₦airaland Forum

RayRay06677:
*DON'T EVER CURSE YOUR COUNTRY*

[Copied, edited by KKCool]

*If you don't know how you are blessed, you will think your father's farm is worse than your friend father's farm.*

$1 is ₦500 and so what?
Let me elucidate from my little experience. Can anyone in the US use $1 for breakfast? No!
But in Nigeria, ₦500 will give you breakfast and lunch.

Majority of people's monthly house rent (self contained apartment) in the USA is $1,000 and above... and that is your own 2 year's rent!

Have you ever paid for insurance before? Insurance in the US is $280 and that is almost ₦100,000 monthly.

When last did you pay monthly phone bills? I pay almost ₦40,000 monthly and if I don't, they are going to block my SIM. Your own MTN can be there for months without recharge.

When last did you work on Saturday and Sunday? This I do compulsorily and on regular basis.

*Don't get me wrong, the US is better than Nigeria, depending on which angle you are viewing it.*

Do you want to hear the truth?

*Many people in Nigeria live a more fulfilling life compared to their counterparts abroad.*

Forget about all the packaging on social media and give credit to the good life you are living.

Do you know why Nigerians living in the US always rush back quickly whenever they come home visiting? Because bills are counting and elongated absence (freedom) will put their lives in jeopardy.

If you, as a black person, attempt to emulate the whites, they will kneel on your neck.

Apart from Congo, no citizens in the entire universe enjoy life to the fullest than Nigerians.

You are abundantly blessed but you don't know until you get visa and relocate abroad, that is when you will know that your 8-hour job in Nigeria with free weekend is awoof.
With 8-hour job abroad, you can only pay bills, you need other 6 to 8 hours jobs to save for the future and plan your life.

The truth is that the grass is green everywhere, it's lack of vision greed of our leaders/politicians and the skewed religious practices (which placed emphasis on miracles) that ascended Nigeria onto a myopic tentacle of complete standstill.

*Always thank God wherever you may find yourself. Nigeria is good*

I agree to always give God thanks and that Nigeria has good in it. But then, we don't need to twist obvious facts to sell our narrative.

I addressed a similar post on the thread some pages back. You can check out my reply then as it addresses most of the issues raised.

The post may seem brilliant on face value but it's bereft of critical thinking...

I'd ask a few questions based on reasons given on the post to show where it's lacking.

1. Food- if food was relatively cheaper and more affordable in Nigeria, why do millions of Nigerian children die yearly from hunger and malnutrition? Something which would virtually not kill any child in the US or similar countries

2. Rent- same also, if housing was cheaper in Nigeria, why do we have lower quality houses and more involuntarily homeless people than those countries?

3. Insurance-
I'm not sure if this is about home or car insurance but still applies. If insuring vehicles in the U.S was so expensive, why have our rich been so reduced to buying accidented US cars, feeling fly and calling them brand new? How are citizens of such countries able to buy so much new cars and dump them on us?

4. Phone bills-
If phone bills were so expensive for them, why do they buy new phones, use and ship them to us who buy as 'London used'. Have you looked at the average data consumption of an American home? How are they able to afford using such volume of data for streaming e.t.c while most Nigerians do not even have a smartphone talk more of home wifi.
Also note, that access to data/internet connectivity is now compared to the effect of electricity in the 18th and 19th century and how it drove development.

5. Working conditions-
I don't even know what to say on this. Nigeria has little to non-existent labour laws. It's obvious the writer has not experienced the other side.
In Nigeria, your boss can slave you, make you work any amount of added time without paying you extra, delay your salary and even sack you without notice. I can write an epistle on this... It's not comparable in any way. Except if you are a 'typical government worker' in Nigeria.


Like I said, Nigeria has it's good and bad parts same as any country but we don't need to twist facts to sell a lie

When you settle down with an average Western lady, then you'd likely notice yourself praying for the problems your average Nigerian lady would give...

Take some examples...

