Nigeria has been variously described as
the home of oddities. But the fact that
these oddities are increasing by the day
gives course for concern. Many expected
the populace to come to terms with global
best practices regarding conducts, actions
and all the what not.
Let’s take a look at these oddities in
ascending order of how prevailing they
are.
1. TIME KEEPING
Nigerians are not known to be good time
managers. Didn’t they say time is money?
It seems Nigerians have not heeded this
popular saying otherwise, why do you
find people still adopting the practice
called ‘’African time’’? Fix your event for
9am and you should not expect your
invited guest until 12 noon or even 1pm.
It is that bad! Big dignitaries are the
major culprit of this. The ‘’little men’’ are
suppose to arrive and wait for the high
and might before the show kicks off. Is
that fair? I always say, until Nigeria
addresses the little things like time
keeping, achieving our true potential
would remain a mirage.
2. NO CHANGE
Those that frequent petrol filling stations
would agree with me on this. Purchase
fuel for the sum of N1,800 and instead
getting a balance of N200, the attendant
quickly says no change. Why is it so
difficult to get your balance after a given
purchase? The other strand of this “No
Change’’ drama, is for those that patronize
public transportation popularly called
danfo and molues. You either split your
big currency into smaller denominations
or else, you remain stranded at the bus
stop. The usual practice is a loud noise
saying ‘’no change oh’’ What happened to
good customer service? Am I supposed to
look for change for the bus conductor?
3. BEATING QUEUES AND TRAFFIC LIGHT
If the question goes, how many of us are
guilty of these? Honestly, many hands
would go up. Go to the banks, someone
would just walk into the queue, straight
up he or she is at the front. Is it traffic
light? This is more common especially the
danfos drivers in Lagos. Car owners are
not exonerated from this malady because
they are always in hurry.
4. PAYING FOR JOBS
Oh yeah, ‘’wetin we no go hear for naija’’
Paying for jobs? Ask any member of your
family, one or two must have fallen victim
to this unscrupulous behavior especially
in Government establishment. We all know
what happened during the Immigration
recruitment exercise nationwide early this
year. It is pay for this form, buy this
scratch card or pay for this
recommendation letter all in the drive to
reap off unsuspecting applicants. Where
in the world do you pay to apply for jobs?
A friend went for a job interview at Ikeja,
after all the sermons and lengthy sessions.
It bore down to paying #10,000 for what
the so called recruitment officer referred
to as License fee. Did I hear holy Moses?
5. CO-HABITATION
Agreed, this is not a Nigerian thing
because in Kenya last year, the
Government started paying bride price for
couples so as to curb the widespread
habit of co-habitation. Now back to our
beloved Nigeria. But seriously if you take
cognizance of the alarming rate at which
couples cohabit, you would think the era
of legality in marriage through the
payment of bride price is gone. That is
how rampant this act is! Just get
pregnant and the next thing on the card
is for the couple to start living as hubby
and wife without the knowledge or
consent of their parents. Right?
6. CORPORATE BEGGING

Yes the almighty corporate begging has
suddenly become a national malaise. You
see people begging at the bus stops with
reckless abandon. In some cases you find
the same persons playing out the same
scripts all the time. ‘’Excuse me sir, I need
some money to complete my fare’’. For
how long will you keep completing our
fare? Don’t get me wrong, they are
genuine people who could be in a fix and
definitely needs help. But you and I know
that some Nigerians adopt this measure
as a means for daily bread. Another brand
of this is the series of begging among
security men in corporate offices like
banks. There is almost no bank you
walked into without a security guard
approaching you for money. You here
‘’anything for the boys’’, ‘’guy give me kola
na’’, ‘’anything for the weekend’’, or giving
you a hand shake unnecessarily.
Do you agree or have more experience to
share?





First time,i made fp...make i call all my padis make we go jolly ooooo..thank you Jesus

Emyo: Emyo is typing...

na everywhere you dey type?

balamz: na everywhere you dey type?

lol..when will u finish typing?People ur take on this issue is needed pls..

No 7- shouting up NEPA wenever they restore power.

hilarious@maingwaest..u're damn right.......

[img]http://www.?aff=391[/img]So true

urinating @ d glare of the public anywhere!

Watching both left and right before crossing a lane of the multilane road.

It is abnormal to watch both left and right in this kinda lane cos normally, cars can't be moving in both directions of the lane. But in nigeria u just have to watch both directions cos of those car-missing-lane

wetin concern me

Dis is so right. Lets start fighting corruption from here. Bt it is shameful dat our government is also guilty of collecting money from unemployed. Saddens

@OP you forgt to add First to comment

These are not exclusively Nigerian...

very true and quite hilarious. But trust me most of those abnormalities you mentioned are very evident in most developing countries. Especially the security guards asking for tips and the bad time keeping.

There's Poverty in the land..Simple
An average Nigerian lives on Less than $5 in a day

Politicians stealing billions and going scot free and we Nigerians seeing it as a normal thing

op u too dull..................

Abnormality starts from the top

OP, if u are in 9ja, I'm sure u will b guilty of one or two of the things listed, because u wouldn't have a choice than to conform.....especially, number 1.

i made front page. dis is abnormal cos na my first time be dis.

What about rigging of election?

Taking politricks to be the most lucrative legal job.

Hailing politicians for a job well done at impoverishing communities.

Producing 'recommendation' letter from Mr. Politician at the top to secure a FG job which has had 'no vacancy' for over two years.

Secretaries in Government Offices/Parastatals having grandeus delusions of being 'Madam/Oga' at the top.

no. 8 peeing on the road... Men.. na wa o.. u would see all sorts from muscled to black to plain ugly.

Its generally what has happened in this country. I still believe the greatest threat to this country is our MENTALITY. Its really terrible, change the mindset of the people, change the country.

And nothing annoys me more than when the youths make this statement "it's non of my business".
dude it's your business our country is going down hill!

u go hear oga if you dey come back dnt forget my gala money frm securities.

The change of a thing na something else. To avoid wahala,especially on monday mornings,i make sure i get adequate change over the weekend. Some crazy conductors will just marry you off to a total stranger. Not funny,especially when running late. But sometimes if i enter a bus,i ask peeps around if they hv change,collect it and give the conductor a larger amount,saying,''money for four''...or ''three of us''. That way,hin craze go dey minimal

May i add ''Exam special centres''...even some parents pay for such. Chai!

Uniform men who ought to protect,actually collecting N20 (i heard it has been elevated to N100)

Hypocrisy..oh yes! Nigerians are hypocrites. Reason why we carry religion on our heads but our lives,society and characters are far from what we preach. We depend on God to sort out our mess while we sit on our ars:es,waiting for a miracle.

Naija! No dulling. Lol. Everybody is in a hurry,especially in Lagos. Hussling tins!

.