A World Values Survey recently ranked Nigerians the happiest in the world. But, how happy they actually are has been met with contention this week at the UW.

There are characteristics common among Nigerians that make them so happy, including humor, openness and a can-do spirit, said Mojisola Omole, a Hubert Humphrey Fellow from Nigeria, in her presentation last night, “Nigeria: 250 Nations, the Happiest People on Earth.”

At a panel discussion on Monday night, a film crew that was detained in the Niger Delta in Southern Nigeria portrayed Niger’s people very differently.

“I saw children with third-degree burns, oil in the water, fish lying in the mud,” said Sandy Cioffi, director of the film Sweet Crude. “Last week, a bunkering operation [loading a ship with oil] killed 100 people.”

The crew was detained April 12 by the Nigerian military. They were held for seven days without legal counsel.

“Nigeria is the most diverse nation in Africa,” Omole said. “Nigerians are accommodating of other’s opinions.”

Omole did acknowledge tensions in the north of Nigeria between Christians and Muslims and politically motivated killings in the Niger Delta, but he dismissed these instances as unrepresentative of the entire country.

When questioned about the situation in the Niger Delta, Nigerian journalist Omoyele Sowore said the problems stem from the presence of oil companies in the region.

Cioffi described what she experienced while filming Sweet Crude.

“For people who live there it feels like an occupied land,” Cioffi said.

Omole agreed that the presence of oil has caused hardship in the Niger Delta but returned to Nigerian characteristics to explain why even the people of the Niger Delta can be happy.

“Nigerians make peace with issues,” Omole said. “What they can’t change, they live with.”

Nigeria is located in West Africa, and its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea. The country has a population of 150 million. Lagos, a southwestern city, is one of the largest cities in the world.

The Niger Delta is sometimes called the “Oil Rivers” because it was once a major producer of palm oil. Coincidentally, Nigeria has become Africa’s biggest producer of petroleum, with two million barrels extracted daily from the Niger Delta.