With a Nigerian lady, you both may be arguing about how often your parent/her parent would come over and budget for that. For a white lady, she does not even understand why your mum or dad wants to leave Nigeria and come over talk more of budgeting for such.

With a Nigerian lady, you both may be arguing about how often she'd cook fresh food or eat semi-processed food. With her white counterpart, it'd be at least 50-50 spread between you both to cook


This is not even considering the occasions where you msy have dinner with her family snd be the only black person on the tabke with its attendant effects. When you 'make it', you wouldn't want your kids to pass through some trash or discrimination among relatives.

Only a Nigerian lafy (or of similar background) would understand and appreciate the struggle you went through to migrate. The problem is that some Nigerian men want to be 100% traditional men in a White mans land

There are lots of reasons why once Nigerian dudes xan get on thrir feet, they look home

Further facts...


1. Let's look at the average white lady. This is someone who was trained differently from her Nigerian counterpart, who was trained to speak her mind on whatever/to whoever without fear right from childhood, someone who was  never physically scolded as an average Nigerian child. This person has grown up and due to media influence thinks Nigeria is worse than how we see it, thinks we still run around naked killing ourselves and pay our life savings for an opportunity to be transported across the ocean (where most die) to handle menial jobs in their country. They have come to see blacks as being at the bottom of the economic chain. People who would do crazy jobs just to survive.

I then find it amusing that a Nigerian dude bred in Nigeria would think he'd be happily able to handle such a lady and that she'd 'submit' to him....and guess what... that's the average one not the crazy ones.

This is someone who knows your forefathers were so gullible that they sold their sons and daughters in exchange for combs and mirrors


2. Look at this scenario; consider the average Nigerian dude as someone from Niger who migrated to Nigeria to 'hustle'. This may be someone who has four wives who are so subdued that he could easily divorce any by simply saying "I divorce you" three times but still thinks they're stubborn. It's then the Anambra/Imo Igbo lady in IMSU he wants to get married to and control

3. For 99% of Nigerian dudes in the west who are standing on their feet with valid papers, if you look at the average Nigerian family setting as what you want to have, then it is mainly a Nigerian lady or a lady from a similar African country that would avail you such

4. Of course, if you're looking to survive, you can eat someone's poo but bear in mind that you'd see hell under that person cos they're not stupid. After you finally get the 'paper' you'd run for freedom and look for a 9ja lady

5. The fact is that almost all successful Nigerian men in the west are married to Nigerian ladies.... there's a reason for that.

Of late, much has been said of how Nigerian ladies destroy their men when they get abroad and of course, the usual nairaland women bashing was rampant on such threads. I decided to repost a thought I has on this and follow up views


What many people forget are certain things I'd outline for clarity.

1. Being married in the west is different from marriage in Nigeria. That is what many don't get. Just as with kids, no matter how 'African' and disciplined you claim to be, don't go about using whips on your kids or you'd get into serious issues. Same applies with marriage. People want to get married in the west but want to lord it all as in Nigeria


2. To add to the point above. Most naija guys would go out and treat younger European kids with respect and dignity but they come home and want their wives to kneel and serve them. Most ladies would see how u treat their fellows outside and take a cue.

3. There are multiple privileges that come with being a man in Nigeria that no one would give in the West.
There is nothing that the Nigerian lady did that an average white lady wouldn't do and exceed. If in doubt, ask the white married dudes what they pass through. It's in Nigeria that a married man would have lots of girlfriends and the wife would know and do nothing.

4. Another phrase getting common on nairaland is that 'most Nigerian ladies are entitled'. I'd hazard to say that if you think they're entitled, then you've not come across a white lady living in the west. You can ask the average white lady what they think about the roles we've come to expect from ladies in Nigeria

5. There are lots of success stories with Nigerian marriages. Most successful marriages are based on compatibility. Fact is for most Nigerians who grew up in Nigeria, they'd be most compatible with a fellow Nigerian and hence having likelihood of long lasting relationships with them.


