Anytime a Nigerian wants to show you an image of 'suffering' they will point to working hard.
Being a brick layer
farming
construction

and so forth. All jobs meant for men with a strong back are used as images of 'suffering' and everyone in the country feels that a 'job' is getting the wear a suit and sitting in an office.
This mentality is very hazardous and stems from our inability to appreciate and live in reality and fact but instead on fantasy and emotion.
People say there are no jobs in Nigeria without lifting a finger to check and see if there are jobs. Where they see work that's abundant (labor)
they run from it and feel they are superior to the task even though they're begging their uncles and aunties for bread money.

In America, jobs that require you to sweat are seen as badges of honor. People brag about working in a factory, lifting bricks, farming etc. They're proud to say they do manly work and a banker is not seen as superior to a farmer. You never hear candidates in american elections proclaiming their banking credentials, but you'll hear many, if they've had the experience, telling you about their life on the farm because it tells people you're humble, you're hardworking, and you have good values.


We need to start living in reality. The most pathetic part is nigerians will flee nigeria to go and do these jobs elsewhere but they're too good to do it in Nigeria. Perhaps these proud for nothing types should continue leaving the country for the betterment of the country.

www.facebook.com/.

True, so very true!
If you pick up a hungary man from your village, give him a small job so that he can make a living, guess what? After a few months of earning a salary, he will start complaining about enslavement. So sad.

Reserved

Ikengawo:
In America, jobs that require you to sweat are seen as badges of honor. People brag about working in a factory, lifting bricks, farming etc. They're proud to say they do manly work and a banker is not seen as superior to a farmer.

This is false.

White collar jobs >>>>>>>>>> blue collar jobs.

Visit any bar/club in America, tell 10 girls that you are a mechanic. Then tell another 10 girls you work on wall street...see how your success rate changes.

You never hear candidates in american elections proclaiming their banking credentials, but you'll hear many, if they've had the experience, telling you about their life on the farm because it tells people you're humble, you're hardworking, and you have good values.

Politicians lie all the time. It is propaganda meant to make blue collar folk feel close to them.



Regarding the rest of your post, I think your typical Nigerian is pretty rational. Should he be happy about backbreaking manual labor, the sort of unskilled job his illiterate great grandfather probably did? That is not the sort of thing that makes one proud.

And the sad thing about these sort of jobs is not only do they physically wear you out, they pay terribly.

In Nigeria, you are competing against a large amount of unskilled labor, there are no minimum wages laws, etc.

At least in yankee, if I'm breaking my back in construction, I'll probably be earning $30-40k/year doing it.

In Nigeria, you won't even make $1000 in a year

What type of club you dey go for US
Girl's are interested in how many $100 bills you can stick inside their pants, not what sort job you do for a living. Infact they don't care for what you do for a living.

Not everybody will become a lawyer, accountant, engineer, or doctor---that's a fact. The point the poster is making is that even for those who are able-bodied and starving, they are unwilling to earn an honest living according to their talent without rancour.

How many $100 bills will a brick layer be able to stick in any woman's pants?

Of course girls care.

Agreed, not everyone can be a lawyer, accountant, etc. But for those who can only work as laborers, and have to do this in a country like Nigeria where the pay is terrible and the safety standards low, is this something that one should be happy about?

Should anyone be happy doing hoe and cutlass farming in 2012, when their ancestor had the same occupation in 1812?

Let's be reasonable here, and not say that people should be happy about something that is highly unpleasant.

ekt_bear: How many $100 bills will a brick layer be able to stick in any woman's pants?

Of course girls care.

Agreed, not everyone can be a lawyer, accountant, etc. But for those who can only work as laborers, and have to do this in a country like Nigeria where the pay is terrible and the safety standards low, is this something that one should be happy about?

Should anyone be happy doing hoe and cutlass farming in 2012, when their ancestor had the same occupation in 1812?

