₦airaland Forum

ISTP:
Recently, the photos of a lady described as a “former senior banking lady in Nigeria” with a mop stick in the United Kingdom trended on different social media platforms.

The Nigerian lady published the photos herself about her relocation to the UK and how she was working as a home care person (taking care of the aged, the infirm, babies, etc).

But the story was repackaged by some Nigerian online platforms with a sensational headline that a senior banking professional relocated to the UK and became a cleaner.

Not surprising, many Nigerians who read only headlines ridiculed the lady and the issue of Nigerians emigrating to other countries to do “menial jobs.”

That negative reaction of many Nigerians was born out of poor understanding of how Western countries work and a wrong attitude towards labour.

The disparity between jobs seen as “professional” and those seen as “menial” in Nigeria creates this attitude in many Nigerians.

Some jobs are looked down upon in Nigeria because of the remuneration that accrues to them as well as the lack of respect they attract.

When Nigerians emigrate to Western countries, their academic qualifications don’t bear the same weight they bear in Nigeria.

Doctors, lawyers, engineers, and most other professionals don’t just stroll into such a new country like Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and get jobs in their areas of specialisation.

Many professionals have to undertake certification before they can practise such professions. Some people will discover that the field in which they have chains of degrees is not in demand in their new country.

They need to acquire new skills because most Western countries value skills over certificates.

But most importantly, emigrants immediately discover that because of the depreciation of the naira, spending money made in Nigeria in Western countries is like throwing money into a deep hole.

One million naira that can pay for the rent of a decent three-bedroom apartment in Nigeria will not pay the one-month rent of a two-bedroom apartment in the Western world.

The way to ensure that one does not run into a financial crisis is to get a temporary job while waiting for the permanent job.

Few people are lucky to get the desired permanent jobs within a few weeks of arrival. The rest take up temporary jobs first. These include home care, call centre, grocery, etc.

The good news is that in the true sense of the word, there are no menial jobs in the Western or developed countries.

“Servants” are also virtually non-existent.

A person who cleans the floor or cuts grass or clears snow or drives others or takes care of the aged or infirm or does security work for a company is not seen as doing “menial jobs” as obtains in Nigeria and most of Africa.

The person is employed and paid according to the number of hours worked like all professionals. And he or she can work as an officer in a company during the day and work as a cleaner for another company in the evening or weekends.

You can’t toy with them. You can’t disrespect them. You can’t owe them salaries. You can’t turn them to your servants who carry your bags or run errands for you and receive all forms of indignities from you as their [b]“oga”. You can’t even afford them as your personal cleaner or driver or cook or “gate man” like most of us in Nigeria do, because developed countries don’t pay peanuts like under-developed or developing countries.[/b]

In fact, once people relocate to other countries, most of them discover that their chains of degrees are not rated highly like having some skills.

Some drop their certificates and learn plumbing, carpentry, truck driving, etc, which pays well.

Many plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics, etc, earn more than those who work in banks, law firms, and other corporate outfits.

If you need their services, most times they will tell you that they won’t be available until three months away. And when they eventually have the time for you, they charge you according to the number of hours their job entails.

They will even charge you for the time they spend smoking cigarette. If you need them to remove an extra nail or bolt, they will give you the bill for that. There are no stories about it.

Children start working and earning money from about the age of 16, and nobody who works up to five days a week earns less than the equivalent of USD1,000 per month. And that is for those who are studying or preparing to get into the university.

Full-time workers earn more than that because they are allowed to do more than one job. It is a system that teaches people the dignity in labour – not sitting down and waiting for handouts.

Most parents don’t pay university fees for their children. The children work to raise money to do so, supported by scholarships and loans from the government. Many of them don’t even bother to acquire any university education because they see it as too much stress. Once they are through with high school or secondary school, they learn a trade.

That skill equips them all through their life. They simply get higher certifications in their field and rise in rank and earning. You don’t need a university degree in a developed country to be very successful in life.

In developed countries, nobody cares about what you do or what you earn.

You just make your money, pay your taxes, pay your bills, and live your life as you choose, within the dictates of the law. As long as you are willing to work and are hardworking, you can never be poor in a developed economy.

Unlike in Nigeria where certain levels of workers cannot afford certain good things of life, cleaners or plumbers or carpenters drive very good cars like every other person, live in very good apartments or buy good houses, go on holidays to different cities, and send money to relatives in their home country, if they are immigrants.

