Okay, so now I’ve got a post about Melbourne out of the way it’s time for me to say a little something about Nigeria. With the exception of a week in October when I need to clear out my apartment, I’ve pretty much left Nigeria. My assignment there officially finished on 31st July, although I will have to return for business trips over the course of the next 3 years because the project I am on in Melbourne is for Nigeria.
Somebody once said that there is much to write about Russia, but when one tries you can never find the words to write the first line. Nigeria is much the same, and indeed there are many similarities between the two countries. I have tried to describe Nigeria to people who have never been there, and failed on most occasions. A colleague of mine stopped telling people back home about the place because he was getting a reputation as somewhat of a bullshitter, even though he didn’t exaggerate anything. I was at a seminar in Paris some time ago and I was describing the working life in Nigeria to a group of Frenchmen. One of them quipped that I was exaggerating and that “it couldn’t be that bad”, which prompted another Frenchman, sitting beside me, to nudge me in the ribs and remark “wait until he does his Nigerian assignment”. He was based in Port Harcourt.
Nigeria has a reputation, and I knew about it before I arrived. Most of what I’d heard proved to be completely true. Almost all of it, in fact. To get a general picture of Nigeria, just read the news, and you’ll not be far wrong. It isn’t a place like Russia, the US, or France which surprise visitors when they see the contrast between what they’ve imagined (based on exposure to their tourists or foreign policy) and the individuals they encounter. But beyond the general picture, there are some subtleties worth mentioning.
It’s first important to understand that degree is as important as form. Russians, faced with criticism of corruption in their country, often retort that corruption is found everywhere, even in the UK. Which is true, but in many countries it does not infest every authority, office, and institute like it does in Russia. It is the degree, or extent, of corruption which makes Russia different from the UK, not the form. Understanding this concept is important in describing Nigeria.
There is no getting away from the fact that corruption in Nigeria has infested almost every aspect of life, work, and society. I can’t think of a single area where I didn’t encounter a scam of some sort. Some of them were pretty normal – policemen hassling motorists for bribes, for example – with others being less common elsewhere. Filling brand named alcohol bottles with local hooch was widespread practice. Not so bad in itself, but these were being sold through supposedly legitimate suppliers and turning up in established bars. Others were unique to Nigeria. I knew a guy in charge of oil shipments for a foreign oil company who received a call from somebody in the authorities saying he was not going to release the multi-million dollar cargo until somebody had bought his cousin $10 worth of phone credit. My acquaintance found himself going to the shop, buying a phone card, and handing it over to some scruffy bloke who showed up at his office in order to allow his crude oil out of the country.
The corruption, theft, and graft can take many forms: falsifying a CV (I don’t mean enhancing, I mean pretending you’re a Lead Piping Engineer of 12 years experience when actually, until yesterday, you were a fisherman); selling positions in a company; stealing diesel from the storage tanks you’re paid to protect; issuance of false material certificates; impersonating an immigration officer to access an office, from which you then tap up the people within to fund your latest venture; selling land which isn’t yours; deliberately running down the country’s refining capacity in order to partake in the lucrative import of fuels; falsifying delivery notes of said refined fuels in order to receive greater government subsidies; deliberately restricting the country’s power generation capacity in order to benefit from the importation of generators (which must be run on imported fuel); theft of half-eaten sandwiches and opened drink containers from the office fridge; tinkering with fuel gauges at petrol stations to sell customers short; conspiring with company drivers to issue false receipts indicating more fuel was supplied than actually was; supplying counterfeit safety equipment; falsifying certificates related to professional competence (e.g. rope access work); paying employees less than stipulated in their contract (or not at all); cloning satellite TV cards, meaning the legitimate user gets their service cut off when the other card is in use (the cards are cloned by the same people who issue the genuine cards); the list is literally endless. There is no beginning or end to corruption in Nigeria, it is a permanent fixture.
Nepotism is rife: family members are employed and promoted before anyone else. Outright theft is rife: from a pen lying on a desk, to billions from the state coffers. Dishonesty is rife: from the state governors to the street urchin, lying to enrich yourself is the norm. You name the scam, it is being done in Nigeria. Eventually, nothing surprises you.
As I said before, you’ll find such practices everywhere, but to nowhere near the extent found in Nigeria.
Apparently it wasn’t always like this. There was a time, probably from around the 1970s to 1990s, when Nigeria had a reasonably diverse economy. Besides the oil and gas, they had agriculture, manufacturing and assembly (Peugeot set up an assembly plant in Nigeria in the mid-1970s), brewing (there is a both a Guinness and a Heineken brewery), refining, construction, and pharmaceuticals. Some of these survive today. There were decent universities, and students wishing to graduate had to apply themselves. Security wasn’t much of a concern to the average citizen.
I don’t know the details, but at some point in the 1990s one of the military dictators decided to flood the place with oil money in order to buy support. This had the effect of drowning every other form of enterprise and ensuring that oil and gas was the only game in town. This is bad in itself, but by no means unique to Nigeria. What was worse is that this quickly instilled a mentality across Nigeria that there was a lot of money up for grabs, and getting your hands on it wasn’t in any way related to honest efforts or applying yourself to something constructive. Nigeria became a place where if you’re not getting your hands on some of the oil money, either directly or indirectly, then you’re going nowhere. With oil money washing over the whole country like a tidal wave, soon everyone was trying to secure their own piece of the action, using fair means or foul. Imagine throwing a huge box of sweets into a playgroup shouting “Grab what you can!”, and the chaos that ensues will be similar to what happened to Nigeria on a national scale.
At least, this is what I gather happened – I may be wrong – but for sure, the current situation reflects what I’ve described. The economy is funded almost exclusively from oil and gas revenues, and everything else is merely feeding off that. The new hotels in Lagos, the growth of capital city of Abuja, the importation of luxury goods, the Audi and Porsche dealerships, the sky-rocketting real estate prices, the money earmarked for infrastructure projects, the increase in flight passengers, all of it is directly or indirectly linked to the oil money. Okay, maybe there is some hyperbole in there. Agriculture still makes up the lion’s share of GDP, and the services sector is booming. Advertising is a big industry in Lagos, although the most common thing you see advertised is advertising space. But nobody is going to get anywhere herding cattle, picking pineapples, or working in a sawmill. Even the owners won’t be earning that much, not if that’s their only income. There is very little opportunity to get rich, or even advance, unless you are somehow connected to the supply of oil money.
One of the results of this national free-for-all is the formation of groups, societies, associations, and unions whose raison d’être is to obtain as much money and benefits for their members as possible. This isn’t much different from Europe in respect of trade unions, but groups and subgroups form at micro-levels with sometimes comical precision. The Lagos Association of Road Maintenance Engineers, Roundabout and Lay-by Division, 4th Department. The Nigerian Association of Water Truck Drivers, Lagos Chapter. Membership of one or more of these associations is both essential and compulsory: essential because an individual would get trampled very quickly in the general melee of Nigeria, and compulsory in the sense that you have almost no chance of being allowed to quietly ply your trade without paying dues to some group or other. It’s not clear what the legal standing of a lot of these groups is, but it’s often hard to tell how they differ from a standard extortion racket. One of the most powerful unions in Lagos, the transport union, used to shake down any okada (motorcycle taxi) driver passing through their checkpoints, claiming the money was used “to protect them from the police”. I doubt the money was used in such a manner, but people do need protection from the police in Lagos. Not that the okada drivers had any say in the matter: membership was automatic, and the union muscle would beat any non-compliant driver or confiscate his vehicle. The power of the oil and gas workers unions is legendary, ensuring their members enjoy pay and benefits which are the highest of any local staff in the world, and often outstrip those of the expatriates.
