This interesting article was written by May Akabogu-Collins, a visiting professor of economics at the American Business School in Paris.

By MAY AKABOGU-COLLINS
Published: February 02, 2013
Paris

I was a visiting professor in Paris last fall and it was the first day of class. I was making copies for my 10:30 class at the faculty lounge where two female professors were kibitzing by the coffee machine.

"Oh, yeah," one said. "Soon as I learned he's Nigerian, I discounted everything he'd said as fraud."
"Smart move," agreed the other, nodding, "nothing good's ever come out of that country. ..."

I cringed, held my breath and skedaddled on to my classroom, where my students wanted to know my nationality. I'm American. "Bot Professa," an African student's hand flew up, "ware you from originally? I hear the voice of Africa." I inhaled deeply, chuckled but ignored that question.

When I left Nigeria for the United States in 1980, the plan was to earn an M.B.A., a doctorate in economics, and then return. It was my moral obligation to help develop my country, whose oil wealth financed my education. An M.B.A., a Ph.D. and 32 years later, I'm still here, abroad. In 1992, when I applied for a position at my alma mater, the University of Ibadan, the dean replied, "Why on earth would you want to return when everybody's trying to escape?" No one's been paid for over three months, he explained, and universities are on strike half the time.

Twenty years later, Nigeria can still bring the crazy.
In 1980, the naira had a very favorable exchange rate against the dollar. En route to the United States, I stopped over in London. All along King's Road, the shopkeepers beckoned: "Nigerian? Welcome. Come inside." I was proud to be from Nigeria and was offended when the country was confused with Niger. But, today, if I can pass for someone from Niger - sadly, I would be glad.

Is there a person on the planet who remains unfamiliar with the Nigerian e-mail scam? As a Nigerian living abroad, I've become embarrassed - indeed scared - after learning that in February 2003 a Czech victim of an Internet fraud murdered an innocent Nigerian in Prague.

That isn't the scariest narrative - not by a long shot. In recent years, Nigerians abroad have been warned: "Don't come home. Just send money." But if one must, say, attend a wedding, a funeral or take a chieftaincy title, it is necessary to hire prearranged police protection from the moment you land at the airport until the moment you depart.

Last summer, my ailing 87-year-old mother, worried that her days are numbered, called a family reunion for Christmas. My three U.S.-based siblings and I made plans to return home with all our kids. At the last minute, my brother sent an e-mail canceling the reunion. "What?" my daughter said, her glass of iced tea slipping out of her hands and shattering on the tile floor. Uncle Tony can't guarantee our safety in Nigeria, I explained.
"What about hired armed security like the last time?" she inquired. I showed her the link to the news report my brother had sent headlined, "Gunmen Kill U.S. Returnee in Enugu," his hometown in Nigeria.

Ogbo Edoga had returned from the United States to attend the meeting of an organization of Nigerian professionals in the United States to raise funds for an ultramodern medical diagnostic center in his ancestral village. On his way, he was robbed and shot and killed with an AK-47. He had hired police protection, as had many Nigerians who visited our motherland only to be robbed and murdered. The lucky ones got kidnapped and released after their families paid a huge ransom. And now, Mom's joined the choir: "Don't come home."

Here's what is shameful: This is the Nigeria that has been one of the world's top 10 oil exporters for decades; the presumed "Giant of Africa" when I was leaving in 1980. But three decades later, despite a half-century of billions of petrodollar inflow, in March 2011, at a World Bank-O.E.C.D. conference in Paris, I found myself sliding down my chair to hide my face behind my laptop as a fellow economist explained why Nigeria was excluded in a comparative study thusly: Since Nigeria (with South Africa) dominates the Sub-Saharan African economy and since Nigeria does so poorly at wealth creation, if included, it would render Sub-Saharan Africa's genuine savings dwarfish vis-à-vis East Asia and Latin America.

Here's the thing: One doesn't need a Ph.D. in economics to understand the correlation between poverty and today's high crime rate in Nigeria. When corrupt politicians persistently embezzle public funds rather than produce proper policies, the result is a stagnant economy and its attendant human misery - high unemployment and massive poverty. Marginalized youths resort to Internet scams, kidnapping, or join Boko Haram. When the police go unpaid for months, the citizens become the logical prey.