6. They're are lots of things that are taken for granted with a Nigerian brought up lady that would be major issues if it was a white counterpart e.g maintaining a relationship with relatives, model of training ones kids, maintaining ones heritage in their offspring, food, domestic chores e.t.c.
Except if you're marrying for survival (papers) but if you're standing on both feet, it'd be difficult to gel with the average white lady for a long-term relationship. Good luck finding a British lady that would rather spend her summer touring your 'boring' relatives in Nigeria than vacationing somewhere else
I'm not even talking about Asians, cos they too have a very strong cultural background.

7. In the US, it seems there's a pattern with Nigerian nurses. But it seems some guys idea of bringing a lady over is for her to work as (or train her to be) a nurse, make much more that him while he expects her to bring it back for them to spend, and he'd still Lord ot over her like they were back in Nigeria. In the west, the society would not expect a lady to remain in such a relationship for the sake of being married.

8. Finally, the fact is that a good number (didn't say all or majority) of Nigerian dudes abroad are in the lower economic classes and take up humble jobs. But these same dudes want to get married to a lady and not be humble at home. They want to be Hitler at home but outside they become doves...


I agree that some ladies are the devil's incarnate and would bring anyone down. But that trait is not shared by Nigerian ladies alone or by one sex for that matter.

Philantropists:
Nigeria is an unsafe place even with police escorts surrounding you but in the UK any adult can walk in any city at any time of the day without fear of being kidnapped or used for money ritual.


NHS is 200 percent better than Nigerian private hospitals, the British population that complain about health care are mostly the fat ones looking for who to pay for their liposuction treatment quicker than the system permits.

The fact that the PM and MP's use public trains with no litany of security personnel surrounding them speaks volumes. Imagine Buhari using the Abuja public transport system with regular Nigerians without his obvious convoy.

The NHS is impressive for what it has accomplished moreso given how it was birthed. But then, there's always room for improvement and that thinking is why I believe it has grown to become why one of the most effective health delivery systems in the world. It's a constantly improving health delivery system

ahiboilandgas:
how about the gun violence in the Us ,white supremacy over 36000 people have been killed that equal to all death by boko haram and kidnappers in Nigeria..

Again we have to look at things in relative terms..

Even with all tge violence in the US, it can't be compared to what's going on in Nigeria. The reason why it seems like the reverse, is the value placed on life in such climes.

Look at security in Nigeria... On Abj-Kad way which is barely 2 hours from our capital, armed men rob, kill and kidnap daily. At a stage, even politicians with escorts could not use the road. Do you think such can consistently happen 2 hours away from Washington DC?

Other examples...
It's no longer news in Nigeria if bandits sack a village and kill 50 people. What do you think will happen if such occured in the UK?

When you hear that cancer is killing white kids and you don't hear such in Nigeria, ask them their under 5 mortality rate and compare it to ours and you'd see that more Nigerian kids probably die of malaria and malnutrition everyday than the total number of children Cancer kills in the US every year


When there's fire or dusaster that kills say 10 people in Europe, our leaders and celebrities are very quick to issue statements but are silent when hundreds more die in similar conditions in Nigeria.

Look at the number of people killed in tanker explosions this year. How often does something like that happen in the West?

What I'm saying is that every country has its issues but some are bigger. Even as bad as Nigeria is, people in Niger see Nigeria as a land of opportunities just as we see UK/US..

When you hear some Brits talking about how 'broken' the NHS is and how they'd rather go for private care, you begin to ask yourself if it's still not this same NHS that is in many ways better than 98% of our best private hospitals...

Everything is relative.. a child who eats chicken only on sundays will rejoice to if given chicken legs...while one who eats it everyday would probably reject even the laps on a good day

Cyberknight:
Nothing is free.
You pay for it all.

