Nigeria is bad - Nigeria is bad - thats all Ihear or read on this forum - okay - which country is not as bad?

What yardstick against other countries have been used to say Nigeria is such a bad state that even noone wants to see anything good in the country?

In South Africa - gang culture, armed robbery, killing is the other of the day, same in America - same in Europe - so what is it about Nigeria that even the citizens dont see anything good in the country?

Is it corruption? Is America less corrupt? Is it security? Is the UK as secured? whereby even under 16 boys carry guns and kill?

I want to know what is it in Nigeria that people wont shut up their mouth and sing another song about Nigeria.

Nigeria is a third world countries for obvious reasons. can u compare the infrastructure of nigeria to that of western nations. heck cuba has better healthcare than nigeria. there is crime in other countries but who do u want to report crime to, the nigerian or american police blind patriotism doesn't help.

Corruption eats away at the moral fibre of Nigeria. Simple that is why Nigeria is bad, until her people change her ways it will continue to be bad

In South Africa - gang culture, armed robbery, killing is the other of the day, same in America - same in Europe - so what is it about Nigeria that even the citizens don't see anything good in the country?

At least they have a better security system, unlike Nigeria. . . .

angeleses:

Nigeria is bad - Nigeria is bad - thats all Ihear or read on this forum - okay - which country is not as bad?

What yardstick against other countries have been used to say Nigeria is such a bad state that even noone wants to see anything good in the country?

In South Africa - gang culture, armed robbery, killing is the other of the day, same in America - same in Europe - so what is it about Nigeria that even the citizens don't see anything good in the country?

Is it corruption? Is America less corrupt? Is it security? Is the UK as secured? whereby even under 16 boys carry guns and kill?

I want to know what is it in Nigeria that people wont shut up their mouth and sing another song about Nigeria.

the corruption in other countries don't seem to have a direct effect on the citizens unlike nigeria
plus they get caught especially by the nosey journalists and are dealt with sharp sharp
but the journalists in nigeria cannot even expose any corrupt police man talk less of the corrupt politicians
the journalist in nigeria are like praise singers, they even sell award every two months


at least some 16yo are killing themselves, in nigeria the police kill people!!!

What yardstick against other countries have been used to say Nigeria is such a bad state that even noone wants to see anything good in the country?

could be the fact that we have what other smaller or more peaceful country can only dream of!! imagine Ghana with just three of our oil wells for example

I love nigeria by the way

bawomolo, always a troublemaker!!

oh i would behave, just for u

the corruption in other countries don't seem to have a direct effect on the citizens unlike nigeria
plus they get caught especially by the nosey journalists and are dealt with sharp sharp
but the journalists in nigeria cannot even expose any corrupt police man talk less of the corrupt politicians
the journalist in nigeria are like praise singers, they even sell award every two months


at least some 16yo are killing themselves, in nigeria the police kill people!!!

I beg to differ. There are as much corrupt policemen in the US as there is in Nigeria. The journalists also get paid off too. If you don't have enough to pay they will leak your secret. Yes there are the notable ones, but what happens in Nigeria, happens here, it just doesn't make the news. Simply put, they know how to hide their yansh and we don't.

Police kill people here too o. Even those boot camps that they have to help the young ones kill the young ones.

I will say the infrastructure as Bawomolo said, things are still bad in America, but it is not to the extent as Nigeria.
There's corruption in America and all other bad things. But it may not occur as frquently as in Nigeria or it may not be reported as in Nigeria.
Nigeria is also under a telescope at the moment because our economy is rising, so anything that happens will be brought to light, while America is more tested, and not under a telescope.

@Lady

I think by and large - you are the best poster on NairaLand - not only that, you come off to be the most reasonable Nigerian living in America, one who hasnt allowed the so called "good life" in America to becloud her way of reasoning, and one who posseses so much knowledge about Nigeria, America and life in both countries - all others are nothing but empty barrels making the loudest noises.

~Lady~:

I beg to differ. There are as much corrupt policemen in the US as there is in Nigeria. The journalists also get paid off too. If you don't have enough to pay they will leak your secret. Yes there are the notable ones, but what happens in Nigeria, happens here, it just doesn't make the news. Simply put, they know how to hide their yansh and we don't.

Police kill people here too o. Even those boot camps that they have to help the young ones kill the young ones.

I will say the infrastructure as Bawomolo said, things are still bad in America, but it is not to the extent as Nigeria.
There's corruption in America and all other bad things. [size=14pt]But it may not occur as frquently[/size] as in Nigeria or it may not be reported as in Nigeria.
Nigeria is also under a telescope at the moment [i]because our economy is risin[/i]g, so anything that happens will be brought to light, while America is more tested, and not under a telescope.

