What's The Difference Between Nigeria And America

Night and Day!!

infrastructure

American streets and highways are largely smooth and without the pot-holes and craters that riddle most Nigerian roads.

American streets are substantially WIDER than most Nigerian streets, with the exception of those in central Abuja.

It is extremely rare to see large "snow drifts" of trash covering American roads, whereas it is just as rare to see a clean street in Nigeria.

Sewers in Nigeria are OPEN GUTTERS that present mortal danger to pedestrians and vehicles, whereas sewage and drainage systems in the US are entirely underground or fenced off where they can never constitute the death traps found everywhere along Nigerian streets, particularly in major cities.

Vehicle emissions are strictly regulated in the US, but are not a concern in Nigeria so far.  This means that large numbers of antiquated vehicles ply Nigerian roads belching out smoke that is thick enough to obscure the view of drivers and cause wrecks.   Similarly the Nigerian police do not pull over motorists for having vehicles with no tail lights, adding a substantial risk to Nigerian night driving which does not exist in the US.

You can hop in your car at any hour of the night and share the freeway with numerous other drivers in most parts of the US, whereas Nigerian highways are largely empty at night due to fear of armed robbery ambushes, "police" attacks and unmarked craters or huge tree logs left over from day-time police "check points".

Streets in most US cities are laid out in an orderly rectangular grid which makes navigation very easy, particularly with today's GPS mapping technology found in many new vehicles,   In Nigeria the streets are largely random in placement, with numerous un-posted one-way lanes and cul-de-sacs,  making navigation a living nightmare for visitors.

Pedestrians and drivers traversing the streets of most American cities are unlikely to be accosted by hordes of pick-pockets, beggars, aggressive street-vendors, and hoodlum gangs, whereas that is the rule and not the exception in Nigeria.

A person being pulled over by the police in the US will reach for their driving license and registration, whereas anyone pulled over in Nigeria had best reach for their wallet, hoping they have enough cash money to avoid a vehicle impound and visit to the police station on trumped-up charges based on non-existent legislation.

Wide pedestrian walkways line most streets in the US, but are a very rare sight in Nigeria outside of Abuja, with the few existing in other towns often fenced off and guarded by road-side businesses, forcing pedestrians to take their chances ducking cars, buses and swarming motor-cycle taxis in what passes for a road.

A person may live in North America for a decade and never experience an electrical power outage, whereas in Nigeria it is rare for the lights to flicker on for so much as a negligible 10 % of the time in any given 24 hour period.

Pay your utility bills in the US and you can be sure your home will be supplied with electricity, CLEAN water and cooking gas on tap.  The uninterrupted flow of those basic utilities are remains a wistful fantasy in Nigeria, hopefully to be realized in coming decades for the benefit of generations yet un-born.

Bribes are expected and demanded for even the most mundane rights in most Nigerian government offices, a situation as foreign to American culture as would be the sight a Nigerian-style motorcycle taxi transporting a family of six.

There are virtually NO public toilets in Nigeria, so the sight of men and women defacting and urinating beside the road and in full view of the public is commonplace and routine, a revolting spectacle absolutely unheard of in the US.

Other than these very few minor and insignificant differences, Nigeria and North America are comparable in that there is terrain below and a sky above in both countries.