That's where Nigeria is today. It will not change until we, the people, join in a mass outrage against corruption, demand transparent accounting of our oil revenues and economic justice. Only then will an honest leadership emerge to invest a fair share of the oil revenues in capital in such a way as to permanently raise the consumption level of the masses. Otherwise we Nigerian expatriates - the most educated immigrant group in the United States - will remain in exile, and Nigeria will remain a breeding ground for terrorism.
Is there an Honest Ernest among Nigerians who is able to galvanize us? Can something that good come out of Nigeria? That's a palm reader's guess.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/opinion/global/a-nigerian-spring-long-overdue.xml

Nigeria - a country that has been rape.d by extremely wicked leaders and heartless politicians who ironically parrot Jesus and Allah at the drop of a hat. They claim that God put them there but have refused and failed to produce policies that can move the country forward.

They bandy useless statistics about economic growth rates when indeed only their bank accounts (foreign and local) and greed rate grow in leaps and bounds and not the welfare or the standard of living of the people.

Unemployment is at its highest and it's no longer strange to see labourers at construction sites, 'okada' riders, recharge card sellers that are college graduates. This group is even lucky as some others simply take to crime.

Which contemporary country has not left Nigeria behind or is not about to do so? Is this how things will continue?

Nigerians, support the call for probity and accountability!

Stop tribalism. It's one of the tools the wicked leaders (who are united in their evil purpose) use to divide the country.

Be discerning. Stop religious dogmatism and extremism. Think! These wicked leaders were not ordained by God. Religion is one of the weapons the heartless leaders use to cage the people.

Ask questions. #SupportObyEzekwesili's call for answers.

Why should a rich country have poor citizens?

Why should an undeveloped country with good earnings be battling with a scandalous high rate of unemployment?

Otherwise we Nigerian expatriates - the most educated immigrant group in the United States - will remain in exile, and Nigeria will remain a breeding ground for terrorism.

What the fùck is the meaning of this nonsense?



I hate it when these so called "expatriate nigerians" feel like they are superior to Nigerians living in naija. They act like nigeria is going to collapse if they don't come to our aid.
Who's begging you to come back back? Stay and die in America with your education if Nigeria is too disgusting for you to return.


Nobody cares if you don't want to come back. You can stay there till eternity, you should even ban your children from coming or better still, get a new identity for yourself and your kids.

Nonsense.

^^ If bad policies by bad leaders continue, highly educated Nigerian immigrants won't be encouraged to come home to contribute their quota to the development of the country. Ironically, many of the immigrants were educated with Nigeria's resources in the first place.

If bad policies by wicked leaders continue, poverty will continue. This will continue to fan unemployment and its social offshoot - crime of all types (eg kidnapping, terrorism, robbery, etc).

J12:

What the fùck is the meaning of this nonsense?

If only you knew the calibre of intellectuals of Nigerian origin in foreign countries that are pushing the boundary of human inventions, you would have to admit that indeed, if these people were to return home to contribute their quota as they are willing and eager to, Nigeria would be on another high!

Is he saying Nigerians at home do not have the capacity to transform the country? Absolutely not but rather, the enormous contribution of our brothers and sisters who have gained so much wealth of knowledge from their sojourn in foreign land will help complement the efforts of those at home. Whether you like it or not, Nigerians at home need the exposure to some of these sophisticated technologies and innovations we play with everyday here and together we will be able to take Nigeria to a greater height.

a Nigerian spring is called going to the booth and voting. Nigeria is a democracy, Egypt had to tear it's society apart and upside down just to have democracy, we have it and we now want to take a step backwards as if all we can do is tear society apart and upside down. Nothing more


go and vote. stop selling your vote. stop voting for someone because of tribe, location and name. Vote for qualified men and women, that's you're nigerian spring.

^^Even after voting for qualified men and women, Nigerians can't afford to go to sleep. What it takes for evil to succeed is when good men fold their arms.

Democracy is simply a form of government and it is not a guarantee for good governance. Nigerians, even when they vote on merit, must put the governments at all levels on their toes.

Voting on merit has produced Rochas Okorocha, Babatunde Fashola, Mimiko, Agbersola, Imoke, Oshiomole, Amaechi, Chime Sullivan, Akpabio,
voting for someone based on their name produced Goodluck Jonathan and if we're not careful yet another fool.


Democracy gives us all of the tools to make all of the changes we want to see and those that have utilized it are enjoying inspirational government. Egypt with fighting just to start democracy and even today the country is a mess. We have been going for almost 15 years and some people want us to protest against the government their negligence created.