Understanding the Stigma Around Tattoos in Nigeria.

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In Nigeria,there are several negative things that revolves around having tattoos. They are mostly based on religious and social beliefs.

First of all, in our society most of the guys that are caught engaging in criminal activities are mostly the guys who wear tattoos. So anyone who is seen wearing tattoos is always referred to as a criminal or the bad guy or even someone who engages in internet fraud (Yahoo-Yahoo). Infact, currently in Nigeria if any guy is seen wearing tattoos ,he cab be easily stopped on the road by government officials because they believe he is either into fraud or he engages in illegal activities to earn a living which is not always true because some of them are actually good individuals who engages in legal and high paying jobs. For instance,my brother has in own business and he has tatoos with the cross design drawn on both of his arms and he isn't a bad person but instead cool,calm and collected.

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Another thing is that it is written in the bible that anyone who draws any thing on their body is evil and is commiting a sin. Due to that, those with tattoos are always seen as the unrighteous ones and there have just been alot of religious beliefs and perspective towards tatoos that has made alot of people run away from drawing it on their body. Infact,I don't think anyone is permitted to get into the church with tatoos in my society which is quite understandable.

On the other hand, Muslims normally have several designs on their body which is usually called "Lali" or "henna". It is mostly drawn on girls hands and their feet sometimes during Muslim festivals, for pre wedding rituals and to celebrate different cultural events. They are usually very beautiful and are used for body decorations which normally symbolises their culture and their religion. I once had the priviledge to see it on a girl's hand, it was was designed perfectly. It really made her look more presentable and it was drawn in black.

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Also,in our society today, there are several people who make use of tattoos as a way of symbol of love. For instance, there are several husbands that makes use of ink to draw the pictures of their spouse and their kids on their body to show they love them, which is something I would also love to do in the future when i am married with kids.

Personally,I don't have anything against tattoos and I don't see those who wear them as bad or evil. Infact, I don't think having them actually portrays who an individual really is. There are several people out there who don't even have tattoos but are the bad eggs in the society. The only problem is that, I don't like those who use them to design their body inappropriately. I just don't see any reason why a person should draw tattoos all over their face or on their private parts, it actually scares me and I feel that kinds of drawing says alot about that kind of person.

From what I have heard ,it is said that there are two different kinds of tatoos and they are the permanent and the temporary tattoos. So from my own perspective, I feel the temporary ones can easily be removed and erased from the body and I also think the permanent ones can as well be removed through the use of laser and some other methods.

In the end,I believe tattoos aren't dangerous if drawn by those who are skilled professionals. But then on the other side, it can lead to skin infections if drawn by the wrong people or if drawn excessively on the body.

This is my entry to the #octoberinleo contest for day 17. You can also participate by clicking here

Thanks for reading.

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