Visiting Motherland: security measures, how so?

I found this an intriquing avenue to voice out my concern with visiting Nigeria after being away for quite some time now.The point here is how secured is it.

Lagos, a major city in Nigeria, is rated one of the most dangerous place to live or visit. I'm not asking for people's opinion on this because I know so. My only concern is, how could one enjoy a three week visit without being mugged by area boys or even your old friends. I'm not going to bewail the Nigerian economic situation here. That's already established. I have hundreds of rhetorical questions to ask, where is the morals,values and all that.

Everyone wants to take money from you: give give give. Even your siblings would try to scam you out of money. Why is everyone so desperate? It kills me. Don't want anyone to try to rubbish me on this subject because I have a handful of instances to cite here. Brothers would arrange their friends to come attack you. Girls would try to scam you and all that vice. Now I'm thinking its safer to come quietly and silently leave.

A friend told me, " if you go to Nigeria driving this kind of car you drive here, you'll be killed a two weeks". Not saying there are no cars better than mine in Nigeria, but the fact that, one is from the US or london, shocking gives an impression that, you're rich and have lots of money. Or maybe you did not work for the money. I don't get it. Had a few people who went and vowed never to go back again.

Please help me here, what's the way out? We love Nigeria and wants to be treated equally when we come visiting or retired.

not totally true
it all depends on ur style

pete, since you don't want us to dispute your assertions and you're saying Nigeria is so bad, my advice is that you should stay where you are. That would be better for you, better for us, and better for Nigeria. Thanks.

Seun,
not sure if that assertion was posited,that Nigeria is a bad place.granted its bad, its not the worst>my concern at this point is the attitude of most Nigerians.I remember quite well that in the early 80s Ibos were harshly stigmatized as being a greedy and money desparate,today, the entire nation seem to carry that aura. Its not Nigeria that makes up Nigeria, its Nigerians.I think this could be a forum to intellectualize issues as to this nature of dog eat dog and the subsequent attack on us visiting.Its not good argument to say, stay where you are and it would be good for us and for you,nah, not like that.we'll work it out and see it gets better.

Hey Pete, though we all know the situation in Nigeria, but it is not as bad as u said.I went to nigeria earlier this year, trust me i didnt want to leave cuz of the fun i had. if u dont spend money or give peopla money, how will u enjoy ur stay or do u want to bring all the money back here? ......how many people do u know that have been killed becuase of the nice car they drive? .......well all i know is that it depends on the kind of people u roll with, and if u know them for who they are u should be able to deal or paly safe with them.......but if u still feel the same way , maybe what seun said would be the best thing to do .

I can tell you that it is Nigerians who scare people from visiting our motherland by their stories. If you do a background check, some of these Nigerians have not travelled to the country in the past 20 years. Some only see Nigeria on CNN.

yea...thanks for the inpute,sure the money would be spent, but the agressive nature is just has become a life style.I had visited most recently too and I'm going again soon. It just scares me to see the way people react when it comes to money and wanting to just collect from you, I mean no more value.Its this drive that has driven some folks into robbery and other social vice. Yes I know three people killed in Nigeria because they sorta lived well. you know of the last year's case of Obasanjo's daughter's friend or cousin who came into Nigeria from the UK or US and was murdered...sure you read about that.No doubt, it depends on the circle you ride with.Even before coming to the states, I was pretty careful because i slightly became a target, was almost robbed at about 5am in Ikeja, sure you could be robbed in New york, that does't bother me, I'm concerned with Nigeria and I wonder how we could really begin to make an accountable positive impact

Security measures to take wen coming 2 ur own country? Is dis a joke.tell me smtn werent u like raised ere b4 travellin abroad ok wat if smetn happens so terrible dat uv2 cum bak home and stay4a very long time.wldnt u cope? And one last thing if u find it so repulsive dat pple expect u2spend or expect u2get stuffs4dem knwin its only normal.....den pls take seuns advice nd stay wr u r.and if its a do or die affair u mst cum den dnt tell any one.just laylow.. Nigerians...u r d ones spoiling ur country outside..thanks

pete:

Visiting Motherland: security measures, how so?

Everyone wants to take money from you: give give give. Even your siblings would try to scam you out of money. Why is everyone so desperate? It kills me. Don't want anyone to try to rubbish me on this subject because I have a handful of instances to cite here. Brothers would arrange their friends to come attack you...

true word man, such a pity

WHEW

Yo Pete

The concerns you have are real Dude!. I was there from OCT 17-DEC8 2005 and let me tell you what these people do not understand is that when u come from the states even if you lived in Naija b4 you have to be alert always because of the dog eat dog mentality.

Pete take note: This is Kokscity Survival Guide to Surviving in Naija when you are coming from the states.

