The Making of the Contemporary Nigerian Elite Child

Abstract

Existing studies on the role of schooling in the formation and (re)production of elite identities have focused almost entirely on the reproduction strategies of Western elites. Consequently, the distinction strategies employed by non-Western elite parents to preserve and/or transform their children into national as well as transnational elites have remained largely unexamined. Employing Bourdieu’s concept of distinction strategy, this chapter critically examines the three key distinction strategies, namely, ‘White school’, ‘prolonged stay in a white elite school’ and ‘refined British accent’ utilised by a group of elite Nigerian parents in their attempts to reproduce their social status as the ‘genuine’ elites—via their children. As well as assisting in the transformation of their children into ‘respectable’ and ‘high status’ young people, the chapter explains how these distinction strategies could also enable the children of Nigerian elites to accrue highly valuable cultural, social and symbolic capital that can gain them access into transnational elite group in the future.