Nigeria has always been close to my heart. No....I do not like Nigeria. In fact I believe that it is one of the worst countries. But I owe my whole life to this soil, where my father has been for the past 22 years. The first time I had gone to Nigeria was as a seven-year-old in December 1979. After some major events in my life, I finally came back to India in May 1980 and then remained in India. But my father has been staying there for all this time, earning to support our family. And hence the statement that I owe my whole life to Nigeria. Then why do I say that I do not like Nigeria? Read on....
First and foremost, Nigeria does not have common facilities. The NEPA(Nigerian Electric Power Association) is one pathetic service. The lights go frequently and many times in small towns, the NEPA does not come for days together. One more thing that you can abundantly see in this land is poverty. In fact, Nigeria is broadly divided in two social strata, the ultra rich and the extreme poor. In my books, I call this situation a National economic crisis. Nigeria, inspite of having its own oil production, does not have petrol for the people. ’’No Petrol’’ is one of the most common signboards at petrol pumps. Now, how is this possible in an oil-exporting country? The answer is simple. Corruption! Corruption at the high levels.
But the most disgusting point about Nigeria is undoubtedly CRIME! This crime has different faces. One of them is armed robbers. As the name suggests, these are robbers armed with weapons, which they use quite often. Many unsuspecting highway travellers have lost their lives to these terrors. Their modus operandi is simple. Stop a highway vehicle under the disguise of police who are checking vehicles. Once the vehicle stops, the driver is asked for the money and the car. Even a bit of resistance from the driver is an invitation for death. I remember that this was a nuisance when I was a kid of seven, and I see that this is a nuisance when I am a father of a kid. There has been absolutely no combating done by the government regarding this problem. The first death I saw in my life was of a certain Mr.Shah who was shot dead by these armed robbers.
Another face of crime here are the Areaboys. Generally found in big cities like Lagos, these people go around demanding money from standing vehicles. No....this is not begging, this is extortion. Either you pay or you lose your car. The police are a pack of no-good bums.
So, is Nigeria all bad and no good? Not really....considering the natural greenery that God has gifted the Dark Continent. The roads are good. The women are really sturdy. It’s very normal for a pregnant lady to deliver on a given day, and resume back to her daily chores with zeal, with the one-day-old infant tied firmly to her back. The men are really very strong and sturdy. I have actually seen just seven people(I counted them) push and move a train(narrow gauge) as it had conked off in the middle of a railway crossing. Unbelievable, isn’t it? That may make you wonder what they eat! Well, the staple diet here is beef, rice and yam(sweet potato). The people are really very friendly. When they ask you ’’How are my people?’’, it means how is YOUR family. Isn’t that warm?
But then, all these things do not matter when normal life becomes impossible, do they? The traffic is a mess(traffic jams are called go slows here), the heat is unbearable, the electricity is a joke, the police are clowns and crime is the major occupation!
So, what was my motive in writing this review? Simple, really! This review is a warning for any prospective job seekers who are thinking of taking up a job in this country. And if you are planning to go there with your family, it’s a complete no-no! You will only be endangering your family. One of my cousins was in Nigeria. He earned a lot and finally decided to return back to India. Luckily for him, his wife and two daughters left two days before he was supposed to fly. I say luckily because the very next day he was visited by armed robbers. They tied him up and stayed in his house for three days. In this period they collected whatever they could and left. It was my cousin’s good fortune that he escaped with a life. But he got it at the cost of his life’s earnings.
So, if you are the one who has got that offer with a hefty package from Nigeria.......think again.