Let's be reasonable here, and not say that people should be happy about something that is highly unpleasant.

my guy u are missing the whole point up,noone is disputing the fact that some jobs are better than others,it has alwys been that way,but what the op is saying is that many nigerians that are unemployed will prefer to stay unemployed ,beg or even steal than to do any dirty job or hard labour job all on the excuse that it is suffering,but take these same of ppl to another country they will do the job,the money they will be paid their will be of little value in the economy so why cant u do the job here.thtis the op arguement

ekt_bear:
This is false.

White collar jobs >>>>>>>>>> blue collar jobs.

Visit any bar/club in America, tell 10 girls that you are a mechanic. Then tell another 10 girls you work on wall street...see how your success rate changes.

Bar/club? That's cos they are out to meet the 'highest bidder'. It does not affect the fact the average American/Non African regards and respect decent hardworking individuals more.

ekt_bear:
Politicians lie all the time. It is propaganda meant to make blue collar folk feel close to them.



Regarding the rest of your post, I think your typical Nigerian is pretty rational. Should he be happy about backbreaking manual labor, the sort of unskilled job his illiterate great grandfather probably did? That is not the sort of thing that makes one proud.

The fact that their politicians are lying tell us infact that Americans regard and see such people (farmers, mechanic etc) as decent and hardworking. It paints a gøod image of the personality in the eyes of Americans. I agree we are not suppose to be doing certain things our Fore-fathers did the exact way they went about it.

onatisi:
my guy u are missing the whole point up,noone is disputing the fact that some jobs are better than others,it has alwys been that way,but what the op is saying is that many nigerians that are unemployed will prefer to stay unemployed ,beg or even steal than to do any dirty job or hard labour job all on the excuse that it is suffering,

I am not saying that gainful employment, even in an unskilled labor job is worse than unemployment. But my point is that is only a step up.

And personally, for me? I would much rather kill, steal or become an armed robber than to ruin my back farming in the bush somewhere in Nigeria. Maybe I'm a bad person or something, but that is just me.

but take these same of ppl to another country they will do the job,the money they will be paid their will be of little value in the economy so why cant u do the job here.thtis the op arguement

Do you not get the point that the equivalent manual labor jobs abroad PAY a lot more? That there are minimum wage laws? Possibly health insurance? Workman's comp in case you get injured on the job?

Don't you think there is a big difference making $40k/year in construction in the US and $1k/year doing the same in Nigeria?

onatisi:
my guy u are missing the whole point up,noone is disputing the fact that some jobs are better than others,it has alwys been that way,but what the op is saying is that many nigerians that are unemployed will prefer to stay unemployed ,beg or even steal than to do any dirty job or hard labour job all on the excuse that it is suffering,but take these same of ppl to another country they will do the job,the money they will be paid their will be of little value in the economy so why cant u do the job here.thtis the op arguement

Pls break it down for him. Nigerians are not known for being Natural in this aspect . . . Nice topic Mr. OP.

ekt_bear:
I am not saying that gainful employment, even in an unskilled labor job is worse than unemployment. But my point is that is only a step up.

And personally, for me? I would much rather kill, steal or become an armed robber than to ruin my back farming in the bush somewhere in Nigeria. Maybe I'm a bad person or something, but that is just me.


Do you not get the point that the equivalent manual labor jobs abroad PAY a lot more? That there are minimum wage laws? Possibly health insurance? Workman's comp in case you get injured on the job?

Don't you think there is a big difference making $40k/year in construction in the US and $1k/year doing the same in Nigeria?

well my bro all i can tell u is ,come and see for yourself then you will understand better

Standing5:
Bar/club? That's cos they are out to meet the 'highest bidder'.

Hmm...I'm not sure if by 'bar/club' you think I mean a place to pick up prostitutes or something. I mean any social setting where there are single guys and girls.

It does not affect the fact the average American/Non African regards and respect decent hardworking individuals more.

The fact that their politicians are lying tell us infact that Americans regard and see such people (farmers, mechanic etc) as decent and hardworking. It paints a gøod image of the personality in the eyes of Americans. I agree we are not suppose to be doing certain things our Fore-fathers did the exact way they went about it.

I guess that this was addressed by the latter part of my post above.

ekt_bear: How many $100 bills will a brick layer be able to stick in any woman's pants?

Of course girls care.