This in itself might not be so damaging, but ubiquitous to all competing factions is a rapacity the likes of which I doubt can be found anywhere else on such a scale. There is a culture so prevalent that it is a defining characteristic of Nigeria whereby no amount is ever enough, and no sum too small to be pilfered. There comes a point in the career of most people who have gotten rich, either legitimately or otherwise, where they stop chasing the small stuff and are only interested in adding to their pile if the increase will be substantial. The police chief of a sizeable Thai resort town has his fingers in many pies, but he’s not interested in shaking down street vendors. His minions might in order to supplement their salaries, but generally once the boss has his cut of most of the action, he’s not interested in sweeping up every last baht. As a result, commerce can continue relatively unmolested. The same is roughly true amongst the Sheikhs of the Middle East. Bung the Crown Prince a few million for the contract, and he’ll allow the project activities to go ahead pretty freely. He’s not interested in making an extra $10k by insisting you hire his brother’s lorry fleet to transport the gravel. Such restraint may also be practical: the dodgy official in the UK isn’t going to be interested in taking pennies if he risks getting fired or going to jail, he’ll have a minimum price he’ll work for.
But Nigeria has the same problem I saw in Russia: an almost pathological insistence of securing for yourself 100% of everything that is available, and not a kopek or kobo less. I have observed before that Russians would rather have 100% of nothing than 50% of something, and the same is true – but on a far greater scale – in Nigeria. The inequality in Nigeria is horrific. The middle-classes are tiny, those who are neither stinking rich nor mired in poverty. As it happens, most of the Nigerians I worked with fell into this category: lucky enough to have well-paying jobs, but not ordering Porsche Cayennes for each family member. Statistically, almost all Nigerians are dirt poor. A very few are stinking rich. Again, a manageable problem in itself, but the rich haven’t finished yet. Indeed, they’re only just getting started. I spoke to a couple of Angolans in a seminar once, and they said that although their ruling classes had enriched themselves immeasurably, they were at least spending some money on the country, and improvements were noticeable. The reason the Russians accept with a shrug the siloviki helping themselves to millions is because they (rightly) feel this is inevitable and – more importantly – life is actually improving in Russia and has been doing so since they came to power. Sure, it’s a slow improvement and life is still hard, but they are at least moving in the right direction (for how long is a discussion for another post). There have been improvements in infrastructure in Russia, the new Sheremetovo airport to name one example.
By contrast – and I challenge any Nigerian reading this to disagree – there have been no discernible improvements in Nigeria in the past decade (outside of Abuja, where all the politicians happen to live). The infrastructure is crumbling, electricity shortages abound, Lagos airport is a national disgrace, project after project gets sanctioned but rarely started, never mind completed, before the funds disappear, and unemployment is rocketing. I heard somewhere that 2m people are added to the workforce every year in Nigeria. To do what, exactly? There are no jobs. One source of employment for young men was to drive okadas, until they abruptly got banned in Lagos last year. The roads are now much better, but you now have tens of thousands of young men with no source of income and no hope of a job. Since the ban came into effect, crime – robberies, car-jackings, burglaries – have increased by an order of magnitude, even in the rich neighbourhoods of Lagos previously thought to be safe. It’s not difficult to see why.
Meanwhile, Nigerian senators – of whom there are 109 – enjoy an official package worth $1.5m per year, which they recently requested to be increased to $2.2m per year. By contrast, the US President gets an annual salary of $400k. Given the unofficial incomes of a Nigerian senator through graft and backhanders is probably 3-5 times that, we can probably estimate most of these guys are taking home something in the order of $4-5m each year. Yet they put in for a 46% increase, in a country where 45% of the population lives beneath the poverty line. This is hardly surprising for a group of politicians, and far from unique to Nigeria. The problem is, this behaviour is repeated through every strata of society from the very top of the government to the lowest street urchin: whatever is there, I want all of it; and I want more. I saw wealthy middle-class Nigerians move to ensure drivers did not enjoy a fringe benefit worth about $10 per week. If you threatened to report a low-level official for corruption, he would usually tremble with fear of his boss finding out: not because his boss shuns corruption, but because he will want to know why the proceeds of this particular scam haven’t been coming to him. We already had the example of a multi-million dollar oil cargo being held up until somebody’s relative received a kick-back worth $10. If any amount of new money arrives in the economy – due to a new oil project, for example – those who are already wealthy, via their societies, organisations, unions, and political connections will ensure 100% of that new money will go to them. Insofar as sharing and dividing the spoils goes, it is between groups who are already of the same wealth. If any trickles down to the next layer, it is almost by accident, and to be corrected at the first opportunity.
I came to the conclusion about 2 years into my assignment that Nigeria is probably the only genuinely classless society I have seen. Class is very different from wealth. Upper class people can be dirt poor (bankrupt dukes) and lower class people can be fabulously rich (Russian oligarchs). Class is about behaviour and attitudes, not wealth (a point made very well in Kate Fox’s excellent book Watching the English). And insofar as behaviour goes, I didn’t see a shred of difference between the top politicians, down through the officials in the national authorities, through the middle class professionals, through the service providers, right down to the area boys. The behaviour was identical across all strata: I want more money, and I will do absolutely anything to get it. If you were to replace the politicians – let’s say our 109 senators from before – with 109 random people from the Nigerian citizenry, you would get no change in behaviour. You could repeat the experiment a thousand times, and you would get no change. There is no ruling class in Nigeria, there is just a set of rulers. Where any change is expected to come from I don’t know.
I believe one of the root causes is the bizarre situation where being dishonest is not socially frowned upon. Not really, anyway. If somebody is caught with his hand in the till, he is not shunned by his peers. The whole situation is treated with utter indifference, and sometimes admiration (if the scam is particularly imaginative). Societal pressure plays an enormous role in shaping the behaviour of a population, probably more so than the brute force of the law, and whilst all Nigerians complain about the crime and dishonesty so prevalent in their country (it affects them far more than the expats), they remain utterly silent when a perpetrator is identified from within their peer group. At best, you’ll get a shrug and a statement to the effect of “that’s just how it is”. If you’re a Nigerian caught running a scam against your employer, your colleagues aren’t going to think any less of you.
In fact, the only behaviour I managed to identify which would cause a Nigerian to be shunned by his peers and made an outcast, is if he decided he wasn’t a believer and therefore wasn’t going to be showing up in church (or mosque) any more. I don’t think I met a single Nigerian who didn’t attend either church or mosque, and religion plays an enormous – possibly the key – role in Nigerian society. I’m not going to go into this topic, mainly because I’m not reflexively anti-religion, but I do suspect that a lot of Nigerians justify unsavoury behaviour during the week by going to church on Sunday and washing themselves of sin. In this respect, the place is very similar to the Gulf States.
Now a reminder of what I said at the beginning of this post. Degree matters. You will find every type of individual in Nigeria, including the kind, funny, generous, honest, and everything else that is good in a person. You’ll find lots of them too. I had the pleasure of working with some great individuals, who were genuinely skilled, could apply themselves, held positions on merit, and were extremely well-mannered and respectful. The team of Nigerians I managed was one of the nicest bunch of people you’d ever hope to meet, and easy to manage as well. (My theory is that engineers are often like this: if you’re bone-idle and want to earn money dishonestly, there are easier things to do than an engineering degree.) The problem these decent people have is that they are vastly outnumbered by those who are not. For every Nigerian who is honest, well-mannered, and diligent you’ll find a hundred whose only goal is to get some money whilst expending the minimum amount of effort possible. If they can use personal connections, lies, or trickery in lieu of learning a useful skill and applying it, they’ll take that option every time. It’s a numbers thing: if 50% of Nigerians were more like 10% of them, the country would be okay. And that’s the fundamental problem of Nigeria summed up in one sentence: way too many dickheads.
