There are so many things about my country that have been said. We’re quite known all over the world, for good and for the not-so-good, either. But then, one of the beauties of Nigeria is how vast our culture is and how Nigerians are never really hesitant to share the culture with the rest of the world. Look at how we’re now sharing Afrobeat with everyone, color me surprised when I saw an artist all the way in South Korea singing to an Afrobeat type beat.
And that’s not just with music, another thing that has crossed the borders is also our food, chief of which is Jollof Rice. On YouTube, I once saw a white content creator teaching how to prepare the Nigerian Jollof Rice. This shows that the food has crossed borders and has garnered the interest of people to the point that many of them are cooking it. Hell, even the regular tussle between Nigeria and Ghana about who has the better Jollof is still something that has been talked about in the international scene.
But in my post today, I won’t be talking about food or music. Of course, there’s a good thing about my country that’s been said. And it’s the fact that we’re adventurous. As a matter of fact, if you go to a country and you don’t find a Nigerian there, run for your life because something shady might be going on there. Many times, you’ll go even to the least talked about country, you’ll see Nigerians that have set roots there, getting married to the indigenous people and building their lives, all while keeping on with their Nigerian roots.
At this point, we’re basically everywhere. Even in countries that are said to be unsafe and volatile, if you look closely enough, there are some Nigerians there as well. Honestly, I don’t even know if this is even a good thing anymore, because we’ve seen that people will be willing to go anywhere, so far, it means they get out of Nigeria. But then, the idea that we’re all adventurous is quite true. Still, it’s also slightly exaggerated. A lot of us won’t have a need to migrate if things were any better here in our country. So, there’s that as well.
One bad thing that has been grossly exaggerated is fraud. Fraud happens everywhere, other countries have their own share of fraudsters, but for some reason, most fraudulent acts keep getting attributed to Nigerians. Many times, even without investigations, you notice you got scammed, and the first thing you think about is probably by a Nigerian Prince. This is a gross misrepresentation, because there are actually a lot of people here who do legitimate work.
I know that it doesn’t help that the fraudsters here love to broadcast their crime, showing off their ill-gotten wealth, rubbing it in the face of their victims. It also doesn’t help that we have politicians who steal from the people and show off the blood money as well. And all this, with the constant accusations, has affected so much. People who are going the legitimate route also suffer as a result. Trying to get an international job, but once they find out you’re a Nigerian, they cut you off. Hell, even Amazon prevents Nigerians from owning accounts on their platforms. You might be able to buy, but you won’t be able to put up products to sell.
It’s just a crazy world, but then, it is what it is. This particular notion has so many things for me that every other good news doesn’t get to make any more sense to me. Because how? It’s sad how the actions of a few fraudsters cause everyone to be painted in the same color as if we’re all guilty of the same sin. Kind of how the actions of bad police officers have ruined the image of all police officers. That’s why it’d be hard for anyone to trust them, no matter how good they are.
I just hope that we can find our way back, because we really need to!