Agreed, not everyone can be a lawyer, accountant, etc. But for those who can only work as laborers, and have to do this in a country like Nigeria where the pay is terrible and the safety standards low, is this something that one should be happy about?

Should anyone be happy doing hoe and cutlass farming in 2012, when their ancestor had the same occupation in 1812?

Let's be reasonable here, and not say that people should be happy about something that is highly unpleasant.

Have you done any project in Nigeria lately?
I speak from a personal experience constructing a small house in Nigeria. First, the labor rate is almost at par with US, considering the need to continously supervise them, give them 1-2 hours break, and they have 4-6hr work days.
Second, if labor work is the only skill they have, why complaint? The idea situation, would be to learn a trade or go to school so that your future would be brighter, instead those people sit there and grumble year-after year.

There's something evil about an unemployed worker who begs, pleads, and applies to work for you, and the first thing that comes to their mind after they settle in an agreed position is to feel "being used"
From that feeling comes all sorts of criminal activities: stealing, vandalizing, sabotage, and even stopping the whole same project they'd begged to be hired for.

ekt_bear:
This is false.

White collar jobs >>>>>>>>>> blue collar jobs.

Visit any bar/club in America, tell 10 girls that you are a mechanic. Then tell another 10 girls you work on wall street...see how your success rate changes.


Politicians lie all the time. It is propaganda meant to make blue collar folk feel close to them.



Regarding the rest of your post, I think your typical Nigerian is pretty rational. Should he be happy about backbreaking manual labor, the sort of unskilled job his illiterate great grandfather probably did? That is not the sort of thing that makes one proud.

lol blue collar work is more respected in the US than white collar work. So women may be attracted to you if you say you're a banker because that to them = power but you're seen as a man of greater integrity if you do blue collar work.

the underdog is the hero in america. These people respect soldiers, farmers, factory workers etc. There are fathers, especially back in the day, that would yell at their sons if their sons wanted to be a banker because as they see it they're not making an 'honest living with their hands'.

It's most comparable to northern nigeria. No matter how much money Dangote makes, he won't be as respected as an emir because the emir represents tradition which is valued over wealth. In america, farming and working hard is the tradition. they're suspicious of the rich. Why do you think John Mccain and Mitt Romney both worked so hard to hide their wealth. John Mccain didn't want the news to report that he had 9 homes. If it was nigeria they would be selling you Tshirts with all 9 of their homes on it.

naijaking1:
Have you done any project in Nigeria lately?

None personally myself. But my father completed his house in our town recently, and I was there for part of the construction.

I speak from a personal experience constructing a small house in Nigeria. First, the labor rate is almost at par with US, considering the need to continously supervise them, give them 1-2 hours break, and they have 4-6hr work days.

I do agree with you that Nigerian labor is quite annoying in this respect. But...I can assure you that labor costs are far higher in the US for construction.

1) Workman's comp
2) Safety standards, government regulations
3) Minimum wage
etc

Second, if labor work is the only skill they have, why complaint?

So. If you in 2012 are doing the same lowly job your ancestor did in 1812, you would feel no unhappiness or dissatisfaction?

Be honest with yourself. Look, you and I have the luxury of education and skills beyond manual labor. We should try to be a bit more sympathetic to their position.

The idea situation, would be to learn a trade or go to school so that your future would be brighter, instead those people sit there and grumble year-after year.

There's something evil about an unemployed worker who begs, pleads, and applies to work for you, and the first thing that comes to their mind after they settle in an agreed position is to feel "being used"
From that feeling comes all sorts of criminal activities: stealing, vandalizing, sabotage, and even stopping the whole same project they'd begged to be hired for.

I agree with most of this paragraph. But the point is, you should try to understand where they are coming from.

@naijaking1, have you ever had debilitating back pain before? I have. And I suffered this injury in recreation, not from a job. I can imagine how angry and unhappy with my life I'd be if I was in a career where this sort of physical risk was par for the course.