Yeah... I agree. The first time on this thread I used 'free', I put it in inverted commas.
That's because I've spent lots of time in the past putting it out here that even though somethings are free at the point of delivery in the West, it's still bery expensive to run those services which are generally funded by tax payers. One of such examples was explaining to someone that the reason why healthcare in the UK is free is not because the doctors there are angels and treat for free. The budget of a single NHS Trust can be more than the budget of some states in Nigeria.

The point I'm making is that because it's a collectively richer country with a good tax rate, thise things can be funded from the public purse thereby making them free at point of service, good quality and available to all and hence a better standard of living for both rich and poor

Nigsrdumb:
All well and good bottom line, it's not our fathers land, Nigeria is.

Finally, that's what makes the difference- our connections, fond memories and familiar culture in Nigeria and the fact that Nigeria is the only country we can truly call our own.

Nigsrdumb:
The dollar is clearly more valuable than the naira whichever way you look at it, but your dollars goes further if spent in Nigeria compared to the us.

Since dollar is not the standard earning medium in Nigeria, there's no use comparing.


For the argument to make sense, the minimum wage in the us has to be equal to that of Nigeria nominally. Eg minimum wage in the us is 1k dollars, then Nigeria's minimum wage will be 460k naira.

In which case Naira will have more value because you can get a lot more bang for your buck spending the 460k in Nigeria.

Caveat , if this was the case, Naira will become too abundant chasing fewer goods which will in turn lead to hyper inflation, hence back to square one.

Also imagine a Nigerian and an American trying to buy property in South Korea , who has more spending power?

Since no country produces everything it needs it's better to view the value of a currency from its global strength.

I agree the USD is now more valuable in economic terms, but then, even if you earn 460k, it may seem like much initially but then, it'd soon become obvious that there are lots of things you benefit for free from by being in a developed country that the 460k wouldn't get.

There's a reason why it's said that an average citizen of a rich country would unknowingly be treated with more respect than a wealthy citizen of a poor country.


Like I said in a post above, earning that amount in Nigeria looks big only because it'd make you a king among poor folks...

But then with your 460k, look at the chance of needing urgent advanced medical attention for you or relatives or the chance of being kidnapped and paying your life saving as ransom, or the chance of having an accident because of potholes on the road, or the fear of going to the village with ur new vehicle, or the fact that you'd have people begging you at every opportunity..... and you'd see that 460k isn't worth it. Even the facilities that make our Wuse, Gwarimpa, Banana Island and Ikoyi special can best be compared to basic items you'd get in any town in the UK.

In the UK for example, even as a millionaire, you can cycle to work without worries, you can get on the public train and not be worried about your safety, if you need urgent medical attention, an ambulance would come relatively quick, you can be driving a 2020 Camry and nobody cares, you're not worried about being kidnapped or being attacked by armed robbers, if you loose your job or become handicapped, the government would support you.... All these are necessary for having a quality life and come for free buy they are things that millions in Nigeria wouldn't afford

ahiboilandgas:
so that means 1000 dollar =not equal to 1000 naira hence 1 usd is not equal to 1 naira

Of course... That's a fact

ositadima1:
I think one way to know which country is cheaper to live in is to compare what fraction of earnings (for similar standard jobs like lawyers, engineers, doctors etc) is spent on similar commodities.

Yeah.. I agree it'd be a more practical way to compare.

If you do that, you see that Nigeria is much more expensive to live in and afford the basic necessities of survival even without factoring other important things like security, health, good education, good infrastructure e.t.c.


The main factor beclouding thus is that most Nigerians are poor so if you have little, they see you as king. It's like being a one eyed man in the land of the blind

Take for example, a single dude in Nigeria earning between 150-250k, driving a 2008 car, living in a good apartment and using a recent gadget. Alot of people would see and treat that person as having 'arrived'. Family men will be hailing him at his workplace as 'Oga' and all giving advice on why he should get married asap.
In the West, all those items mentioned up there are things people wouldn't care about talk more of associating them with affluence

ositadima1:
My brother if u keep soup or stew for more than one week d taste go change. When I was with my aunty she would keep soup ration in several plastic containers and freeze. By weekend d taste don change o despite say d food was frozen.