Just can't agree with you but I still l wont flog it. its not all glittery like gold but the comparison is just not there fair enough nigeria is a young country- _{yea right} but still we are behind we shouldn't even be comparing it with US, we should be comparing it with Ghana, Egypt, south Africa or countries that gained independence around the same time and with pure stats too that's if we even have records, how many people get shot in a political rally and the police wont even get the killer? How many people take a knife into the house of parliament (they still didn't charge anyone for this)


i don't think nigeria is under any telescope per se because our economy is growing, some economies in Africa is better than ours! we are under a telescope because we are soooo behind even with our 'resources' that is it becoming disturbing- the talk about Nigeria having so much potential has been going on since 1950!!

@Poster, I understand your need to hear good news but we have to accept that situation in that country is as it is and it is not necessarily that people just do not like the country at all. I mean I would like to have tons of good stuff to say about the country but considering that after 10 years of being away, I come back to see things even worse than where they were when I left, what sort of story would you expect someone like me to tell you?? Good news?? How?? I mean the news from the country has been seemingly on the optimistic side for a long time now but when you compare what you read and hear to actual reality in that country( problem that is not new, by the way), you find it is really really hard to come off with good news from whatever side you try to look at things and that is depressing, I must say. I do hope we start getting not just good news but verifiable good news soonest and quick too cause the world is not waiting for us and time is no longer on our side.

@kOBOJUNKIE

and an example of the bad news is what? Are you saying America is better now than what it was ten years ago or is it not worse than what you met it ten years ago? What point are you making?

angeleses:

@kOBOJUNKIE

and an example of the bad news is what? Are you saying America is better now than what it was ten years ago or is it not worse than what you met it ten years ago? What point are you making?

1) What has america to do with Nigeria being bad??

2) Why in the world do you need to compare america to Nigeria in anyway to understand how bad things may be in Nigeria??

3) Are all those people currently living in Nigeria who have never seen america telling you that all is well with them??

4) Isn't the very fact that we are treated like animals with no respect enough for all to understand that we may live in a country where our worth is greatly reduced compared to the rest of the world?

I am sure I was straight about what I said when I said I left the country 10 years ago and came back to find it in worse shape than when I left it 10 years ago. Where did America fall into that equation?? I Mean considering the fact that I could have left the country for 10 years to go stay in Zimbabwe, still does not change my statement in anyway.

What Is Bad About Nigeria Than Others?
- Corruption
- Leadership
- Civil and Public Service
- Law Enforcement Agencies
- Misplaced value system
- Followership
- Power Supply

We need to fix these, like I always say, it is not a hopeless case

hotshawlng:

@kobojunkie: you've been away for 10 gd years! Do something for your country! Stop complaining.

@ everyone: i think we should stop complaining and start looking for ways to make things better!

Well,  This is not about complaining but trying to help the poster understand why there seems to be more bad than good news, when it comes to Nigeria. I have been back already and this does not mean you can change things on your own. That happens to be the issue in Africa. The way the countries in africa are run, it does not take one person but a whole people to change things. You can go solo in the west and achieve much but in africa, I have come to learn that it does not work the same way cause the legal system alone and the laws are not set up to help people change things easy.

It is not that people actually enjoy speaking of the bad, I mean I scout for the good and if you read my post, you will see that it becomes depressing when you hear of good and find out that it is the same old.

I read this article in another forum
Written by a recent returnee
We (old returnees) encounter this in our daily lives and thats why we believe, we will get there
It is not easy., but some times it is very frustrating and scary, but hey I am still here!
Read on,

The Days Gone By
Written by Uche Nworah
Friday, 11 April 2008
It is 2.53 PM on a sunny Friday afternoon in Lagos, I’m seating at my desk thinking of what to do about lunch. Should I send Richard (aka Pastor) to Tetrazzini to buy their jollof rice, moi-moi and chicken or should I brave the lunch time Lagos island traffic for a short journey to Yellow Chili? As I pondered my options, I remembered that it has been a while since I last wrote an opinion piece. They say if you leave writing, writing leaves you. 45 days is a long time in this our business not to have written something. I have been feeling so ashamed of myself having not logged onto my blog (http://thelongharmattanseason..com) in ages, talk about not wanting to visit a deserted house.