"And personally, for me? I would much rather kill, steal or become an armed robber than to ruin my back farming in the bush somewhere in Nigeria. Maybe I'm a bad person or something, but that is just me".

my guy that is the believe many have about the outside world ,you see outside nigeria noone will beg or tell u not to commit a crime but they will tell u you are at least 70 to 80% chance of been caught and spending like 6years living with gays hunks in a prison cell.that gets u thinking whether it is worth it to steal that 1000 dollars wristwatch

NOONE PAYS UNSKILLED LABOURER 40K A YEAR IN USA .MAYBE A MASON OR STEEL BENDER OR CAPENTER BUT NEVER AN UNSKILLED PERSON.and ironically those are the jobs u term to be suffer suffer job in nigeria.outside nigeria ur certificate is worthless the first question anyone will ask u is what can u do,do u know whoopi globerg was one a bricklayer?

Ikengawo:
lol blue collar work is more respected in the US than white collar work.

So the plumber you call to fix your toilet, the garbage man who picks up your trash and the illegal Mexican guy who mows your lawn in the US is more respected than say a software engineer at Microsoft

What on earth are you taking about?

the underdog is the hero in america. These people respect soldiers, farmers, factory workers etc.

People enjoy giving LIP SERVICE to soldiers, farmers, auto workers, etc. It is propaganda. You don't get any special prestige in Yankee for being an auto worker dude.

There are fathers, especially back in the day, that would yell at their sons if their sons wanted to be a banker because as they see it they're not making an 'honest living with their hands'.

Today? In the USA? Do you live in America, or just read about it?

Why do you think John Mccain and Mitt Romney both worked so hard to hide their wealth. John Mccain didn't want the news to report that he had 9 homes. If it was nigeria they would be selling you Tshirts with all 9 of their homes on it.

So that the typical Democrat strategy of painting Republicans as elitists doesn't work? What is so hard to get about this?

Or is Obama also hiding his wealth, bragging about he worked at an ice cream shop as a teenager?

onatisi:
NOONE PAYS UNSKILLED LABOURER 40K A YEAR IN USA .MAYBE A MASON OR STEEL BENDER OR CAPENTER BUT NEVER AN UNSKILLED PERSON.and ironically those are the jobs u term to be suffer suffer job in nigeria.outside nigeria ur certificate is worthless the first question anyone will ask u is what can u do,do u know whoopi globerg was one a bricklayer?

Well, let's look it up.


http://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-laborers-and-helpers.htm


So the median across the USA was ~$28k as of 2010. $13.66 per hour. Given that the median in different across different states, it seems plausible that one could make $40k annually in the industry.

ekt_bear:

Well, let's look it up.


http://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-laborers-and-helpers.htm


So the median across the USA was ~$28k as of 2010. $13.66 per hour. Given that the median in different across different states, it seems plausible that one could make $40k annually in the industry.

i pray u get there ,i pray u get there,but i will advise you to get skilled before leaving naija when u get ur visa,things are not what they say it is online ,there is a stark reality that face ppl when they leave the airport or start looking for jobs,i dont really want to talk about this .i just wish u the best of luck and best in life .

Anyway all of this is cheap talk.

The luxury we have since we don't have to do hard manual labor for a living

If you are ever unfortunate enough to hurt your back badly one day, then you will understand what I am saying, and be able to sympathize with the common man.

Back pain is not a joke.

ekt_bear:

So. If you in 2012 are doing the same lowly job your ancestor did in 1812, you would feel no unhappiness or dissatisfaction?

Be honest with yourself. Look, you and I have the luxury of education and skills beyond manual labor. We should try to be a bit more sympathetic to their position.
I agree with most of this paragraph. But the point is, you should try to understand where they are coming from.

@naijaking1, have you ever had debilitating back pain before? I have. And I suffered this injury in recreation, not from a job. I can imagine how angry and unhappy with my life I'd be if I was in a career where this sort of physical risk was par for the course.

There is no lowly job, it's all in our myopic and illitrate views in Nigeria. In my office for example, everybody know that unless the janitor does his own job for cleaning the operating room, the toilets, and the waiting rooms, things wouldn't work. Same for the clerks, the messanger, and office manager. Everybody has a sense of belonging and actually proud of what they can contribute to the organisation. In Nigeria, the janitor would like to be called a janitor, etc.