1. Make sure you have a lot of Condoms that is the first defense you need for Sub-Saharan Africa where the epicenter of HIV is.

2.Do not come with cash, have a friend give you naira in Boston and then western union the rest to yourself in Nigeria so that u are the only one that can collect the money and if you do not use it, u can get a refund when you get back. Plus break it down and send do not send like $1000 at a time do like $500 TWICE INSTEAD. So in essence you use it as a temporary bank and the give you Naira or dollars which ever you may choose.

3.Always try to Land in ABJ or PH Airport if you can, try to avoid Lagos if you can. I like ABJ because it is safer.

4.If you are travelling withing the country, for example from Lagos to Warri, it is better for you take a mobile police officer with you he will charge like Naira 6-10k, but it is worth it since u might pay that bribing police any way.

5.If u are a US Citizen make sure you register with the consulate in Lagos and u can do that online. In case of emergency they will fly you back home.

6.Try to use big domination of currency like use N500 or N1000 note so that you do not have a bulge in your pocket, which might attract felons and gold diggers too.

7. Buy a cheap ass phone, so if it is lost or stolen you are not hurt and since Phone crimes are rampant if you can just use commercial PAYG they are everywhere.

8. Take a malaria drug the minute you land, I took one called Halfan and it worked well and i paid about N1200 for it at a local Pharmacy.

I am sure they are much more ideas i can give you, but right now my Lakers are down 5 and i am going Thru a brain freeze.

But in any case be safe and have a lovely trip.
Oh and yeah that place is Hot as Hell compared to Boston so dress light.

@ Baby cute
I like my life and i am not going to go out there and let anyone punk my ass, i needed some security measure and i saw of lot Nigerians that live in Naija do the same. Have escorts,travel with fake names on local airlines and some other measures.

Stop all the stupid shit! Nigeria is not a scare crow. Except you want to show off as someone who just came from yankee, you don't need all those escorts. Move around like you used to when you once lived in Nigeria. The crime in Nigeria is not worse than what you have in south africa, but more visitors go to south africa.

@ Omon

Security Measures in SA when you come as a tourist is even better than what i explained. The have a huge tourism industry and the tourist are many times kept away from the public in general.Dude I have family in SA and they tell how the use Alarms and different techniques to survive. My Mum Lives in a suburb of Joburg and she does not leave the house pass 7PM. Nigeria is getting there, not there yet but soon they will have the criminal element take over the streets. Omon when next you go to Naija visit Benin City and walk on the streets like a Normal man and see if they do not Obtain you.

Pete please take some measures to protect yourself.

Benin City is where I come from and Ekpoma is my home town. I don't need all that crap when I get home. Do not induce uneccessary fear into people. The basic thing is to go back home and live normally, don't show off with flashy cars and lifestyle. All these fears are all media hype. I was in Trinidad recently, the crime rate there is alarming! but tourists go to Trinidad and Tobago like no mans business

I think the first thing to do is to educate the people around u through your acts. What happens if really u don't have? The problem sometimes lies in the way we seek respect through material show off.

Hello y'all does any one in here know who "pete" is?

Is he not a Nigerian?

I just have some doubts about that guy.

@Kokscity

You did a good job with your writeup.

The author of the topic asked a simple clear-cut question about how to be safe while in Nigeria. But rather than get answers, all I hear are defenses. In reality though, everybody knows that Nigeria can be problematic for a visitor who isn't familiar with the system, or who has been away a while.

I'm so impressed with your response I give you a 10 on a scale of 10.

oasis:

@Kokscity

You did a good job with your writeup.

The author of the topic asked a simple clear-cut question about how to be safe while in Nigeria. But rather than get answers, all I hear are defenses. In reality though, everybody knows that Nigeria can be problematic for a visitor who isn't familiar with the system, or who has been away a while.

I'm so impressed with your response I give you a 10 on a scale of 10.

like i said in my first post, it depends on the kind of people u move with, there are many people that were also not familiar with the system still they get used to it .....I am not disputing ur views though, but the area u go to, the people in the area, and the way u present urself can cause problem .