When I was bored in our morning meetings – which was on most days – I would canvas my team’s opinion on certain things, often the state of the country. They were by and large in despair. Nigerians are famously optimistic, but this is often through desperation. Nowhere was this better demonstrated than on the occasion when a bank put a Christmas tree up on a roundabout with “presents” at the bottom, and the next morning all the presents had been ripped open. If somebody thinks a box under a tree on a roundabout contains an X-Box, then you’ve gone way beyond optimism and into desperation or delusion.
My lads were a happy enough bunch – as Nigerians usually are – but had no hope of things getting better any time soon. I ventured the suggestion that a return to military dictatorship might be on the cards, and I got no objection. One of them explained that during the times of military dictatorship, it was only a handful of people at the top creaming off money. Now, with democracy, it’s tens of thousands. And during the military dictatorship, crime was much lower, and few had concerns about personal security. Democracy is all well and good, but I’ve often said that it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. I am sure the world will howl with outrage and impose sanctions should Nigeria undergo another military coup, but few can deny that democracy is failing to deliver peace, prosperity, and basic services to Nigeria. I remain far from convinced that many Nigerians would not welcome such an event.
So what did I think of my time in Nigeria? In truth, I didn’t like it, but not for the reasons you might think. The worst thing, by far, was not being able to go anywhere and do anything at the weekends. The security situation did not allow us to travel beyond a very restricted area of Lagos, and even if we could there wasn’t much to do. I like walking about with a camera, camping, exploring by going to a town and drinking lots, skiing, driving around, visiting people, riding a bike, and hill walking. There was no scope to do any of that in Lagos, for reasons usually related to security. That meant for weekend after weekend after weekend there was nothing to do but watch sport on TV, go to the gym, and lie by the pool. Those with families did whatever families do; the single guys went to bars and clubs and picked up Nigerians girls; guys like me – married, single status – didn’t do very much at all. I used the time well, learned French, read countless books, improved on the guitar, and got fit. Nigeria has excellent weather, and even better pineapples, but I would much rather have spent my time doing something else in another place.
Those restrictions were by far the worst aspect of my Nigerian assignment. Insofar as the daily life in Lagos went, with all its challenges, that was manageable. You get used to anything eventually, and at some point I was able to shrug off almost everything Nigeria had to throw at me. I never quite got used to the traffic, so used to plan my day to avoid the worst of it. Dealing with the Nigerians took some getting used to, a process that was eased considerably when I figured out they weren’t the most difficult factor to consider. There’s rarely any point in getting upset about locals anywhere, because they are the raw material you have to work with. If you go to Nigeria, you will have to work with Nigerians, so deal with it. Some aspects of it were frustrating no doubt, but what can I do? Nothing.
What infuriated me more was that some of the expats I encountered were hopelessly unqualified and too inexperienced to be there. Nigeria is a difficult place to attract talent to, and as such – like a lot of oil towns worldwide – those who end up coming are usually way below the standard that should be demanded. Unbelievably, incompetence and stupidity seem to be imported at great expense into Nigeria. This annoyed me considerably, as it did when I encountered a similar state of affairs in Sakhalin. If you are going to come into somebody else’s country on the basis that you have skills they don’t, you’d better make damned sure you have those skills and they are on full view. If I had a quid for every time I’ve seen somebody fail this basic test in the oil business, I could retire and bump yachts in Monaco with Roman Abramovich. I’m pretty sure I upset a few people in Nigeria, and maybe there were a few who didn’t want me there, but nobody could accuse me of not adding value. Nobody could point the finger at me and ask “Why, exactly, do we keep this guy?” If nobody else, the lads in my team didn’t mind me. I gave them direction, support, and cover and got somewhere close to the best out of them. What infuriated me more than anything was coming across a Nigerian with a reputation for being useless, and on further investigation learning that they’d never been given a job description, never been given any meaningful direction, had no understanding of the context of their job in the department or the department in the company, and had just been plonked at a desk and expected to do something. I came across this far more than I should have, and it pissed me off. Fair enough, if somebody is useless then call them useless; but first you have to give them every opportunity to succeed, and only then can you call them useless if they don’t perform. Hey, you could even call this practice management! There was a serious lack of it in Nigeria. How many half-decent Nigerians are shoved in the corner of an office and written off as useless in this manner I don’t know, but I’ll bet it’s a lot, and it does the place a serious disservice.
As final proof that I didn’t dislike the place that much, I signed up to another 3 years of involvement when I had the opportunity to get away from Nigeria for good. I learned some things during my assignment in Lagos, and that knowledge is useful. I know Nigeria, and what it’s like to work with Nigerian companies and Nigerian people on a Nigerian project. A lot of people don’t. I’m used to it, it doesn’t hold any mystery or reason for fear as it did when I first arrived almost 3 years ago.
I’ll be back there at various points in the future, but honestly I hope I don’t have to live there permanently again for the reasons I stated. I don’t consider it 3 years wasted – far from it – and I didn’t hate it. There were moments, plenty of them, where I positively enjoyed it. And as assignments in Nigeria go, that’s not too bad.
UPDATE
In attempt to address some of the reoccuring themes in the comments to this post, I’ve written a follow-up here.
Chiki,
Thanks for the feedback your comment on the lack of natural borders was enlightening.
Okpani,
You can take some heart that many in the west understand what is going on as outlined in your post. I too hope that you rise to break the shackles of empire.
Hey Lad,
The corruption is Nigeria today was planted in by the British Monarchs….shut the fuck up you dirty swine….
One can’t deny the sad but honest truth in this article, however I do agree with Zainab and Dapo Fred that this is not representative of our dear country. One thing I see in this article is that It focuses mainly on the negative aspects of Nigeria and like any situation, dwelling on negatives only makes the glass look half empty. I happen to work for a multi-national company that hosts quite a lot of expats and unlike Tim most of them really enjoy living and working in Nigeria particularly Lagos. It’s different from Europe and US in a million ways but still they get to do lots of things they love and even take up new hobbies as well, like sailing. A couple of them started a blog on Lagos and actually compare it to Miami, the stories shared by expats before them has over time improved the image of an assignment in Nigeria and some have even gone as far as creating networks of former Nigerian expats in Europe and beyond. Overall, it sounds to me like Tim didn’t really get to experience Lagos and Nigeria as a whole, to have a feel of what good lies in what may seem a hopeless country depending on your perspective.
Lola, I choose to see the glass as half full and I will encourage you not to lose your hope in Nigeria, we focus on our strengths and what’s good in our nation, demand honesty, dignity in labor, integrity and give same everyday of our lives. Contribute in every way we can to build a nation we can one day be proud of; with time we will improve the mix of good vs bad and move our nation forward. God help us!
It’s so easy to get all upset and defensive at this article as a Nigerian, because there are some things one can fault, but unfortunately, there are too many things one can’t argue with.
Thanks for sharing the view from your end
NB:
Nigerians like criticizing our country by ourselves. We bring out the machete (and actually truly become one, for once, ironically) when “foreigners” criticize us.
Looks like most of these comments are coming from the “diaspora” Nigerians who love to bash the fatherland with a glee at every given opportunity. The article may be considered fair in the context of the authors limited exposure to Nigeria and ofcourse the industry he served in, and in which most of his references are based. The oil and gas industry from Dammam to Texas is corruption prone so is nigeria’s even if on an alarming scale. I am saddened by most of the comments here because it portrays another bad thing about us : lack of patriotism! This to me is the fuel for corruption.
