₦airaland Forum

If you feel that Nigeria is better than yankee, then Why are you here? Why don't you just move back home, instead of staying put in America, while dissing it? Such display of ingratitude is called "Biting the fingers that fed you". Like I wrote earlier, I aint going to condemn Nigeria, because, I grew up there, and for me, it was the best part of my life. There isnt anybody here that I know of who resides in America that hasnt struggled. Life is not a bed of roses, where you can accessorize them in your bedrooms, you have to work hard for it. When you put God first in your life, you are bound to succeed and definitely appreciate the fruits of your labor.

For the fellow who is in here, writing about hustling, etc, be honest, how many people from a poor background, in Nigeria can afford to attend secondary school? Is it not that the parents would decide that their son is better suited for a trade, or eagerly look forward to the day when an eligible suitor would come knocking for their daughter. Here in America, no matter how poor you are, most likely, you can earn at least a high school diploma from a public high school. The motivated ones can also obtain Finacial AID for their colleges, or even fall back on a JC, which is quite reasonable. Back home, contract is highly desirable for people that is only handed to a few, based on connections. How many students have graduated from college and have been gainfully employed? In Yankee, at least when you finish college, chances are, you will land a decent job, most times, without resorting to bribes or sleeping around. A guy that I know of in Nigeria attempted to join a milk company, but he could not come up with bribe money for the job, so as a last resort, he went back to his alma mater to become a lecturer. Tell me, is that common in America? Females are victimized in colleges, sometimes by their male teachers, with absolutely no justice for them, while their counterparts are feared in America on grounds of discrimination. There is no comparison whatsoever. America is better than Nigeria. What Nigeria certainly trumps over the USA is our outgong social life, our gregariousness, and of course, family bonds that have withstood the test of time in today's dog eat dog world.

I served in Kano state for 3 weeks. That was in the 90's and the Wudil camp was just loads of fun. In a way though, I have to admit that I was homesick, Uyo to Kano state was quite a journey. I missed my ride in Aba, and previously, when I was at the bus station in Uyo, the crowd of passengers, slated for that trip to Kano state (some of them were non corpers) was quite a lot. Momsie was assuring me not to panic, that if I can't make it to camp, well, I can come back home.
Well, I boarded the bus, we reached Aba or so, and then I stepped out with a colleague from school for food. When we came back, we were told that our bus had left. We had missed our bus. Deadline was midnight and it was a day's journey. Fortunately, one of the women took pity on us, and got us into the next bus and arrived in my camp, just hours before the midnight deadline and as a matter of fact, another corper who reported at the post, after midnight was turned away. (No compassion)

I have to admit that pangs of homesickness hit me shortly afterwards. I also missed my classmates, most of them, serving in various states. The food was nothing special and that may have contributed to my illness. Still, the experience was worth it. Chei, Naija. Now, that I think of it, I realize how much I miss that place. You make new friends, get exposed to different people, debate till night time with people from various universities, share bunks with strangers that you wont even meet again, and yet still, it is always fun. I remember staying up late at night, eating at a Buka shop that was at the camp. I remember playing board games with other people, you just go into the booth, make yourself available and you are on the spot. The friendliness at camp between strangers is very encouraging, because here in yankee, you don't find a lot of people that are very friendly.

Its unfortunate that I lost touch with my NYSC mates. We exchanged addresses but I did not write afterwards. I was focused on coming to America.

Has the NYSC outlive its usefulness? I doubt it. It is the experience that counts.

Cheers.

Peter Odilli?. Dang, maybe, I should not listen to hearsays!!!

Yeah, they are Jews who believe in the Messiaship of Jesus Christ. They are called Jews for Jesus.

Here is another comparison between Jesus Christ and mohammed. Y

Read the link below.

http://www.carm.org/islam/Jesus_Muhammad.htm

Another question, why is the Holy Bible the bestselling book of all books in the world? Its distant rival "red book of mao' is just short of 1 billion copies in print, while the Bible has amassed more than 4 billion copies in sales. So Valuable is the Holy Bible in our life that it is referred to as the "Good Book".