Can food is preserved with additives.

Never experienced this... Except the frezzer no dey work... In the fridge taste may change though

ahiboilandgas:
sorry I mean he think the manpower required to earn 1000 usd is same with 1000 naira ..

Would also disagree...
It takes much more to earn 1000usd than 1000 naira.

A labourer in Nigeria would averagely earn between 1-2k daily. I dont know of any regular job paying 1000 usd daily in the US

EkperemoEgbabi:
Na lie, your tongue dey faulty

Hehe...abeg help me tell am.

Most families would buy food that can be frozen in bulk, freeze them and use for months.

Except the fridge/freezer is spoilt but why would frozen stew change taste over 2 weeks.

How many people in the West would be cooking our elaborate naija stew/soup every few days. Even in Nigeria, people who have access to steady light keep soup for upto a month in the freezer and the taste no dey change

It's similar to how people say food cooked with firewood is sweeter...lol...na sufferhead mentality

ositadima1:
Haba! Na only Nigerians and some Africans will keep a pot of stew or soup for that long.

Most people who cook would. Especially if you cook traditional dishes. Most whites would prefer their canned soup they're used to.

You're forgetting that electricity there is a given. Fridge nd freezer is complimentary... Why would you be making stew every few days when you can make a large amount and put in the frezzer... All you have to do is know when to bring them out to the freedge and microwave.

Tabuse2024:
Fact.

I was only being nice, so as not to paint a very gloomy picture so as not to sound too pessimistic about Nigeria. A country where shoprite is seen as a supermarket for the rich, whereas in SA, it is one of the supermarkets that caters mostly to working class and lower income people. And even they are divesting (Yes, i know, for many other factors asides low purchasing power)

That should paint a picture.

Hehehe..... That's the irony of things in Nigeria. It's why I used the word 'collective poverty'
People see going to ShopRite as an adventure. That's why it's usually filled up during festivities when it should be empty. ShopRite asides some of tge cinemas that cone with the outlet is just a basic mall for buying items.

Another thing is more people go there to snap and upload on Facebook or WhatsApp than they go for buying. Imagine someone in the UK dressing in their best clothes to go Tesco or Aldi just to snap pictures...

But then it's naija.... We celebrate open drainage and unmarked roads, our president commisions basic flyovers with so much fanfare.... Just annoying

Interesting thread

Hehe

What's this asslicking about

Tabuse2024:
Well said. Sadly, they will still argue with you on this. Nigeria is cheap for a person doing relatively well, not for the average Nigerian. The average Nigerian in this case is about 150 million of us who do not have strong purchasing power. The remaining 50million which had, has been depleted already with the massive job loss and business challenges due to covid 19 pandemic.

Comparing the average minimum wage earner in US/UK who has access to many things with his money to a Nigerian minimum wage earner who supposedly has access to "affordable" things based only on conversion rate is quite simplistic.

The rising poverty (which is most times collective) in Nigeria is a cause of concern.

50 million with 'good' purchasing power is an exaggeration. I'd say it's less that 2 million that can boast of that.
A while ago, CBN released data that showed that only about 5% (thereabout) of individual accounts had upto 500k. I'm sure that proportion is much reduced now.

Now what tangible long-term would 500k give in Nigeria or any part of the world. Take that sum to the market and watch it fritter away

ahiboilandgas:
he doesn't know that the manpower required to generate 1000 usd is same as 1000.

Hmmmm... I don't see where this is applicable except in the area of minting/printing the notes

NL1960:
I will take #450,000 which is the present value of $1,000 and stay in Nigeria. Stop equating $1 to N1 as the currencies are not equal.

Btw, will you take $1,000 or £1,000?.

Even though his analogy was faulty, one thing we're not considering is this...