Kudos to Olaniyi, Okpani, Emeka and Zainab for the courage to challenge this article that many of our compatriots are hailing as “100% accurate”, whatever that means.
I’m surprised about the accuracy with which you have described Nigeria. It takes a very observant and kin mind to gather all these within the period you spent there. This is something most Nigerians are so used to that its no longer infuriating to us. It’s one reason I notice the sad objections to the facts that have been presented in the article. I truly wonder how we can find our way out of this situation. I recently did some work in a University environment in Nigeria and experienced first hand a level of corruption that almost made me abandon my work. I was glad to read recently that about 14 academic staff were sacked from that same University for these practices. However I wish there were just that number involved.
We honestly need help in Nigeria, and I think it starts with us being brutally honest with ourselves. We seem like a society that’s almost totally sold out to greed and an insatiable desire for wealth no matter how dishonestly it may come. I don’t care that Tim is British or about what part anybody or nation may have played in getting us to where we are. What I think we should focus on now is how to raise a generation of Nigerians who can learn the basic principles of honest effort, and a sense of dignity that is not entirely tied to the amount of ill-gotten wealth you can gather.
This article could have been written by a Nigerian and many who complain here would hardly object. Truth is truth, whoever speaks it.
Dear Tim,
I am Nigerian. I stumbled upon this article by chance and I have decided to break my habit of never commenting on blogs. I have to say that it is such a brilliant article… I agree with pretty much everything you have written. I threw up my hands when you wrote: “In fact, the only behaviour I managed to identify which would cause a Nigerian to be shunned by his peers and made an outcast, is if he decided he wasn’t a believer and therefore wasn’t going to be showing up in church (or mosque) any more.”
Unfortunately, you will always get some blinkered people who will blame the West for Nigeria’s corruption; you will get those who will say that this article focuses on the negatives etc etc. But the truth is that this article is a very good representation of Nigeria and all these naysayers are actually part of the problem. Nigeria is in dire straits and I am a firm believer that the first step to solving any problem is to admit that the problem exists, in the first place. Those who try to deny or downplay the problem are doing us no favours whatsoever.
Thank you again, for such a brilliant article.
While I agree with much of what you’ve said. Allow me to to say you are wrong about one fundamental thought;
“I ventured the suggestion that a return to military dictatorship might be on the cards, and I got no objection. One of them explained that during the times of military dictatorship, it was only a handful of people at the top creaming off money. Now, with democracy, it’s tens of thousands. And during the military dictatorship, crime was much lower, and few had concerns about personal security. Democracy is all well and good, but I’ve often said that it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. I am sure the world will howl with outrage and impose sanctions should Nigeria undergo another military coup, but few can deny that democracy is failing to deliver peace, prosperity, and basic services to Nigeria. I remain far from convinced that many Nigerians would not welcome such an event.”
DEMOCRACY HAS HELPED NIGERIA, AND WHILE IT HAS NOT DELIVERED, IT CANNOT BE SAID TO HAVE FAILED COMPLETELY.
Permit me to state that anyone who harbours the thought of a return to military rule is like the biblical Israelites complaining in the wilderness . True, during the military rule fewer persons stole, but their collective theft was higher than that of the lot stealing today. The military rulers embezzled funds and did next to nothing with these funds within the shores of this country, even if for selfish reasons. They brought this country down. And while I totally condemn the corruption in the ruling class, I dare say that they have invested a little part of it within the country.
Secondly, anyone who complains now about the state of corruption has not taken responsibility for his/her part in it, and will therefore sit and complain for the next five decades (at least we both agree that during the military era the issue of corruption was with the ruling class, and now it is with virtually everyone). Anyone who dreams of military rule where job and food security is given to him at the expense of his freedom to speak, and live, in a free enterprise society, would still complain even when things get better- and still be useless.
I assume that you came into the country in 2010, so you would not know how bad things were before now, in terms of infrastructure. Lagos for one, has gone through tremendous change in the last six years (it is a shame that your team failed to point that out to you).
The other part of your article I disagree with is the issue of the unemployment generated by the ban of ‘okada’ riders from the streets of Lagos.
Whatever income generated by okada, was nothing compared to its use in kidnappings, rapes, armed robberies and medical cost for surgeries, not to mention the lives lost through road accidents. No, not in a million years.
Interesting article and correct about a lot of things…just not 100 percent as some people seem to think. Two major incorrect things: first, the state of security not allowing you to do certain things is not really in Lagos, I know lots of expats in Lag who go cycling, to the beaches, jet skiing etc on weekends, so it is the writers fears/perceptions that kept him in. Second is that in the industry, Nigerians most certainly do not earn more than expats, in fact, it is more like what one expat takes home is about what 3-4 regular naira staff take home, not to mention that the companies often house, drive, and give them 3-4 free international business class tickets per annum so they can travel home. Which is fair enough considering that they are being enticed to bring their technical expertise to a place which lacks a lot of the “comforts of home” they are used to. Bit I know far too many expats who struggle to remain in naira because they earn benefits far beyond what they would earn anywhere else, and I would hazard a guess about why Mister here took an extra 3 years, perhaps while waiting for another such juicy posting…most likely in the Mid East or sth…another “not developed world” country. So at the end of the day his motives aren’t so pure after al, even as he mouths off about all that is wrong with Nigeria.
Spot On….like it or not. 160 /170 million and rising steadily. Is the possibility of a change available?
I dont know what made me read your article to the end. Skipped some of it anyway!
Men, U should go do an article about all the horrendously negative things that transpire in your own country and leave Nigeria alone!
U and your cohorts should leave Nigeria alone. Your broadcasting of the evils of Nigeria has not done us any good. You claim U wouldn’t mind coming back here to Nigeria for some assignments. Please go do your assignments in the Sahara desert OK and leave us alone. U contradict yourself. After describing the hell of a time U spent there and pin pointing every evil thing U found and experienced, U wouldn’t mind coming again. To do what I dare ask U! Mr Bad Belly Busybody in Nigeria’s affair. I guess is only for whatever benefit (a fat pay) U get in Nigeria. U are as greedy as them all.
True Nigerians know the ills in our country and do not need your thesis to confirm it. U claimed your team of Nigerians weren’t so bad. There are also loads of good Nigerians everywhere if U come out of your gloominess and depression enough to see it.
Our decadence is horrendous to you as your own decadence is horrendous to us too. U should go do a full report of the horrendous atrocities in your country and leave Nigeria and Nigerians alone.
We don’t need your reminder Bighead, as it and all the other bad press hasn’t done us any good. U should go give up on your own country if that is what you want to do but we wont give up on ours.
We are not in denial anyway but we love our country and appreciate the good stuff while denouncing the bad ones. We will keep believing and acting in every little way possible until Nigeria takes its glorious place in the league of Nations once again.
For you Mr Tim Newman aka MASTER BAD BELLE! Leave us alone. No do work wey nobody send U, TATAFO MASTER!
Tim –
A friend sent your link to me and I didn’t want to post a comment initially. However, after reading a few of the comments here, you could use my feedback – I hope you get to read this.
I agree with many points you noted: there are lots of negatives in Nigeria – and there’s no denying it. The corruption is endemic and has permeated most aspects of society. That said, I disagree with certain elements of your note and I must add that to some degree, the essence you give off hints to a sense of superiority (intellectual, academic and cultural) and ‘foreigner-arrogance’ that may have skewed your experience in Nigeria.
