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As part of your plans to return home for good, especially if you have been away for some time, there are some thought processes you would do well to get into your system before taking the plunge.
As part of your plans to return home for good, especially if you have been away for some time, there are some thought processes you would do well to get into your system before taking the plunge. It goes without saying that Nigeria is not London, New York or Toronto. It cannot even begin to compare infrastructure or amenities wise. So spare yourself disappointments and heart ache – do not compare when you go home even when you are just visiting. Always try to remember that people do what they do for a reason. The crazy Okada rider does his kamikaze stunts during traffic on Lagos streets for a reason. By the way try not messing Okada riders, they sometimes have an all for one approach to on street conflict resolution. The popular Molue is jam packed for a reason. You see Policemen collecting bribes from the transport buses for a reason. Likewise the Policeman that pulled you over in your 2008 registered BMW X5 is stopping you for a reason that has little to do with your headlights not working. You see, people are really struggling to make ends meet. For some people, having two square meals is a luxury. Work is also such a luxury that they will do it for next to nothing. Some have not been paid their salaries for two to three months but they cannot leave the job as there is no other job to go to. There is no social safety net that genuinely tries to empower the economically disenfranchised. Poverty is a very real reality that not only affects people’s bank accounts but also their perceptions and behaviours. So before you give up hope on Nigeria because Mr. Officer asks you for something to “spend the weekend”, think for a second – why would he be doing this? Please note that I am not advocating bribery at all, but there is fine line between bribing and giving aid. I spend most of my time in Nigeria in Lagos and it is a fun place to be because of the sheer diversity, tenacity and industry of the people amidst such chaos. Even though I see the dilapidated infrastructure and the chaos it creates, all that seem to stick to my mind is the creativity of Nigerians and how well they seem to make a living out of such a challenging terrain. Anyone who goes home and only returns to the west with a narrative of how bad things are in Nigeria is truly blind. Another thought process that you might want to take on board is to never let anything surprise or shock you. I have seen very shocking things in the UK where I live and I have seen shocking things in Nigeria whilst I have visited also. For example, I have seen dead bodies on four occasions on the roads in Nigeria. It beats me why the authorities do not arrange to get these picked up but it happens. Summary justice is sometimes meted out to thieves when caught especially at market places. They get tyres put around their necks and are burnt to death. Thieves in Nigeria now tend to operate in gangs robbing the enormously cash rich banks with incredible firepower and greater audacity in broad daylight. If you live in Lagos, you likely will have a bank within easy reach of your home. No less than five new banks were built on a popular road near our home in Lagos within a year. These have attracted thieves like bees to flower. When they come to terrorise the area (sometimes two to three times a week while I was in Nigeria in September ‘07) people abandon their cars, transport vehicles become empty in seconds, Okada riders fall into the gutter, shop owners close their stores and everywhere falls silent, all in an effort to avoid being the next fatal victim of the desperados. From my room, I can hear the gunshots. As soon as word spreads that the raid is over, almost in an instant, everything returns back to normal again as if nothing ever happened. However, this false calm underlies the fact that just down the road is a bank with its walls and windows totally riddled with bullet holes. You start hearing of police casualties and other innocent but unfortunate other victim who was just not quick enough to find a place for shelter. But when I come to think of it, in the 60’s and 70’s here in the UK, bank robberies was common place until the banks invested more heavily in innovative security measures. Banks in Nigeria seem to be so prone to robberies. I sometimes wonder how much they care about the communities in which they operate. Even their mode of transporting money is usually intercepted by these thugs. Anyway, my point is, there are few things that take place in Nigeria that does not or did not at some point take place in the UK, US, Germany etc. The fact is there are thieves everywhere, there are violent nutcases everywhere, and the difference is that in Nigeria, it seems so easy for these guys to perpetrate their crime and get away with it. Ultimately, I am concerned about my safety and that of my young family. We are relatively secure over here BUT the real truth is that we are all in God’s hands. God is our only real security. I read and hear of despicable acts of violence here in the UK that shocks the human conscience. For example, the younger brother of a friend of mine, Biendi "Bobby" Litambola, was beaten to death in November 2007 in East London. He was just 17 years old. To sum up this section, all I say is- do not expect Nigeria to be perfect. You will be discomforted by people (relatives), there won’t be frequent electricity but you will get frequent electricity bills from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (formerly NEPA), in fact you will sometimes miss the severe below freezing cold weather that you just could not stand in the past but there has to be something stronger and bigger than all these things that urges you to come back home.
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