As I tried to open a Microsoft word page to string together some thoughts, I suddenly realized how rusty I had gotten, and how very much I miss writing. Not my fault if you ask me. Since I partially relocated to Nigeria, it has not been easy settling in. I am now caught up again in the Lagos hustle and bustle. So many things to take care of, so many issues to settle work- wise and home front -wise.

I am hunting for a house presently and at the same time trying to settle into a new job. New work ethics, new colleagues, new bosses, new sector, new everything. There are things to learn again, especially being a Nigerian again after sojourning abroad. Call this re-learning or unlearning if you wish but things are different here. Things move at the Nigerian pace, love it, hate it, this is Nigeria and that is the way we are.

I missed home for sure. All those years of paying my dues in another man’s country never really was my thing. It was Abacha that drove me and many other people of my generation away but things are better now, I think. Sure, we still have our wahala, the traffic, the power and energy situation, and the menace of the bad guys or armed robbers as they are called. There are also the thieving politicians but still, I’m happy to be back home. This is my country and the country of my forefathers.

As I am writing this, Ben, my driver and friend pokes in his head, just checking up on me. I don’t need him; I hardly do especially after he deposits me in the office in the morning. The next time if at all that I will need him will be late in the evening when he takes me back to the temporary accommodation my organisation has provided. I dismiss Ben with a wave of the hand and he goes back to his base office. Sometimes I feel that Ben is underutilized, such a young man should be doing more for himself and his country.

I have had this conversation with him but he says that this is the best he can do for now. This makes me to think that human capital in Nigeria is still not being well harnessed. The Bens of this world are caught up in a system that holds both the driver and the people they are driving down. I have recently encouraged Ben to stop spending his day idling away his brain in the driver’s lounge. Luckily, the guys in our general office have accepted for him to come in and help out with stuff. Hopefully, this will excite him well enough that he will begin to see endless opportunities, who knows?

Still on the issue of human capital development. There are indeed lots of hidden talents all over this country. Just the other day, I put forward a request to my bosses to allow me bring in a graphic artist to come in and train me and two members of my team on the use of Corel Draw. This was to enable us publish our in-house e-newsletter ourselves. Doing it ourselves will save the company tons of money judging by the quotes we got from external agencies who had indicated interest in producing the e-newsletter for us.

The consultant had asked for a fee of three hundred thousand naira for the two days training. Just a day before the scheduled training, I had to go into the general office to take care of some matter when along the line; the issue of the forthcoming training came up. You will never imagine my shock when Jerry, one of the office assistants whose other job includes going to the mama-put at Ghana High Commission in Obalende to buy food for staff told me that he could use Corel Draw with his eyes closed.

I challenged Jerry and in less than no time he knocked out a copy of the front page of the mock e-newsletter. I stood and stared at him in awe and just couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. So for this I had been willing to pay an external consultant 300K? Jerry went on to design the first edition of the e-newsletter and received full credits in the front page for it.

When I told my boss my amazing discovery, he was also surprised and elated at the same time and suggested that I feature Jerry in the Employee Spotlight section in our next edition as a way of encouraging other departments to dig deep and see if there are other rough uncut gems in their departments labouring away at tasks that do not stretch their skills.

I want to wait a couple of weeks to have a fuller portfolio of Jerry's work with the e-newsletter before taking up his case with HR. Although he was employed on the basis of his not possessing any formal qualification, I want to believe that there should be other ways he would be compensated for the added value services he is now providing.

Jerry’s case has now inspired others in the general office including Ben; they now congregate around the computer to observe how he does his magic when ever he is working on the e-newsletter. Some are even teasing him saying that ‘Jerry level don change’. This has been one of my most exhilarating moments since I relocated back to Nigeria almost 5 weeks ago.

There is yet the best to come from Jerry, and from this country. That I can assure you.

http://thelongharmattanseason..com/

I will challenge all those who have been so articulate in outlining the many bad things about Nigeria to state what steps they have taking in this life time  to deal with the situation in their own little way. Seeing problems are no big deal;it takes more to provide solution. I know that the thread says what is bad about Nigeria. Iwill really appreciate it when people use all that energy they put into stating the negatives into providing solutions. The progress we have made have been brought about by people who do just that!!

gidig:

I will challenge all those who have been so articulate in outlining the many bad things about Nigeria to state what steps they have taking in this life time to deal with the situation in their won little way. Seeing probelms are no big deal;it takes more to provide solution. I know that the thread says what is bad about Nigeria. Iwill really appreciate it whenj people use all that energy they put into stating the negatives into providing solutions. The progress we have made have been brought about by people who do just that!!

And you assume they have themselves NEVER done much to rectify the situation in their own lives up until now Come on!!!