For starters, I agree with you that “degree matters” and I also agree that “context matters”. Your note suggests that your foreign exposure is over indexed in the US, UK, Australia, Russia (the Gulf States, perhaps) and Nigeria. Are you really comparing apples to apples? I argue – and please prove me wrong – that what you observed in Nigeria (degree and all) is a variant of what you’d experience in many other developing nations across the globe. I sincerely encourage you to travel to many of them and then compare them with Nigeria.
Please consider the following examples:
Infrastructure (Nigeria vs BRAZIL): You accurately noted that the “Lagos airport is a national disgrace”: True – in fact I was personally ashamed the first time I returned after several years in the US. But please visit the International Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil (Guarulhos International). I landed there and was grinning from ear to ear. Why? Because I realized that Lagos has ‘company’ on the other end of the globe.
Safety and security (Nigeria vs VENEZUELA): You said that “The security situation did not allow us to travel beyond a very restricted area of Lagos” Even in the biggest city in Venezuela – Caracas – I have to have security around the clock during business trips. We had to base our Venezuelan staff in Colombia because of safety – I am not talking about Americans, these are local people.
Traffic (Nigeria vs ARGENTINA): You said that you “never quite got used to the traffic, so used to plan my day to avoid the worst of it” Please try to drive in Buenos Aires and that will be enough enlightenment. I can tell you that it’s the same thing like Lagos.
Social Spending (Nigeria vs ANGOLA): You noted that you met some Angolans said that “they were at least spending some money on the country”. Please visit Luanda and drive outside of the rich enclaves. I look forward to your experience.
I must admit that I found this statement bordering on ignorant: “Dealing with the Nigerians took some getting used to, a process that was eased considerably when I figured out they weren’t the most difficult factor to consider. There’s rarely any point in getting upset about locals anywhere, because they are the raw material you have to work with. If you go to Nigeria, you will have to work with Nigerians, so deal with it. Some aspects of it were frustrating no doubt, but what can I do? Nothing” Do you think that dealing with you is such a golden opportunity for people from other parts of the world. I encourage everyone who gets the opportunity to travel to learn to keep their so called, often incorrect, sense of greatness to the side and learn to be like the Romans when in Rome.
I also find it rather troubling that you couldn’t find anything to do. You are not the only “white person/expat” in Lagos, not the richest of the glitziest. I assure that had you stepped out of our condescending perch and explored friends of a similar mold (“married, single status”), you really would’ve enjoyed more of what the city or the country has to offer. Clearly you didn’t even venture into the rest of the country.
Lastly, could you please not refer to the Nigerians you worked with as “my lads” (“My lads were a happy enough bunch”, “ the lads in my team didn’t mind me”, “I gave them direction, support, and cover and got somewhere close to the best out of them.”). They are your colleagues, if I am not mistaken – professionals in their own right. FYI – I apply the same principles to my American colleagues in reference to our non-US colleagues.
I’d be happy to discuss further. I hope you found some points here relevant. After you visit to other developing nations, I’d like to discuss some root causes of these trends.
By the way, why go back?
The article is mostly accurate and those people faulting it are only living in denial, which is actually a psychological disorder. Dickhead expats come to earn thousands of $$$/day because your country condones it. Nigeria is a lawless country and so anything goes. A Yoruba proverb says “o ri ori ashiere nile oo bu, eyan gidi wo lo fe gbe ori e sile fun e?” (You need a head and are still reluctant to cut that of a lunatic; which sane person will allow you to cut his own?). So quit blaming the expats.
When you Nigerians fix your country, those dickheads you complain about will move to another lawless oil haven.
Dude, you’re so right. I can’t even begin to tell you about Nigeria. I can only say at this point that you’re one lucky chap. Very few of us who are still sane have to live with all the bullshit till we either kill ourselves or superman or Hulk comes to save us.
May I add that what you’ve seen is not even half of Nigeria’s problem’s? Oh yeah, there’s more and worse. Most importantly, Nigerians will defend themselves and their country till the end and unfortunately this will not bring solutions to their problems, which means the country will inevitably continue to swim in its stupidity.
Have a good life Tim!
Kudos to TIM.
It is only a very thoughtful and deeply reflective person that will appreciate the uncanny accuracy of your characterisation of life in Nigeria. Let anyone behaving like ostriches continue in their pretentious ways. It does not change that the fact that Nigeria is one piece of HELL on earth.
Thanks indeed for holding up a giant mirror with which to see ourselves the way we trully are. It is quite true that other nationalities have problems, but we are so afflicted to a very superlative degree. There is the Nigerian in everyone of us that makes us to be so sub-human. It is shameful.
THE WAY WE ARE IS SO SAD. It is either we change, or we perish. It is a matter of time
The comparison between Russia and Nigeria gave me a chuckle. I’ve noticed and commented on it myself.
I parodied Teju Cole’s small fates once
‘Oga paid NGN40 for the tomatoes, madam paid NGN20 for the tomatoes and Gringory paid NGN10 for the tomatoes’
Did you mention how the minority that don’t participate in the hustle struggle to survive and are penalized for their lack of participation?
As a Nigerian I have to find some humor in the situation or DIE of sheer frustration.
And for all my brethren posting comments either justifying the situation or saying its not an accurate or its a one sided point of view wake and smell the roses. If only you were as patriotic when you saw the shit was going down.
All of Tim’s points are noted and largely true.
He dealt with more of the negatives based on his experiences.
Oh, and he missed a small part: He was paid a hefty salary and super allowances. If you don’t know, the allowances for expatriates in Nigeria are much more than for expats in Iraq.
On the other hand, I do wonder why expats are not allowed to move around in Lagos. Port Harcourt is definitely worse as its almost a prison sentence, but they judge the country by looking through a peep-hole on a wall and that is just sad.
we cannot deny the fact that the truth is/will forever be bitter. Like it or not the corrupt leadership we have in Nigeria is part the handy work of the west because how will you explain the millions of stole crude regularly leaving the shores of the country and the billions of naira regularly starched in their banks to further fuel their own economy. just as i don’t fully blame the west for our “classless state”, they should share in the blame after-all they still remain the buyers of our crude oil which has further impoverish the Nigeria phenom. Corruption is like a nerve fiber which needs to be unplug at a joint which is the “mind.” Until their is a change in orientation, corruption won’t cease to exist in the country and this change in orientation must stem from the our leaders, but because this so-called leaders themselves have been dis-disillusioned by their sweatless wealth acquired over time, they have become myopic in thoughts and reasoning which has also affected the populace. the change we therefore seek that will liberate the entity called NIGERIA is generational like it is been vanguard in the Arab nations. I rest my case
Hi Tim.
Ignore all the insults and abuse, you risked all to tell the TRUTH , no one has ever been popular for telling it as it is, but who cares.
Speaking with my Nigerian hat on, I am totally aghast at the state of affairs in that country. A country where you will have more luck passing an elephant through the eye of needle than doing business in an honest and transparent way.
I Was there few months ago , and after 18 years of leaving for the UK ( do travel back intermittently ) , still no steady light, boreholes in every nook and cranny , terrible roads – almost lost my life in an accident travelling from Lagos to the east, bribery and corruption in almost all quarters, but the most heart gutting and wrenching of the crimes in my beloved fatherland , is the religious exploitation of the gullible and poor masses by super rich so called ‘men of god’ many of whom are rogues.
What happened to contentment for example ? In the UK we work like ‘dogs’ , i.e very hard expecting no bribes or kickbacks , just our hard earned money , this trait is built into the system and though we do have corrupt people and practises , this is the norm rather than the rule.