Jobs are available. You don’t need any connection to get a job. All you need is your qualification and suitability for the role, whether it is full-time or part-time.

Nobody is ashamed to do any job because no job is menial. There is no free money and there is no stolen money. If you play smart (the Nigerian euphemism for stealing or corruption), the system flags you and sends you to jail. You lose your integrity and credibility.

That is why those countries continue to grow while blessed countries like Nigeria continue to regress and wallow in crisis.

nlfpmod, justwise, DisGuy

VeryWickedMan:
Excuses.

Inferiority complex led you to japa go dey do boyii for White man.
I'll rather be a King in Nigeria than be a slave in obodo oyibo.

ISTP:
https://punchng.com/why-there-are-no-menial-jobs-in-canada-us-uk/

okeysoninv:
even White indigenes are also doing the same work. Park one side with that ur mentality

ednut1:
Insightful. The average Nigerian does is naturally wicked. There are Nigerians in Canada that have told me the only thing they miss is cheap labour. 2 house maids will cost you 30k a month, one security guard 18 to 20k, one driver 25k to 30k. I fear who no fear black man. Make my own better while i continue to shit on others.

sihamey:
A friend of mine who work in government agency as a Senior manager in Nigeria, a-signed official car with a driver at work, she relocated to UK because of marriage, she married a Nigeria guy who reside in UK. I was surprised she told me she work as a security guide in UK, initially I doubted her but she had to do a video call to show me herself in a security uniform on her duty post and she has been to UK for for 5 years now. I shock
The reality is different from expectation, I must say at my level I will never do menial job abroad is not for me.

VeryWickedMan:
Excuses.

Inferiority complex led you to japa go dey do boyii for White man.
I'll rather be a King in Nigeria than be a slave in obodo oyibo.

ednut1:
what skills did she have in Nigeria Was she getting promoted based on man know man What has she done in the uk to improve herself Maybe she isn’t ambitious like most of the civil servants in Nigeria too. If she was in usa or Canada she would have gotten an admin role at least in a govt institution if she really sabi work.

hodari:
Western countries don't recognise your African education or work experience. Even if you have a PhD and with work experience, the only jobs available for you are caregiver, security, CNA (glorified poo packer), food delivery, cleaning, etc

ednut1:
false. Go on LinkedIn and see where Nigerians in Usa , Canada and other European countries dey work . They have labour shortages and have no choice than to hire immigrants.I work for an American bank in Canada with only my Nigerian bsc and work experience. Over 30% of people in my unit are also Nigerian. There are tech people i used to work with there are now in Europe ,Asia America with only Nigerian qualifications. So make una rest.

Treadway:
true, but they aren't armed with PhD's or MSc's. I think I may be racist. Most people don't get this, but I must confess for years now, I don't get why people fawn over white folks, it irritates me. Whenever I interacted with them, I wasn't rude or arrogant but I exuded the 'behave around me' vibe. I have an air of superiority around them that I don't have even around fellow blacks or Nigerians. I can't get over the fact that the lowliest of them comes here and enjoys like a king, and the best of us gets there and has to start from scratch to 'prove' himself. Back in 2011/2012 I worked with a blindness prevention team that did free surgeries for eye ailments in Lagos. Twice a year they would fly in a medical team to join in. On screening days, the foreign optometrist would only see 5 a day, our guys would see AVG 200 patients each. Our guys would get 10k daily, while the oyinbo would get, you know the answer. They would ferry them to Radisson Blu at the end of each day, and there was even a budget for a cow for their entertainment. We did all the work!!! Enough PHD and Msc holders that were tip-top often find themselves stuck in these 'menial' jobs with silly excuses like skills over certificates, but it just doesn't happen the other way round. That shit pains me a lot cos I don't think these people are special, so why?? Skills over certificates? Dem no recognise the education, years of experience with great transferable skills before dem come up with express entry ni. Shey na for those menial jobs those erstwhile experienced folks go get key skills that will take their career to the next level, doing Uber, delivery guy and all that. The king and slave metaphor that the guy you quoted used, is an overused phrase but it just still holds true for me. I just might b racist. I don't wish them harm, but I just can't handle just the thought of being at the bottom of that power dynamic or food chain, even on their turf, cos they soar on our turf too. Best way I can put it is, I would rather let my wife buga me or feel like she can buga me, than let a white person feel that way (by buga I don't mean confrontation, I mean just by them simply expecting that with my years, education and qualifications I should be happy to take a job that a comparable man like myself over there with same years in and qualifications won't be offered). Dignity in labor or not i'd rather die!..lol. I really think I'm racist....

hodari:
It's your word against facts. I've lived in UK for close to 8 years and I know what I'm talking about.