Bad Roads
Security - Government needs to Provide incentives and facilities to make police more effective.
No Electricity - I believe i dont need to explain this, as a matter of fact this is the worst
No low cost houses - Definitely no poor man can buy the houses at that price so is it really worth building houses where only rich ppl can buy,thats even if its not already shared between their family members
No employment programmes
No Street Lights on Various Roads and Motorways
The govt does not have time to Refurbish Public schools- they need to do this by Ensuring all existing schools have basic school stuffs such as library, labs e.t.c and its well maintained
Bad Health care- Nigeria need to Establish a viable Health care system
They need to Create more dumpsites - you can imagine having a lane closed because of a dumpsite.Im not sure if this has changed but if the govt can tackle this problem then there would be free flow of transportation is some areas
Illiterate and Corrupted Leaders- I'm not even going to speak on this because i believe we all know bout this


i'll think of more and get back to u

guys, u know, the young man in uche's article is only an example of talents available in our country. However, it does appear
that in a country of so many and so varied talents the leanings towards the illegal is on the higher side. If not
how do you explain the[b] [/b]INTERGRATED POWER PROJECT SCANDALS, THE FCT LAND ALLOCATION SCANDALS,
THE HEALTH MINISTRY SCANDAL,
etc
so u see na case of :all of us dey steal but na the one wey dem catch be THIEF

Nigeria is bad.
Agreed!
what can we do to change it, do we leave it to the politicians to mortgage our future?
one thing i observed in Nigeria is that we lack a culture of civil disobedience, we rather bury our head in the sand like an ostrich and wish the problems way
if the throng of people that flock our houses of worship every sunday and Friday practised what they hear, i believe the situation of Nigeria would had since turn around.
but instead all what we do is pray and pray believing God to come to earth and turn our situation around without us making a commitment to change our orientation.
i am not saying prayer is bad but we need to back it up with actions. Martin Luther king Jr is an example of someone who back up his prayer with action.
i beg we are too docile
let us begin to imbibe the culture of civil disobedience. it is time the youths in this nation came togethe rt to form a pressure group and chart the direction of this country
God bless Nigeria

spiderman:

so u see na case of :all of us dey steal but na the one wey them catch be THIEF

Bro i dont understand what you're saying here, can u pls clarify?

@ post
i actually dont believe nigeria is as bad as people make out
yes theres the corruption problem and lack of infrastructure but we have something other countries (esp UK) dont have
and that is a proud, harworking and happy people.
All the country needs is reorientation to take away the feeling of hoplessness, to show people that it can get better and things will start to go right again.
cant wait come back home

yemo:

[size=18pt]Nigeria is bad.
Agreed!
[i]what can we do to change it?[/size]

[size=28pt]CHANGE THE PEOPLE!!![/size]

@poster
nigeria is bad becos we cant change ourselves, we seem to be damaged beyond repairs, worst thing is we dont even have educated leaders, ie d ones that have a sound knowledge of modern political economics.

nigeria is bad because we can't change ourselves, we seem to be damaged beyond repairs, worst thing is we don't even have educated leaders, ie d ones that have a sound knowledge of modern political economics.

how is it damaged beyond repair? countries have gone through worse than naija and still survived.

The level of poverty, lack of social amenities, unemployment, curruption are problems characterised with most developing nations.
We are a nation bedevilled with so many ills, but one thing remains unchangeable Nigeria is a country blessed with so many multiplicities, diversities and interests.
We are still a nation surviving after so many problems, am sure some day we shall rise above our impediments.
The average Nigerian needs to change his/her mentality about what Niheria will do or has not done, in your own little way do something for your home, family, friends, comunity, village, office, comapny and society.
Nigeria will benefit if every Nigerian is responsible to his duties. The policeman, the journalist, NEPA official, LASTMA, KAI,Judges, everybody has a role to play in the new Nigeria dream.

What role are you willing to play?

HR.hotness:

@ post
i actually don't believe nigeria is as bad as people make out
yes theres the corruption problem and lack of infrastructure but we have something other countries (esp UK) don't have
and that is a proud, harworking and happy people.
All the country needs is reorientation to take away the feeling of hoplessness, to show people that it can get better and things will start to go right again.
can't wait come back home

You are welcome!. Thats the spirit
As long as you are focussed and professional, this is the best country in the world, warts and all!
We should all stop the blame game, come back and contribute your own bit.
If it does not work you can always go back!

I do not see any reason to go anywhere. I am stuck

As long as you are focussed and professional, this is the best country in the world, warts and all!

\

blind patriotism won't help u.