I still believe there is hope for Nigeria which has great potential to become a world leader , though this will come at a very high price and should start at the grass roots up , because unless this greedy mindset is eradicated among the masses , there will be change.
Thanks.
This article is almost accurate. I can relate to almost everything you said. As much as I agree that corruption is more rife now in democracy, military dictatorship isn’t the answer.
Expats come here lock themselves up with imaginary ideas and keep harping about security. First they arrive with a condescending attitude…..calling colleagues his lads, even a professor wouldn’t call his students LADS complain about everything but their astronomical pay. Imagine someone spending three years in a country restricting himself to lagos, funny thing is he probably went to abuja but hey lets keep it about lagos so he can harp on about traffic.
Nigeria has its problems plenty even, corruption being up there but it annoys me greatly when people come here interact with few people listen to this few people whine and all of a sudden they are off on their merry way to write a book titled THE REAL NIGERIA.
Do us a favour…..you never had it so bad not even in Russia……DON’T COME BACK
While most of what is written here is true, I agree totally with the comments of EJIKE. His wide experience and instances were very informative. We that live in Nigeria know just how much it sucks but this write up is the opinion of a cocooned expat and he’s totally entitled to it. When next he comes back to Nigeria, he should venture beyond the confines his MOPOL(security) details allow and explore. Probably tag along with one of his “lads” for a few days. This will be risky but with all adventures(and it will be an adventure for him) there’s always risk. His views will not be completely altered but a few tweaks will be made if he decided to write a follow up to this.
Tim, your characterisation of Nigeria and the Nigerian situation is largely true. Also, as someone working in the oil industry, I empathise with you in your frustrations about how much of the country you were able to explore. Although the security situation in Lagos is not as bad as you were made to feel, you must have been warned to stay within company approved bounds or do otherwise at your own risk. That’s one inaccuracy out of the way.
The second inaccuracy is your statement that locals earn more than their expat colleagues. You fibbed there, and you know it.
An aspect of corruption in Nigeria you failed to mention in your blog is the participation of expats in it. In the oil industry, expats are involved in mega thefts and cover up for each other, especially if you “belong” to their “group” or “society”. You stand the risk of being targeted if you either try to do like them whilst not belonging, or actively oppose their shenanigans. I suspect you are one of those who “belonged” and could get away with mayhem, and then turn around to brand even honest Nigerians with tarnish.
Nevertheless, I do agree with your surmise about the role of religion in our society, “…I do suspect that a lot of Nigerians justify unsavoury behaviour during the week by going to church on Sunday and washing themselves of sin. In this respect, the place is very similar to the Gulf States.” The penchant of Nigerians wanting to earn more doing less has a lot to do with the belief that it is God’s will for them to prosper with little effort. This, of course, is far from the truth as enunciated in the Bible, but our prosperity preachers who open business houses in the name of “church” would not tell their congregants the truth that it is “the works that your hand finds to do” that God blesses. They are ever so willing to partake of their “share” of the loot, regardless of how their congregants came by it.
Another aspect of your blog that draws my ire is your reference to your colleagues as “my lads”. Reminds me of how I flared up at a scum who welcomed us on a Management HSE Inspection with the words “welcome boys.” Such racist use of words in reference to your colleagues reminds me of how the average South African male is referred to as “boy” by their racist fellow countrymen.
I’m happy you noted that there are expats in Nigeria who have no business being here. You quickly moved from that subject because I believe you don’t want to annoy your fellow countrymen who are here without anything to offer. I know of one who came with a forged certificate. There are loads of them in the country. Most annoying fact is that the more lowly they are, the more they thumb their noses at Nigerians, and why not! If you can get away with the kind of brazen forgery I see, you have no business respecting such a society and its citizens.
By the way, I must commend your blog for the quality of your written English, which is more than I can say for over 60% of your fellow countrymen in Nigeria.
Lastly, even though you require an email address, I will not oblige you with a real one. I know you and your cohorts probably know who I am anyway, but better kept within that small circle than shared publicly.
I liked this article.
No bad assumptions or one-sided views.
For those bad -mouthing, pretend to be a non-Nigerian living in Nigeria or just be patriotic and you’ll see he does have a point. It makes me happy going through the comments and finding that a lot of Nigerians like me agree. I hope we can all learn to fix this at the grassroots/family level before it becomes our death.
Nicely written! Good luck with all your future endeavors.
Ejike, good points. And an excellent question at the end “why go back?” indeed; but people like Oscar, so ostentatious and proud of their exile where they work like “dogs” in his own words, (no disrespect meant) and get treated as such by their hosts; will miss the import of that final question you asked.
Kudos to you Sir.
Many people here are confusing standard of living with QUALITY OF LIFE!
We are not disputing all the accusations made, and we are all sickened by the endemic corruption that’s pulling our country down. But for someone to live within a Lagos enclave for only three years and deal in only one industry; yet he feels he could sit on and pass such generalized, condescending judgement over all of us is pale and base.
Some of the comments here missed the message. Some blame diaspora Nigerians of undue criticism; while some accused the author of limited exposures to other ‘massive’ positives about Nigeria. The emphasis is on DEGREE and FORM. The article clearly states that corruption is everywhere but the degree, and form in Nigeria is uniformly distributed. My concern is that Nigerians at home are so quick to jump on Nigerians abroad and/or expatriates who criticize this flawed system as lacking adequate information or understanding about true status of the system or the condition at home. What the locals, or most, do not understand is that until an individual have a comprehensive understanding of a relative condition to compare another condition, he or she is, without doubt, in the dark about the true reforms necessary to correct the anomalies in any of the system. Some locals have not practically experienced democracies in the developed worlds hence their continued denial of these flaws in the system. And to test those denying the flaws, expose them to a condition where the comparable system is working considerably perfectly, and observe if these transformed locals would have a change of mind. Did these locals ever wondered why these elites prepare their family for emergencies by having passports with ‘anywhere’ visas in them?
For Nigeria to transform to a better society that we all dream of, those outside this flawed system have an indispensable strategic roles to play. An informed citizen is elites worst nightmare.
To the writer, you spoke my long-held observations.
Did this guy ever visit a State called Cross River?
To all those cursing Tim, you’re bunch of crazy assholes. You guys should learn and accept the fact.
You hate the truth and that’s why the government keep looting you guys. I’m sure most of you that comment don’t have a good job, always cry at night saying Nigeria is a bad country, and wished they are not born in this country.
You guys can talk about the problems in Nigeria, but only a few, I mean lil is ready to talk and take action on the solution.
Tell me one thing you can brag or boast of in Nigeria? Nothing, I repeat nothing. Leave other countries alone, this is our country and lets face the fact and tackle the problems.
We are blessed with oil yet we are not geting the benefits. It just as if the bastardize government are doing us a favor. You said there’s no job in the country, most Nigerians believe that it’s only the government that can create jobs. Silly people with lizard brain. For your information, the government can’t create jobs, what they can do to reduce unemployment rate is to create facilities for entrepreneurs to create jobs.
One of the reasons why companies do shutdown in Nigeria is because of the erratic power supply. Nonsense. Even PHCN are using generator, can you imagine?
If you Nigerians fail to accept the fact and lets face it and save the country from this cowards, y’all will still be where you are and Im scared it might get worsen.
I’m a Nigerian. And if you want to challenge me or wage war, I’m ready.
BTW : Thanks Tim.
All opinions are valid , both the half full glasses and the half empty ones . Tim may have few factual discrepancies but what’s a story without the hyperbole… Bottom line ? Tim felt disappointed by Nigeria because it has palpable but unexploited potential . So should we Nigerians . In addition, we should find uncommon hope that this story will one day be a historical farce.
