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We have
heard all kinds of stories and opinions from all kinds of Nigerians that have
traveled back to Nigeria for all sorts of reasons. Some will tell you never to
go back to Nigeria again, some will say it is our country and that Nigeria is
okay if you have people in high places that can connect you, and others will
tell you that Nigeria is the place to be and that their classmates are all
living large with stolen or contract money. You will also hear of tales about
one guy who moved back to Nigeria as an expatriate and is working with some oil
or banking company making $10,000 monthly and tax free. I have seen some of
these very people a year after their fans said they left for Nigeria for good to
get the big deal, but they will later claim that they only went home to visit.
Nigerians abroad are in a state of confusion between going back home to Nigeria
to make a descent living with their foreign education and raising their
children, and staying on foreign shores to deal with racism, discrimination, and
second class status.
Many have
said that it is better to be a one-eyed king in Nigeria than to be the two-eyed
maid in America. If this is the case, why are Nigerians not going back home and
why are Nigerians forming the longest lines at foreign embassies in Nigeria?
Others will say that half a loaf of bread is better than none. They reason that
it is better to make a low wage with peace of mind and certainty in America than
to go to Nigeria and live in a state of uncertainty, frustration, and
depression. People who hold on to the later school of thought also claim that
even the rich in Nigeria usually have to leave the country on a regular basis
for vacation to foreign shores just to get a fresh air away from a dysfunctional
Nigeria. In order words, the rich we envy in Nigeria are only in Nigeria
because they have the opportunity to loot the treasury or do not have the papers
or the skills to live comfortably abroad. If this reasoning is true, then do
not move back to Nigeria unless you are guaranteed a stable income and it is
sufficient to move in and out of Nigeria whenever your mind, body, and soul
cries out for a break to foreign shores.
It was
about 7 years ago that a Nigerian woman in her 50s came to the United States.
This is a woman I respect a lot and her husband is a very nice and wonderful
man. She came to take an extended break and in the process decided to take some
courses to better herself in her field. Soon, her two sons came to join her and
they have completed their college education. The husband was a well-to-do
government officer for years in Nigeria and money is not really their problem.
He visits her regularly from Nigeria, but he believes that Nigeria is the place
for him. I guess he is too old now to be contending for the American dream and
like most Nigerians abroad, we all look forward to the day we will retire to
Nigeria.
A couple
of months ago, the woman finished her program and her husband and children
expected her to return home to daddy, to the surprise of both friends and
family, she refused. She said that she was not going back home to suffer and
that her husband can move in with her in America. Many people will assume that
maybe she found a younger boyfriend in America or she has become westernized and
is now a feminist in her old age. Others will wonder if Nigerian women can be
trusted at any age in the civilized world or will the average woman choose to
reject marriage and just date around if she had her own economic freedom. I was
actually surprised at her behavior because she was not a young girl who just
left home for the first time to escape poverty that the wonders of America took
her brain by storm. |
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The Political & Spiritual Purpose of the
Holy Land
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Soon, one of my informants
went to her to interview her about why an upper class Nigerian woman in her late
50s would make a decision like this by choosing America over her husband in
Nigeria. Her response is the purpose of this article. She basically said that
despite the fact that they were rich and can afford to fly in and out of Nigeria
as they pleased, have multiple house helps, build castles, buy hummers and
jeeps, and have everyone calling them Oga and Madam with a driver, that she is
requesting that her husband come stay with her in America. The two things that
touched me in her explanation that I want my fellow Nigerians to understand is
that she asked what the purpose of money was if there was nothing to buy and
what the purpose of waking up every morning was while knowing very well that you
were dying. She claimed that there are times that they had lots of money but
there is not a trace of gas or diesel to buy to easy the discomfort of heat and
the Nigeria Electric Power Authority (NEPA). Also, that nothing works in
Nigeria to the extent that there is no peace of mind in doing business or
receiving good customer service in all walks of life. She simply chose peace of
mind over patriotism, and did not reject her husband at all.
Does this
mean that we should all run out of Nigeria and never return until after we
retire from our foreign jobs? I will say no if you can return back to Nigeria
sooner to start a business to help your community. I will plead with all
reasonable Nigerians and advice them to ignore their Pastors and Imam and do two
things in these drastic times. First, always play the lottery responsibly.
A lot of the lotteries in America, such as the Mega Million, are used to raise
money for education and the least you can win is $12 million. I do not expect
you to play more than $5 each time. Always invest with wisdom. Secondly,
always invest in the business of culture. The western world is always
interested in diversity and ideas to make their country better. This is the
purpose of immigrants. It is to exchange immigrant ideas for their cheap labor
towards developing their already developed countries. European Christianity and
Arab’s Islam has taught Africans to forget or shy away from their cultures, but
this is where the Asians and Hispanics thrive in America. Cartoons such as
Dora, Diego, and even Sesame Street are all geared to make Hispanics and Spanish
more acceptable to American children, and they are selling their culture in the
billions of dollars each year.
Nigerians
and Africans in the Diaspora must wake up from their slumber and use every
talent God has given them to promote their culture intellectually. This is what
sells because no one else can package it like we do. Our culture is our secret
product. In whatever we do that must be original and competitive, package it
with our unique cultural touch and create a need for it through advertising.
Most importantly, have the courage to buy cable advertising in your locality to
reach as many potential customers as possible who would never have known that
you existed. This is the only way we can acquire money legally and have the
economic might to return home sooner to make a difference in our various
localities in Nigeria. Nigeria as it is now is basically a dead country with
all our patriotism put together.
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