@ Oasis

Thanks

I was in Nigeria recently and I must say it was not as violent as a lot of people have said. You need not be alarmed, I stayed there for about a month and I was always with money on me. I was not molested in any way. You just need to be careful a bit, but nothing much. The transportation system is rather bad though, for this you might hire a taxi or rent a car. I stayed with my friend´s car and I paid him some amount when I was leaving.

no comment!

just wonderin if we are from middle east! yet these ppl are still kickin! sure u love ur life

oh well eh

wow, i was away from the united states for a while so never saw all these response to my post. Who is saying we need not be careful when going to Nigeria. Kokcity thanks a million for you counsel(thats one man I respect on nairaland). Well the caveat is that, I never went to Nigeria as planned then, but now, I'm on my way come a few weeks from today, bought myself a ticket already.
To Missworld. I'm a fullblood nigerian, an american citizen, by legislative rights, but still a nigeria, born in warri, know of warri bomar boys? i was one of them in high school. this is not a cult just a phrase for stubborn restless kids. education brought me to the US after masters studies I stayed and now work intelligence for the US govt. as a matter of fact the last time I was gonna come to Nigeria, job sent me to Japan for an official assignment. I'm loving the life I'm living, but please express no doubt. I dey kampe. On security, i would keep kokcity's advice to mind. Its tough in nigeria. I fear no evil. I got my own gun too, so bring it on. not sure if my lisence is valid in nigeria, but I can almost assure you that, the embassy would arrange one for me. all i have to do is declare an eminent threat, easy day. But just as some of you opined, laying low is the way to go. I'll touchdown come march****. that I should stay where I'm at right now? hell no!

No country in the world can permitt you to carry a gun in Nigeria,
Nigeria is an independent country.You will not even be able to carry on on the plane.

It amuses me when people talk of coming to Nigeria and act like it's Iraq or Afghanistan, if I weren't in Nigeria, I would be scared stiff. I transit between Warri, Benin and Lagos often, and anytime i'm in these cities and i walk the streets and do everything a normal human being does and am yet to see anything particularly threatening. Now i know that there are crime and all that, but it's not as notorious as it's being made to look like.

While Nigeria is not the most dangerous country in the world, we just can't ignore the fact that, caution is a significant requirement when coming to nigeria, I mean one that is required more than is necessary when visiting other african countries like ivory coast and kenya. Go see what the TSA wrote about Nigeria and jamaica. I once had a female friend(white american) who visited Nigeria last year, she loved it and had since been there twice. She had absolutely no problem so to speak. Though she had to give police personel money on every encounter. Nigeria is one of the countries in the world where police officers could rob you, where u ride a bus with a police man and he stinks, now I don't say this to shame the country,I say it with tears in my heart. of all the things I have to worry about,the future of Nigeria is ONE of them. So i find it rather unsatisfactory when I'm addressed as one who sees Nigeria as an outsider.I was born there, I had represented that country in three international youth forums when I was in college back then.But she is in a decaying state right now and I think NL members in someway could do their own little bid in seeting things right rather than hide from the facts as it presents itself to the global cummunity. The reputation we have out there are not thrumped up, they're real and its still happening.Also, the US embassy under diplomatic agreement has its own security and they do have guns provided them by the US govt and not Nigerian govt.M16s baby!

abeg make i hear word for here!! you are only in danger for Nigeria if you don't bring anything good with u when coming home

that car you are driving in the states might be a child's play for naija, ohh boy come see ride everywhere and people still dey, haba

yeah that is the truth ! don't scare people away from their home country ! My brothers and sisters Nigeria is good let's all return home and do more bether things.remember the saying that no place like home.

@ seun you always scare people way from Nigeria and i don't know the reason .I think you are bias

pete, all can say is just dont tell a soul when your goin or coming, then you wont have all the hassel. some people here telling you, yeah its ok to go and spend the money becos you're meant to for the sake of fun is full of crap. now think about it, showing money back home is all about earning respect even if you're the worst idiot around. you want to go home becos if would love to see ur friends and family right and you expect that vice versa. i know many people living here working 3 jobs just to make ends meet, then after saving some money to go homeafter few years, the go and splash money like no mans business, of cause the exchange rate is great, make empty promises, lift up peoples hope before coming back to see if they can borrow some few pounds from a friend to buy a weekly bus pass for work. am going home in two weeks time and yes i've got something for my family and thats it. they have no idea am coming until i get to the door. just keep low and try to blend in as much as you can and you'll be fine.

Point of correction on the legality of firearms in Nigeria, Pete.   Side-arms (pistols) are absolutely off-limits to most civilians, and anyone found packing one without a permit will be in deep shit.

Shotguns and rifles CAN be licensed, and in the last couple of years the police have begun issuing licenses for pump action shotguns, which is a significant improvement over the old-school double barrel shotguns that were the only permitted variant in the past.

If you must pack heat, do not even THINK about bringing it over with you on the plane.  Link up with a trusted Nigerian cop and you ought to be able to lay your hands on a duly licensed pump action peace-maker to place behind your night-stand or discreetly in your ride, for those moments when diplomacy falls short of resolving a threat.

Finally, if you choose to arm yourself, NEVER, regardless of provocation, brandish the hardware unless you are under fire and thus obliged to return covering fire to aid your flight from the scene.