In as much as I will want to DENY all that Tim Newman said, I will want to say he has said the TRUTH in a brutally frank manner. I don’t want to add my experience of working with public officers in Nigeria. It is like adding salt to injury.
Excellent write up Tim.
Sure would like to meet up with you anytime you are in the country.
I can’t believe the length of these comments lol. You people want to solve all Nigeria’s problems in the comments section?! hahaha
Glad you gave engineers the nod 😀
@ Sani – Yes , I work like a ‘dog’ in a senior position at a top UK IT firm , and FYI , I do return home often but cannot partake of the corruption, greed and gross wickedness in that place. 🙂
Tim. I am deeply mortified but you have spoken rightly
And truthfully. I am sure you wrote without prejudice.
Every day I go through the streets of Lagos from the Island
To densely populated areas and I always thank God I have a job.
Its much worse than you know because you never saw what I see dailly.
Yet you are right. Its only God the creator of heaven and the Earth,the merciful
And most gracious, perfect without corruption. Wise and full of wisdom,
Can through his infinite mercies turn our beloved country around for good.
Nothing is impossible for God the compassionate and father of light.
Pingback: The End of an Assignment in Nigeria By Tim Newman | Sulaimon Mojeed-Sanni's Blog
Whatever anyone dislikes about this post, it cannot be its veracity. You may not like that he’s said or how he’s said it, but don’t contest with the fact that the much he’s said is true. And no, he doesn’t need to be black, white, green or spend 20 years in the country before he is entitled to state his views on what goes on in Nigeria. The majority of our knowledge come from other people and sources anyway. How many of you were there when Lord and Lady Lugard amalgamated and named the country? Yet we accept this as fact. What a mess he made by the way.
I would want to invite anyone who says he/she loves Nigeria to actually challenge what it is they love. You would either conclude there’s nothing to love or fight a whole lot harder to save whatever lovable thing there is. To Zainab and others, the behaviour described exists in whatever part of Nigeria you visit. I have been in parts of the North and South outside of Lagos, Abuja and PH and this corruption and criminal incompetence always stares you in the face, understandably not to the extent seen in those hubs – but if it’s not a bribe to let through an oil shipment, it will be for a ‘Pick-up’ load of Ugu leaves, or to jump a queue in a dilapidated government hospital where staff with dubious qualifications juggle selling boiled groundnuts with tending patients. I worked in a remote part of the North during the 2006 census. The soft-spoken, well-meaning and seemingly harmless local chieftain called the supervisors in and explicitly asked us to inflate his hamlet’s population… So what are you telling me?
The basic absence of the rule of law that allows such behaviour to thrive is the same. I would gladly give up a certain amount of “warm, welcoming and happy” people for some security, 5 days a week of power, clean running water, functional health institutions and some justice. I will not be greedy and ask for much more at this stage. There are pockets of sanity and hope around the country of course, but just not enough sadly.
Solution? A UN mandate should grant the area of land to some other country to govern and sanitize. It may further worsen world peace to allow this blatant disregard of law and order to spread.
If you are an honest hardworking citizen and don’t like that option, team up with like-minded folk and begin militia training.
It is important not to lose sight of the thrust of Tim’s post and the relevance of its insight. I believe Tim has earned good money for his work here in Nigeria and has enjoyed himself to some degree as well despite all he’s posted, and that lends some measure of objectivity to what he has written.
The truth can sometimes be difficult to face, and we must needs appreciate this kind of feedback especially when they come from foreigners as they do from time to time. Even if we want to do the ostrich thing and duck into the sands of oblivion, ample evidence abounds around us that all is not well with this country. And if we here are too lily-livered to astutely analyse things and do something about it, we should not then begrudge it coming from the outside.
There is no single sector of society that works within acceptable global standards in this country; even the much touted telecommunications sector offers much less than advertised in the form of dropped calls and inexplicable airtime deduction from mobile accounts, to enumerate a few.
No electricity.
Gasoline is expensive, adulterated and we are being short-changed at the pumps.
University students have been at home for almost a month now and negotiations between ASUU and FGN fell apart yesterday so no solution in view.
Boko Haram commits murder in the name of God and the soldiers sent in to quell the rebellion commit their own crimes against humanity and human-rights.
No tap water delivery service to over 95% of the country’s population.
Very few good roads.
Unemployment is rife.
Religious organisations continue to dupe the masses and endorse our looters.
And, as seen from some of the vitriol against Tim in the commentaries, the citizens themselves refute honest criticism in the worst ways possible, with insults and slander.
Then you wonder why we are not getting out of this rut after some 50-odd years of existence as a country?
Selah.
Very Spot On! I have been saying these exact words for the longest time but sadly most Nigerians would rather remain ignorant about the many issues we face and not accept the fact that our country is practically a FAILED STATE! It would take a big miracle to really turn things around. Also, we Nigerians need to change our mindset on so many things. Just as sad is the many Nigerians in the diaspora that are involved in corruption, bribery and fraud. It goes in line with Tim’s statement that if all the useless politicians are removed and 100 “average” Nigerians are put into power, the same damn things will happen. Only God can help us! Thanks Tim for the article.
Check out this article: http://bit.ly/14ojbqB
@ Ejike: Compared to Afghanistan and other war zones, Nigeria’s doing pretty well. Why don’t we start from there so have something to celebrate?
I disagree with the conclusion of this write up summarily for the reason that it is a conclusive stereotype that all nigerians are corrupt. which in reality isnt d case. I am not corrupt, abi are u corrupt? corrupt leaders yes (which isnt conclusive), for that i refer to the quote ”absolute power corrupts absolutely” as seen elsewhere in the world. Low standards in the nigerian scene accounts for the audacious corruption seen walking about in broad daylight. But even so the so called high standard societies are still the leading cause of global misdemeanor in setting wrong trends that have corrupted the lesser (which wel know well that less developed countries abandon their morals to embrace the ways of the developed in attempts to expand and meet up in an ever changing world). I rest my case. #not defending corruption but defending myself and other non corrupt nigerians.
Hi Tim
I just woke and stumbled on your article, well written. I am Nigerian, living and working in Nigeria. I have been to UK, Ireland and US, so to some extent I have seen how an organized society looks like. I am not going to condemn you for bringing to international community what goes on in my beloved Nigeria. I am equally not one of those that flip over when an outside tells our story-a very sorry one at that.
First of all, I agree with all you said a million times, but I must point out that you were very lenient, maybe you had these pinch of fear writing about another country. Though you mentioned that the Nigerian decay is seen in every facet of our social, religious and personal life. You maybe forgot to mention some important areas of Nigeria that are begging for rescue.
Tim, you forgot to tell the world that our political system is bereft of the principles of democracy. That our political parties all lack internal democracy and can never give democracy to Nigeria. Did you forget, or you don’t know that our lawmakers are 80% fraudsters (Obasanjo knows). You equally forgot to tell the world that our universities are glorified secondary schools with obsolete teaching materials, where masters’ students still copy off a black board and white chalk. Did you not know that our universities are constantly on strike (even presently) and needed about N87b to fix it? The FG claims there is no such money even when it secured amnesty for Niger delta militants with about N100b.
Tim, I can see you never went beyond Abuja, if not, you will tell the world that the average literacy level in the North is less than 20%, higher in the south due to individuals quest for education. You forgot to tell them that corruption has so much eaten deep into our system that parents now pay for expo (exam malpractice) for their wards, supplied by teachers!
