Nigeria Could Teach the West a Few Things
128JAN 3, 2017 10:00 AM EST
By
Tyler Cowen

A trip is often defined by its surprises, so here are my biggest revelations from six days in Lagos, Nigeria.

Most of all, I found Lagos to be much safer than advertised. It is frequently described as one of the most dangerous cities on earth. Many people told me I was crazy to go there, and some Nigerian expats warned me I might not get out of the airport alive.

The reality is that I walked around freely and in many parts of town. I didn’t try to go everywhere or at all hours, and I may have been lucky. Yet not once did I feel threatened, and I strongly suspect that a trip to Lagos is safer than a trip to Rio de Janeiro, a major tourist destination. (In my first trip to Rio I was attacked by children with pointed sticks. In my second I found myself caught in a gunfight between drug lords). Many Lagos residents credit the advent of closed-circuit television cameras for their safety improvements.

So if you’re an experienced traveler, and tempted to visit Africa’s largest and arguably most dynamic city, don’t let safety concerns be a deal killer.

The surprises mount. For all the negative publicity, many parts of Nigeria, especially Lagos, could and should serve as exemplars for religious tolerance.

The reports of Boko Haram and terror killings are well known, and they reflect the interlocking and sometimes deadly combinations of regional, religious, sectarian and ethnic identities in the country, not to mention extreme inequalities of income and opportunity. Yet Nigeria has about 180 million people and is larger than Texas. The violence is the most frequently reported story in the West, but the underlying reality is far more complex and shows positive features.

For instance, the city of Lagos is in many regards a marvel of religious tolerance. Nigeria is about 50 percent Muslim and 40 percent Christian, and the area surrounding Lagos is also highly mixed in terms of religion. That may sound like a recipe for trouble, but in matters of religion Lagos is almost entirely peaceful. Religious intermarriage is common and usually not problematic, as is the case in many (not all) other parts of Nigeria as well. Many top Nigerian politicians have married outside their religion, kept two separate religions in the family and enjoyed continued political success.

Consider the scale and speed of this achievement. Lagos, with a population of about 20 million, is larger than many countries. It is the most commercially oriented part of Nigeria, and it grew so large only in the last few decades, as it attracted entrepreneurially minded people from many parts of Nigeria and other African countries. By one estimate, 85 new residents arrive every hour. That may sound chaotic, but in essence Nigeria has in a few decades created an almost entirely new, country-sized city built on the ideals and practice of religious tolerance. The current president, Muhammadu Buhari, is a Muslim who was supported in his election by many Christian leaders, on the grounds that he would fight corruption more effectively. His running mate served as a Pentecostal pastor.

The recent history of Nigeria, Lagos in particular, is also a counterweight to some recent Western political trends. Many Westerners today fear resurgent nationalism, as illustrated by the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump.

In Nigeria, nationalism is largely a progressive force, bringing the country together and allowing nation-building and infrastructure development. However imperfect or backward these processes might be -- Nigeria has at least 270 distinct ethnic groups and 370 languages -- in Nigeria one is rooting for nationalism to succeed. And it’s in Lagos, the country’s largest and most important window to the outside world, where the understanding of the importance of a common and stable national identity has made such progress.

Many Westerners used to consider much of Africa backward in this regard, but we Westerners are learning again that national cohesion isn’t always so easy. Perhaps the political spectrum in many Western countries can realign itself in a direction analogous to some features of Nigeria, to ally liberalism and nationalism once again.

http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-03/nigeria-could-teach-the-west-a-few-things

Lagos - a country inside another country.

Tyler Cowen my main man.

The guy is just describing the Yoruba spirit.

Nice piece.

[s]

naijaGhandi:
Lagos - a country inside another country.

[/s]

Lagos - A Yoruba commune (city state) within the Yoruba country.
She is only doing what other Yoruba city states have done in the past .

Ife
Oyo empire
Ibadan empire

Egbas

Lagos and other Yoruba towns and cities are the exhibition of the unique values and tradition of the Oodua states

1 Tolerance
2 Community
3 Respect for nature and environment
4 Charity
5 Good character.
6 Conservation.

All these values were developed over centuries and guided by the knowledge of the universe , The Yoruba religion and the philosophy / body of knowledge of ifa. Those values constitute the wealth of the Oodua nation .
Unfortunately,those values are be are being lost to an ogre of a Nigerian state.
Those value or what is left of it will sustain an independent Yoruba nation.

to hell with the western world...teach ko,teach ni...

tell those motherfs to stay the fvck away from us... ...