What proportion of working Nigerians have a monthly pay of 450,000 and compare to working Americans with that pay.
98% of civil servants working with a state government would not earn upto that legitimately through their carrer. Heck, even the annual salary of some graduates is less than that.
Now would any graduate working a regular 9-5 job as a graduate in the US earn 1000USD a month talk more of a year

Some people are misrepresenting the currency conversion thing and are not considering the relativity which is the bedrock of the discussion. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

The fact is that even though basic items in $/£ may be more expensive when directly converted into Naira, looking at them in real terms, you'd see they are cheaper for those living and earning in the west. That's the advantage of having a stable currency with a high standard of living

Take certain examples.
1. Someone earning about 150-200k in Nigeria should roughly earn between £2000-3000 after tax working in a similar field abroaf. Asides rent (£350-550 or 15-25% monthly), you're likely to spend a greater percentage of your income on virtually every other aspect of living and still get a lower standard for such if you were in Nigeria.

Take food for e.g. Even if you set out to be obese, as far as u cook your food, it'd be very difficult to spend over £200-300 a month on feeding. £10-£15 would make you a full pot of stew which will include a large sized chicken, 3-4pcs of large mackerel, good quality rice + fresh vegetables/salad to go along. That pot would easily last a single person 2 weeks. Now what percentage of income has been spent about 0.5%. Someone in Nigeria would spend about 7,500 asides fuel for generator to get such which will translate to about 5% of their pay.

2. The scenario above cuts across virtually every other aspect like clothing, gadgets e.t.c. The only things relatively more expensive in the West are accomodation and cost of labour (if you're paying someone to do a job).

The same ratio would apply to fueling vehicles. Even though fuel is more expensive in Nigeria, you'd spend proportionately much more of your income fueling your vehicle than if you were in the west.

Take other examples;

3. Minimum wage in the UK is currently £8.7/hr. Most people earn more. Even if you take away tax (which they'd be paying very little if at all), a person earning that would likely live a more comfortable life than someone earning 100k in Nigeria not to talk of the 30k federal minimum wage and much lower amounts even graduates earn with states or the private sector.

The least one can get a male haircut is £10 (can easily be upto £30). Much more for a female hair do. So anyone doing any regular job, should earn enough to live life to some standard.
In Western countries, it really should be called a minimum living wage and conversely a barely surviving wage in Nigeria. Some people sit at home all day and still earn stipends from the government which are enough to cater for certain things.

More examples...
4.The chap in the UK would from his 1month pay be able to sponsor himself to a regular holiday in any part of the world. The chap in Nigeria would have to save for several months just to get a flight ticket not to talk of visa fees e.t.c
There's a reason why developed countries have the most number of travelers/tourists. Most Nigerians/Africans don't travel for leisure even within Nigeria/Africa because we cannot afford it. A return ticket to nearby Ghana is well over 100k. A return ticket from between UK and France can easily be less than £50 or £100 for most parts of Europe

Same applies to phones, cars vehicles e.t.c.

Most of the used clothes, London phones and used/tokumbo (what we laughably now call brand new) cars we buy in Nigeria are items used by regular people in the West. Ask yourself why our middle class have been reduced to such if Nigeria was cheap.

What percentage of Nigerians would their total one year salary give them a recent tokumbo vehicle talk more of a new one. Someone in the west can get something similar with a few months pay and can even take a long soft loan for it.

Also, living in a developed society comes with some perks... There are always benefits to claim on certain items, you can easily get items and structure paying back over a while, most items bought new (no matter the price) are of relatively good quality because of consumer protection laws and a robust return policy, there'd always be a standard playground around where you can take kids to play for free, driving good vehicles/going on holidays/using recent gadgets all of a sudden would be regular items for you and not luxury. There's also good quality 'free' healthcare in alot of places

Like I said the only time when you may pay relatively higher is in paying for labour or accomodation. Even at that, you still get a better quality.