You made no mention of our state of the art roads, making it possible for a normal journey of 4hours to stretch to 8hours, state of the art indeed! Did you not know that Nigeria imports almost everything, like the tooth-pick you might have used in one of the restaurants? I know you might have intentionally left out the cost of governance in Nigeria, where a president’s special assistant has about 6 assistants, who may also have 2 assistants each. That the President has 12 crafts in his presidential fleet is no longer secret, what is secret is what those crafts are used for.
Did you not know that the illegal refineries in Nigeria are so much that you wonder if it is that easy to set-up such ventures? Tim, you forgot to tell the international community and international donors that every single kobo they have given us ended up in individual pockets? Tim, please help me tell Bill Gates that his foundation will NEVER eradicate polio out of Nigeria, with corruption so prevalent.
I can go on and on like you said to reel out the decay in our system due to endemic corruption, but let’s look at the form of government. The only area of your essay that didn’t sit well with me is the saving grace that goes with military rule. They are all the same, the cost of government is still not less with them, and neither is corruption reduced. So military rule is not the option, neither is democracy! The only form of government I will support in Nigeria today is COLONIAL RULE-yes, that’s how bad it is. Except if we out-source of President, Governors, Local government chairman, Lawmakers, ministers and heads of parastatals and possibly permanent secretaries will there be a flicker of hope.
Once more Tim, thamks for having the courage to tell the world our story, not that it will achieve any result, but atleast for the world to know what an average Nigeria passes through everyday.
I wish I could pen an elaborate response but all in all I think you were fair to Nigeria and Nigerians, I am a Nigerian, I live in Nigeria and I too get these frustrations. Corruption is so rampant, I hate that to get anything fast-tracked or even done at a regular pace I have to pay someone a bribe or a tip for doing their bloody job! I know what you mean about plopping half decent Nigerians on a desk and expecting them to do wonders. I work for a public company here and after getting trained I got thrown to a place where the skills I had just learnt might not be useful and I am expected to work wonders. It is really frustrating and with high unemployment and little experience, dont have high job mobility. I have to suck it up, do my best and bid my time before I get a better offer. Sometimes I think part of the problem with Nigeria apart from the corrupt system that fights you at every turn is a problem of not putting the right people in the right places.
I guess I did put up an elaborate response, if anyone tells you you are biased, they are being silly. You sound like you know that there are good Nigerians.
I left Nigeria young, now I go there for work and I agree a lot with this post.
1. There is a lot to do in Lagos but it usually verges on the edge of gaudy and vice. If you are the poetry slam type of guy, the nature walker etc forget it. Its about bigs cars, big everything. Not fun. I also just spend all my time reading, working and exercising (gym memberships require a loan)
2. I think less than 10% are decent, closer to 5% but I do not agree that 50% is required, Pareto’s principle only calls for 20%. This is probably the same pattern in the west. We just need to cultivate more decent folks.
Good luck Tim, thanks for trying your best
Tim has presented a lot of truths about our country Nigeria. You cant take that away from his piece! But not all his points are accurate. I won’t delve into those, because quite a number of people have pointed these out, and addressed same.
And now to my observation: This guy is an ass. You need to read his previous post on his experience in Melbourne, Australia. He seems to suffer from some sort of complex which makes him feel the need to bash or bring down other people or cultures.
He apparently is from the UK. I am Nigerian. I’ve been to the UK many times. Being honest, there is absolutely nothing there. Pick a number of cities in the place, and you have a really horrible place, in almost every area of life you could think of. I was in Luton just last month for a couple of days, and I visited the town center area. I actually felt sorry for the majority of people I saw. That’s coming from a guy who lives in Nigeria.
For there to be change, Nigerians have to first accept there is a problem. Most Nigerians like living in denial or downplaying the level of decay in our society. I saw a comment of a guy comparing Nigeria’s problems to those of other countries (comparing the Brazilian and Lagos airport). That just proves that Nigerians are so used to mediocrity, they will say and accept anything. Why don’t you compare our airports to the airport in Dubai for example? There is no point for blind optimism and patriotism, Nigeria is a mess. Yes there is corruption everywhere, but not like ours where, the country is so corrupt it fails to function. Corruption has eaten deep into our society from the senator to the carpenter or market woman. IT IS IRONIC HOW ONE OF THE MOST RELIGIOUS COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD IS ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT!!!!
Proud of you any day anytime. No matter anybody says, it is their own opinion. Fela anikulapo has said it all, ” The masses in Nigeria are living a life of Suffering and smiling” If you can comments about exparts like you so what are people saying? Nigerians hate the 4 letter word “TRuth”
Your place is among the best.
keep moving Tim
cheers
I am flabbergasted at your ability to compile the ills which plagues Nigeria, being confined in your self-made walls of false security with your so called “Lads” who report to you, feeding you all the challenges they are going through. Now you stand in the pulpit of world congregation spouting off like your ancestors before you, who pillaged and ravaged our society, natural resources, human capital to this day. That said, there’s some truth in what you are saying, however, your hypothesis for the root cause is at best laughable, or exposes your lack of understanding of world history or better yet your inability to hold your people responsible for what’s happened to the world God created.
Yes, your people are responsible for the ills that’s plaguing the whole world today and you are complicit because you benefit from the crimes your government commit in your name. From the Roman empire to what we have now, EU, United Nation, and all the Western Nations; your debauchery, life style, moral decadence are part of what you have exported into all the nations of the world. Nigeria is not actually more crime ridden than your western nations by any measuring standards. The reason crime seems like its more there than your own country is the lack of any proper functioning structure that people can rely on. But that’s a conversation for another day, back to you and your people. I will recommend a book for you: “The confessions of an economic hitman by John Perkins” Here’s a pdf version for your reading pleasure. http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/Money_and_Economics/confessions_of_an_economic_hitman.pdf
For all I know you could be an economic hitman. You have not told anyone anything new here. Until you can hold your people responsible for their atrocities around the world and in particular in the so called developing countries, your words and comments mean nothing to me because I know better.
One example of you and your country’s hypocrisy, you were able to stop the flow of monies and monitor all monies going around the world in the so called war on terrorist because it poses an existential threat to your kind, however, your banking industry and your government continue to look the other way when one of your slaves who rule these countries like Nigeria steals their peoples monies and dump them in your banks. Give me a break men!
Thanks Tim, for an accurate and objective piece.
Thanks too to Uzo and Sir Farouk and Mohammed Bello and Abimbola and other right -thinking and sensible Nigerians who have commented.
So long as we deny the stark facts and bury our heads in self denial and manure (as many foolish Nigerians do like John D (who commented that he recently visited Luton but didn’t say why he felt sorry [!?!] for the people of Luton -they have running water/power 24/7 & good roads – unlike the people of Shagamu or Ikorodu, towns comparable to Luton) or Ejike who in mediocre fashion, compared MMA with an airport in Brazil (a BRIC country!) and felt smug , the country will continue to drift and slither in Augean stables of its own making. This will simply postpone the taking of the first necessary steps to start the Herculean reorientation task.
It may well be that reorientation is too late and the whole unstable structure will eventually explode. Then the Ejikes and John Ds of this world will know who should be pitied and who should grin like a Cheshire cat.
Came across this link and my comment to the author is Ok and ?? Keep it moving…. You benefit from the so called corruption that you have taken the time to “analyze”. Why come back? Thank you to my fellow commentors who posed and/or challeneged this author’s write-up…As to the rest of the stupid Nigerians who have treated this crap as an epistle written in gold- shame on you….you weak Nigerians agreeing or giving this dumb writer accolades never cease to amaze me. YOu colo- mentality suffering fools ready to jump on the band wagon of whatever oyibo tells you or says…am just commenting to tell you and your types that you are a waste of life….continue to sell your birthrite to oyibo.