The Nigerian Way; Will things ever change?

I’ll be honest – It’s not going to be easy writing this post without coming across as a pessimist but I need to give you a taste of the attitude of Nigerians I have experienced in recent times. From all indications things seem to be going from bad to worse. Just yesterday I was at a beautiful wedding reception and at a point all guests were asked to stand up for a prayer from one of the wedding couple’s family members. As we were repeatedly saying a resounding ‘Amen’, right in the middle of the prayer I suddenly heard the pop of a champagne bottle.

we no dey pop amI don’t know about you but I think that was just downright rude. What would it cost the stewards to wait a minute or two for a prayer to finish before causing such a distraction. In the presence of God some level of decorum should be expected during prayer – no talking,  no selfie-ing, no walking and most definitely no champagne popping! Of course it wasn’t long before the final Amen that another champagne cork went off with a loud *POP!* At this point the ridiculousness of it all made me giggle and shake my head – Nigerians!

Hours after I had eaten, drunk and savoured the entertainment from the legendary DJ Jimmy Jatt, I glanced to my left and then to my right and noticed souvenir gifts were being distributed to selected tables. Some guests got umbrellas, some got mugs and some got magazines. Why were some guests completely ignored? Were they less important than the ‘gifted’ ones? If they were invited to attend this function and they took the pains to dress up, leave their houses and come all the way down then haven’t they earned the right to be treated as well as the selected guests? Who invented Selective distribution? The absurdity of it all made me wriggle and shake my head – Nigerians!

On driving back home I was approaching a traffic light that just switched from green to amber. I did the obvious thing which was to slow down since there was no way I would cover the distance ahead before the red light. But the over zealous motorist in front of me accelerated! It goes without saying that he ended up driving through a red light and almost taking off the bumper of an intercepting car along with him. I halted at the red traffic light and asked myself, ‘Was that behaviour necessary? Where on earth is he in a hurry to – his own funeral? I was flabbergasted when the motorists now coming from my left on their green light continued cutting across even when the red light in front of me had changed to green. Among the law breakers were young male and female drivers who looked learned and responsible – Boy was I wrong. At least three cars cut across my path when they should have obeyed their red light. Which part of ‘…to uphold her honour…’ in Nigeria’s National Pledge did they not understand? The bravado of it all made me jiggle and shake my head – Nigerians!

The attitude of Nigerians is indeed giving me deep concern. In a country where citizens feel they can do as they please without caring about others around them, you can expect that sooner or later there will be a complete collapse of the system. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In my next post I will be exploring how this attitudinal change in the right direction can begin (and just for the record, that change begins with you and me 😀 ) < Tweet to @dcrazynigerian and hashtag #thenigerianway >

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6 thoughts on “The Nigerian Way; Will things ever change?

  1. It reminds me very much of Zimbabweans! And Ugandans! And most Africans, really. It’s a very different culture there than here, and I have a few very good African friends who are different from their brethren in that these friends of mine are actually not selfish and self centered like, so they tell me, most Africans! P.s. if you think Nigeria is bad, DON’T come and drive in Canberra. Canberrans live in their own little bubble, completely oblivious of the rest of the world around them when it comes to driving.

    • Lol at ‘most Africans’. I think the reason for the behaviour is this I-don’t-care-attitude which isn’t common in civilized countries where if you break the law you probably you pay a hefty fine or get points on your licence. We here in Nigeria mostly do what ever it is we feel like on the road and damn the consequences until shit hits the fan. Anyhoo, I’ll take your advice and avoid driving in Canberra 🙂

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  3. Nigerians as a society. We are slaves to money. And by money, i mean power. If you have money and you don’t show it, you’re as good as poor. To be rich, you must have your latest cars and big houses so people treat you with the reverence you “deserve”. Its a disgusting shame. What makes police men to slam their feet and be shouting “oga, sir” when a g-wagon passes and harass the poor keke napep drivers for a hundred naira. It’s inbred and in our DNA. Small power, small wealth and the average Nigerian gets out of control

    • So true. You’ve forgotten about the middle class who also get harassed by the police. It baffles me where the whole ‘bigmanism’ mentality came from (American hip hop music videos and Mafia movies perhaps). Shame is what I feel when I think about the way we treat each other. We’re far from civilized. We just pretend to be.

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