Where are the flattties? I hope they are seeing this? I hope they won't chorus it is their money that developed Lagos again when Abakaliki Umuhiahi etc are begging for development

Nice piece..Media propaganda is nigeria greatest problem

You would be safe in any Yoruba States. And if someone must kidnap you in a Yoruba state, it must be our eastern brothers or our fulanians...

Try the east in your next trip... I bet the directions your pen takes, would be different...

Nobody shld attack me o... I didn't mention name of tribes except Yoruba o

judging a book by it's cover. a spade is still a spade

...and who told him Muslim make up 50% of the population and Christians 40%?

KINGwax007:
You would be safe in any Yoruba States. And if someone must kidnap you in a Yoruba state, it must be out eastern brothers or our fulanians...

Try the east in your next trip... I bet the directions your pen takes, would be different...

Nobody shld attack me o... I didn't mention name of tribes except Yoruba o

Did the guy tell you he won lotto and wants to share money?


Or did he say he's depressed and wants to commit suicide?


. How can you advise a human being like you to go to East?

Admittedly he's probably white skinned with blond hair , but his blood is red like yours!!


Abeg if na joke make you stop am


East koor Easter ni

divicoded:
Where are the flattties? I hope they are seeing this? I hope they won't chorus it is their money that developed Lagos again when Abakaliki Umuhiahi etc are begging for development

They are still on hibernation mode

300 views, 12 comments , that's a knockout punch they dare not talk nonsense

HtwoOw:



Did the guy tell you he won lotto and wants to share money?


Or did he say he's depressed and wants to commit suicide?


. How can you advise a human being like you to go to East?

Admittedly he's probably white skinned with blond hair , but his blood is red like yours!!


Abeg if na joke make you stop am


East koor Easter ni

I no follow u talk o

For instance, the city of Lagos is in many regards a MARVEL of religious tolerance.

Ipob Zombies right now..

True of lasgidi

peckhamboi:
Tyler Cowen my main man.

The guy is just describing the Yoruba spirit.

Having lived in the UK for 15 years, I respect being a Yoruba more.

Sometimes I wish we could just leave this country for the other extremist groups.

Ipob yoots will hate Cowen forever!

Lagos is what it is, simply because the FG made it so out of stupidity of keeping everything there. Even if you put a dog as governor, Lagos will still continue to expand because a small area can not serve 180 million people without experiencing exponential growth. Lagos is the major reason afonjas keep shouting one Nigeria. They want the city to grow into the adjoining states with the contribution of other Nigerians. Smh.

Mynd44, Lalasticlala, what are we waiting for

proeast:
Lagos is what it is, simply because the FG made it so out of stupidity of keeping everything there. Even if you put a dog as governor, Lagos will still continue to expand because a small area can not serve 180 million people without experiencing exponential growth. Lagos is the major reason afonjas keep shouting one Nigeria. They want the city to grow into the adjoining states with the contribution of other Nigerians. Smh.

Pained UgwuPob yoot..

oduastates:
[s][/s]

Lagos - A Yoruba commune (city state) within the Yoruba country.
She is only doing what other Yoruba city states have done in the past .

Ife
Oyo empire
Ibadan empire

Egbas

Lagos and other Yoruba towns and cities are the exhibition of the unique values and tradition of the Oodua states

1 Tolerance
2 Community
3 Respect for nature and environment
4 Charity
5 Good character.
6 Conservation.

All these values were developed over centuries and guided by the knowledge of the universe , The Yoruba religion and the philosophy / body of knowledge of ifa.

When it comes to Nigeria, Lagos is the real deal!

proeast:
Lagos is what it is, simply because the FG made it so out of stupidity of keeping everything there. Even if you put a dog as governor, Lagos will still continue to expand because a small area can not serve 180 million people without experiencing exponential growth. Lagos is the major reason afonjas keep shouting one Nigeria. They want the city to grow into the adjoining states with the contribution of other Nigerians. Smh.

cry me a river flaaaty

What an uplifting piece. After all the bad stories one reads from Nigeria, this is such a feel good one.

I see "blood" on this thread. Wait for the tribal e-warriors to show up.