"Why Being a Nigerian is so Hard"

There is a saying in the Quadrant Hotel where I work a second job as a 'concierge', about Americans.

Whatever their faults and funny accents, no matter how demanding and unreasonable they might be... they give very hefty tips! The reason for this highlight shall be made clear later on in this post.

The title of this piece is taken directly from this article in the Guardian Newspaper online by Sonala Olumhense. He writes about the promise and expectations of the Nigerian populace in 1999 when civil rule was restored to Nigeria. He argues that by and large that promise and the expectations have not been met.

It wasnt until I moved so far away from my friends and family to New Zealand that I experienced some sort of home-sickness. My previous travels have always been in the Northern Hemisphere where give or take only a couple of hours, you went to bed at the same time as the bulk of your family members and friends. In New Zealand, the major immigrant presence is Asian and the sight of a black face on Queen Street in Auckland still warrants that you stop and say hello. If only because it is that rare to see.

My feelings of home-sickness lessened considerably when I met and interacted with other Nigerians here in Kiwiland. I consider myself a through and through nomad (international nomad) but I am very proud to say that I still have STRONG connections and links to my heritage. This is exhibited in language, music and values.

Unfourtunately, when I meet people and I tell them I am from Nigeria, what springs to mind are invariably negative connotations. Spam mails and all that...

Meet an American and you get that, "I-am-an-American-so-dont-mess-with-me" attitude. The US has spent the last 2 centuries proving to the world that you dont mess with any one of their citizens or you pay for it. And they back it up with technological advancement, largest market in the economic world and all that 'sole remaining Super power in the world' bullshit.

Get introduced to a German and you expect him/her to be a boring, efficient, always-on-time machine.
An Australian bloke should be this laid back, hard to understand guy who is very helpful and keeps saying, 'G'day mate!'
And I hear in the European Union these days, a Pole is this sexy, well toned plumber who is coming to take all the food from the mouth of the original members of the EU.

The point here is that most countries project these stereotypes that put their nationalities in a good light and that come to embody what being from that particular country means. Most immigrants (economic or political) usually have to work EXTRA hard to prove that they have what it takes to make it in their adopted country.

We Nigerians must have that 10 times more.

I have had people who are just meeting me, ask me why these emails asking for your bank account seem to come only from Nigeria. Other Africans also seem to think Nigerians are responsible for a lot of vices that come into their countries. Case in point being the 'black magic' movies that are exported to the whole continent. I met this slightly drunk Ethiopian girl the other day and when she heard I was Nigerian, she jumped behind a friend and screamed in mock fear, "Save me, dont let him cast a spell on me"

Everytime I listen to the issues being discussed in the NZ parliament or read about the latest policy measures announced by Gordon Brown, I shake my head and wonder when my dear country will reach the level and maturity of these kind of decision making.

Now elections were held recently in Nigeria and the main opposition candidate was the current Vice President who had fallen out of favor with the ruling party.

He was going around making statements like, 'this current administration is very corrupt"! The same administration he was a part of for 7 years but after being outmanuveured out of contention, he switched sides. The election was very very flawed and it is a measure of the despondency that people are willing to let it slide and just want to get on with their lives!

For me, being Nigerian means I have to apply for a visa to every single country I want to visit. Every single country. It means I have to present myself physically to the Thai embassy in London to apply for a Thai visa. Even though there is an embassy here in New Zealand.

But what is this trifle of mine, compared to the tens of millions of Nigerians who live on less than 3 dollars a day and yet see the wealth that being the 6th largest producer of oil generates all around them. The wealth being concentrated in the hands of a few elites who mismanage it. To them, being Nigerian means seeing the elites move around and arrogate power to themselves while they have no idea where lunch is coming from as breakfast is being served

And ask people all around the world from Business, Science, Academia, Commerce and the arts who know a Nigerian personally, they consider him/her as an exception. For every decent and positive Nigerian they have met, they have received 10 emails asking them for their credit card details or a bank transfer all purporting to be Central Bank Governor.

No day passes by without me dreaming about what could be. For my country. Perhaps its time to stop dreaming and start acting. God knows I know firsthand how hard it is to do exactly that.