Since Nigeria is better, you might as well start packing out of the USA to our country. Who says we dont have bullies in Nigeria? Did you not live in boarding school where senior students subjected junior students to (sometimes) inhumane punishment, particularly, if their request for money was turned down? What of cults on campuses? Ok, here, you pay taxes, and you are assured of services in your house, 24/7. In Nigeria, you still pay your water bill and water board will cut off your water supply. And then dont even go with electric bill, cos I witnessed a confrontation between my mother and NEPA officials.

Depression may not be common in Nigeria, but the molestation, unfortunately takes place under the dark, that wont be aired publicly because of the conservative nature of our society. And parents killing their children is not only endemic in the USA, but does take place in Nigeria. Out here it is physical, in Nigeria, it is sometimes operated in the spiritual realm, aka home front.

"Song idem".

And what if she dies in the process of having an abortion, with no chances for repentance, y'all know what her future would be in the afterlife? Tell her not to have an abortion. It is murder. God will in His infinite mercy provide a way for her to take care of her unborn child. Abortion should even be outlawed, period!!!

I aint going to condemn Nigeria, I love my country very much, but I have to expose its shortcomings. I grew up there and my experiences for the most part, back home was memorable. But economically, the odds of making it in Nigeria is lesser than America. Look at sucessful entrepreneurs in America, like Oprah, John Johnson of Ebony magazine, Bob Johnson, all the tech guys and ask yourself, "Would they have succeeded in Nigeria"? Of course the answer would be No. I just don't like the state of affairs back home.

The Red tape back home, the protocols and bureaucracy can be frustrating. In yankee, nearly everything is smooth. Let me give you an example of one's weekly paycheck. Back home, your parents work for three months, and they don't get paid. In yankee, you get laid off from your job, and automatically qualify for unemployment benefits. It may not be much, but half a loaf is better than none. If you have a job you are certain of receiving your paycheck. You take a trip to the grocery store and see all these array of foods, quite affordable for the common man. They even have sales on grocery items, buy one, get one free, and you stock it in your freezer. Who really complains of high cost of food in Yankee? Very few that I know of. In naija, it is a different scenario. Look at housing, your income can also work wonders. If you are low income, you may be qualified for affordable housing, complete with low cost health care. Public education is free, which means that the money you would have paid for junior school's fees can be chanelled into another productive venture. And if junior is as smart as his parents who always took the first position in their class , he gets a free ride into college.

I wont sit down here and condemn America. The country has treated me very well. I grew up in Nigeria, and I have nothing but love for my country. Life, for the most part was smooth back home, courtesy of my parents. Now, I just don't know how it would have turned out to be with the high cost of living.

But the bribery in Nigeria is way too much. When I moved out here, my mother applied for my transcript at my alma mater, and I never received it. For four years, I waited in vain for my transcript, therby temporarily abandoning my plans of furthering my studies. So, when I visited home for my mom's funeral, immediately, I went to my almamater, after the funeral and requested for my transcript. The usual story and I was directed to the bursary office to pay 500 Naira for a new application. I paid the sum of money, went back to the admissions department, and guess what, the transcript that my mother had applied for me 4 years earlier was inside the drawer of one of the attendant. And from my guess, it had been there for four years. I went back to get my refund, but the bursar would only return 450 Naira for me. I did not really care, got my transcript and departed from school. Now, if I had not been home, my chances of furthering my studies would have been met with frustrations. If this could have happened to me, then think of what our parents had to go through with daily challenges for all each of us, including our siblings, from primary schools, visiting days in secondary schools, anxiety of shut down in the university, worries over your child's safety in college because of cults, navigating the murky worlds of landing a job after graduation. Perhaps, that accounts for the high rate of hypertension in Nigeria.


Still, I wont swap Nigeria for any country in this world. Let our leaders ameliorate the dire situation back home, and I am sure that some of us would be returning home in trickles.

www.nigerianamerican..com

Your best bet, if you reside abroad would be to contact your local community colleges and explain your dilema. They would, most readily accomodate you. For Nigerians, I don't know, how the system works, how about contacting the local/branch office of the Ministry of Education?

Goodluck.

Can you imagine going for three months without getting paid in Nigeria? And someone comes in here and posts that Nigeria is better than yankee.