Oh, I have done debilitating back breaking job, from my days in Nigeria to UK, and now US. I have seen it all. Yours truely was a labourer right after high school awaiting WAEC, I was janitor while preparing for medical school, and I still break my back operating everyday. It's about mindset.

I refer you to any good book about how black Africans resisted and fought the British for Independence. From Sierra Leon to Kenya, they did fought the British with passive resistance, sabotage, and destruction of equipment. When the British left, these attitude and behaviors continued, but against our personal governments and organizations. That's how we 'learnt laziness' No body or country develops with laziness.

^exactly. No job is hire than the other and it seems those doing least get paid the most.

the worst is when someone is jobless and coming from poverty but still feels he/she is too good for some jobs.
its ok to strive for higher pay or to work a white collar job because it's obviously more comfortable, but when that's not an option you can't pretend blue collar work isn't an option either.

Ikengawo: ^exactly. No job is hire than the other and it seems those doing least get paid the most.

the worst is when someone is jobless and coming from poverty but still feels he/she is too good for some jobs.
its ok to strive for higher pay or to work a white collar job because it's obviously more comfortable, but when that's not an option you can't pretend blue collar work isn't an option either.

Thanks for this post. After corruption, laziness in sub-saharan Africa is next killer of development, a seed sown from cock-eyed struggle against the British.
People always think another person's job is better until they are given that particular job.

Because criminalities are norms in nigeria.And why should anybody work hard if he or she can wangle his/her way into politics,police,customs,army(dajuma/obj/ibb)NNPC, banks,inland revenue(tinubu),civil service,even teaching,etc,and enrinch him/herself over night without any soul raising an eye lid.Some of them even receive the country's highest awards,given out by the country's highest thieves,ie,the president.

I have started a thread here years back that says some like "to be smart in nigeria means being a criminal".So manynairaland hawks like tpia got furious,but years later,it is still the same criteria one requires to be successful in nigeria,dubiousness.

Y'all should put your money where your mouth is. Don't send ur kids to uni.let them enjoy the adulation of the minimum wage worker.

The laziness is more of mental laziness and a refusal to work efficiently. This is why your average blue collar worker cannot work without supervision.

Theres also the naija sharp sharp obsession with money. Which is why so many choose to be okada riders, a job with instant rewards but zero prospects.

When you work hard with no plan or set goal, you see it as suffering. But with a plan and set goals and objective, you enjoy working hard because the more harder you work, the more you reach your goals and this is very interesting.

Its like running without a finish line or prize. But with a prize in your mind and a reachable finish line you spur yourself to run even faster.

I make sense?
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Nigerians see it as hard work because we do not believe in the axiom "No pain, no gain". Nobody wants to work his azz out. Everyone wants to do office or menial work and expect to get paid with millions. Nigeria is also a country where hard work is seldom encouraged, therefore diverting people's attention to where they can work little and make a living out of it.

Maximus85: When you work hard with no plan or set goal, you see it as suffering. But with a plan and set goals and objective, you enjoy working hard because the more harder you work, the more you reach your goals and this is very interesting.

Its like running without a finish line or prize. But with a prize in your mind and a reachable finish line you spur yourself to run even faster.

I make sense?
Visit my signature.

this is the simple golden rule of success i never knew this secret until 6months ago and i seem to have accomplished more in those 6months than my 3years here.
bro ,i think u should make this a topicto enlighten ppl that it is not where u are but what u urself is and aim to be that matters

Construction,farming and all kind of labor jobs are different in Nigeria from America..In America you dont see people carrying concrete on there head from one place to another,or a farmer using hoe and cutlass on hectare of land.So you cant compare doing this kind of jobs in Nigeria with doing it in America..I ask you,have you worked building house in Nigeria? You should try and do it for few days and come back here to tell us your experience.Most of construction and farming jobs are big time suffering in Nigeria..

Seriously, i dont like working. I wished i could sit at home, watch movies, relax, eat and sleep all day! Working its really stressful and it mkes life feel sooo boring, xcept u r working in an entertainment industry....i just wished i was a Princess!