shirt and trousers. But I told them because I had two bags so I needed to be free for walking.
Before I traveled to Poland all I could see about Poland in social media had to do with racism, although I have had the opportunity to relate with a Polish woman, named Agnieszka, one of the nicest Europeans I ever met. She also supported me with advice and was always available to provide positive suggestions and ideas.
Fond Poland experiences
This Northern Nigerian journalist, Alhassan continues to wear his Hausa attires on his first day in Warsaw. To my utter surprise, however, the Polish were happy with the Hausa dressing. They spoke well about Hausa people that ever lived in Warsaw, saying they dress the way I dressed and they loved it. I was informed about the department that teaches Hausa language in the University of Warsaw, which I planned to pay a visit to, but unfortunately, they were on holiday.
Among the people that loved my dressing in Poland was Marcin Grodzki, who told me never to wear English as the way I dressed (English) wasn’t nice and beautiful. Other staff of the Polish foreign ministry admired the Hausa dressing as well. It surprised them when I said aside being a fact-checker and a journalist, I am also a trained Hausa teacher who has been teaching Europeans, Americans and even some Nigerians Hausa language, because I studied Hausa/Islamic studies in FCT College of Education, Zuba before I proceeded to the University of Abuja.
We visited another city in Poland, the name of which remains sketchy in my mind, for a concert. Some natives stopped me and we had a discussion in English. They even collected my contact just because of their love for the Hausa dressing.
The deep discussion we had between Marcin, Nick, Kayode and myself, which later Marcin met me and said “Alhassan, I really love the kind of person you are and I love how you love your culture.”
I met a professor at Warsaw School of Economics with a Hausa native cap. It is a kind of cap that my late father always wore. We took pictures. In fact, he did a selfie with me.
I really appreciate the love for Hausa attire in Poland because an incident happened in a plane from Warsaw to the airport close to the Ukraine border with Poland. A Czechian that sat with me saw my picture with native attire and told me to continue wearing native not shirt and trousers. I even showed him my picture dressed in a suit and he said “I prefer the native dressing.” I really love the discussion with him because I heard a lot not only from government officials but ordinary people as well.
Ukraine of all places!
Due to the attack on the day before we arrived in Ukraine and based on our itinerary, coupled with the fact that I left one of my bags in Warsaw, these factors convinced me to wear English for some days.
https://blueprint.ng/why-hausa-dressing-culture-earn-respect-in-czechia-poland-ukraine/