Hard to believe that.

Wrong!!!. It may be a lucrative job, but you dont know what bigger plans God has for you in your life.

Come clean with your boss.

Beautiful pictures. I did not realize that South Africa is this beautiful. It even looks nicer than some parts of America. Nigeria, sorry, I gotta admit does not come close to being as glamorous as South Africa, not even Abuja. And I was the one who used to say that Victoria Island/Ikoyi (call it ethnocentrism) was the most sophisticated locale in West Africa. Heard even Abidjan beats it. Momsie confirmed that Nairobi is far nicer than VI/Ikoyi.

As for those turning Abuja into a showpiece, may I ask, what about oil producing areas of Nigeria that have been relegated to the back door in favor of grandiose projects in the North. That is not fair. Lets divide the National cake equally.

snazzydawn, all this lies for what

So, a "White" lie is a lie that attempts to mitigate a dangerous situation.

What of a "Black" lie? The ones that worsens a situation. Why can't we blacks just refuse to accept this message of black being evil, while white (as the case of a white lie, being a lesser crime, and even people have deemed it acceptable Lie is lie, period.

As a Christian, I have to say this message is mind sobering. Some of you may be familiar with the story of Rahab and her encounter with the 2 spies from Israel. She lied to protect the lives of those 2 spies when the king of Jericho (her land) ordered her to bring them out of her house. She told him that those men were already gone. Was this justified or not?

Read Hebrews 11:31.

http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Hebrews/hebrews_077.htm

As hard as it is hard to fathom the possibility of saving 3k on a student expenses, be it for a month or three months, I have realized that only enormous sacrifices are involved to accomplish this feat. However I am not going to embark on that length to save that money. I mean, for what? To build a house in Nigeria that I wont even live in till the next decade or so? I live my life for the moment, dine out, and enjoy myself now and then. I wont live a cheap or miserly life, just for the heck of hoarding money. What's the point in working in the first place??

Note please, I am not directing any criticism at anybody here on their lifestyles. My opinion is that it is not worth it, sacrificing oneself to save up money especially if it involves some basic necessities.

@seun, na now you don see the subjugation of women now? Because when I read your critique on my short story, "Double tragedy" that the WILL ought to be split equally between the widow and her inlaws, I thought that perhaps you have never read of widows being kicked out of their matrimonial house, after the death of their husband.

Well thought out posting, Havila. God bless.

BigB1, that was a cheap shot you just directed at Duke's supporters. You likened the job of a governor of Cross River state to running a family business with a 99% chance of surviving. Wrong on that. Do some research on the durability of family businesses, and then compare it with the redundancy of most state governors in the country.

Hotbat, I grew up in Calabar and I can recall that during the creation of our state, Akwa Ibom state, all civil servants of Akwa Ibom descent were purged out of the state government's payroll. The misguided thinking, which is tribalism was that the state government should not have to pay for workers who were not indigenes of that state. I am pretty sure, or I may be wrong that nearly all state government have enforced this tribalism in their own culture. So, that said, Duke is not the first to have started this trend, but yeah, he should be accountable for his lack of judgment in destabilizing one's employment record.

If this trend is still persisting in Nigeria, then I hereby conclude "What a shame"!!!

Blaming your classmates for your misery wont alleviate any of your problems. You have to be positive and have faith in God. He will direct your paths and lead you to your hearts desire.

Goodluck.

He is the Best Gift to the human race. He is simply too wonderful, a man of peace, Love and meekness, that transcends all human boundary!!!

Ynot, we are all sinners in the eyes of God. It is only the Grace of God that has absolved us of our sins.

As for guy in this sex scandal, for us, it is not a time for rejoicing, but like Babyosi wrote, lets not even give satan the devil the chance to steal his soul.

@Odeku. Ray Ekpu is not a lawyer, but a journalist.

In today's modern age, it is pathetic to see some people subscribing to some unfounded and ignorant stereotypes about some locales in the country.

I am an Ibibio man, raised in Calabar. Lovely memories of my days in Calabar. Who grew up in Calabar? Let me know.

www.nigerianmemories..com