That your Canada is in fact the worst. I saw immigrants with PhDs working as taxi drivers, CNAs, Uber delivery, everywhere in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa. They have a barrier called "Canadian experience"

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-for-many-newcomers-canadian-experience-remains-a-barrier-to-meaningful/

ednut1:
you are making absolute statements. Sure these things exist. But are people not still breaking in despite these barriers. Are there not Nigerians in kpmg, EY, pwc uk or Canada Are there not Nigerians in banks in those countries Are Nigerians not in tech companies there Nigerians are not in nhs

hodari:
Those ones are a miniscule proportion maybe 0.00001% Most Africans in the west live paycheck to paycheck.. and debt.

hodari:
Western countries don't recognise your African education or work experience. Even if you have a PhD and with work experience, the only jobs available for you are caregiver, security, CNA (glorified poo packer), food delivery, cleaning, etc

hodari:
Those ones are a miniscule proportion maybe 0.00001% Most Africans in the west live paycheck to paycheck.. and debt.

VeryWickedMan:
Excuses.

Inferiority complex led you to japa go dey do boyii for White man.
I'll rather be a King in Nigeria than be a slave in obodo oyibo.

Gerrard59:
First, you stated western companies don't recognise African qualifications. When told to check LinkedIn, you come with it is a minuscule proportion. You even went ahead to say it is 0.00001%. If you are asked to provide a source to validate your statement, you will enter voicemail.

Well, I understand your pains. You probably migrated when the usual route was: tourist visa, doing illegal jobs, marrying for papers, and then wait for twenty years to become a citizen. Very few had the resources to pay tuition fees into the University of Toronto or Ottawa, then get a job with professional services or tech firms or get fully funded scholarships into Stanford right from their bedrooms in Nigeria. Sure, it can be painful, and I sympathise with you. However, present-day realities have made the same western countries to tighten their borders and introduce migration schemes that allow only the best and brightest to enter. In return, these new migrants have higher qualifications, money, accurate information and experience. Twenty years ago, I bet there was no black person working in the Big4s in Canada, but today, many are, with a greater proportion being Nigerians. The same applies to other countries.

Those who migrated twenty years ago would be pained to see newer folks ascend the wealth ladders and attain citizenship quicker than they did. It is normal for them to be pained, but their pains, (un)fortunately, cannot distort the fact that - many new generation migrants from Africa are doing better than ever before.

Ifakiland:
Sha no beg us for money, cos na bastards like una go dey monitor exchange rate pass, dey say abeg just send £200 na 200k for naira...monkey

ednut1:
na to dey ignore these kind people. Probably went with visit and got deported. Boys dey run 6 months course for usa enter tech dey cashout they are here chatting shit

ednut1:
we know ya type. Keep consoling yourself . People living pay check to pay check sent 20 billion home in 2021. Guy reduce the weed abeg

ednut1:
we know ya type. Keep consoling yourself . People living pay check to pay check sent 20 billion home in 2021. Guy reduce the weed abeg

Within the first four months of 2018, seven youths have been murdered in the United Kingdom. Heres why.

Years after gang violence in the city of London subsided, teenagers in England’s capital city have begun a new wave of stabbings that some on the front-line of the killings claim is motivated by a new game and ranking system called ‘Scores’.
According to Daily Mail, Scotland Yard has launched 55 investigations into suspected murders in London this year already.

At least 35 of those killed were stabbed to death.

On Thursday, April 5, 2018, the city saw six stabbings within the space of 90 minutes. One of them left a 13-year-old left fighting for his life after an attack in Newham, east London.

The rising wave of stabbings has all of England and most of the world worried, partly because all of this has happened before.

The Nigerian side to this story is not lost on us.

Within the first four months of 2018, seven Nigerian youths have been murdered in the United Kingdom.

The first of those came hours before the celebration of New Year’s day on January 1, 2018, when two days before his 21st birthday, Taofeek Lamidi was murdered in East London after being stabbed repeatedly.

Harry Uzoka's death hit a harder note among young Nigerians social media.

The 25-year-old Nigerian who had been making his name as a model on the world stage was murdered, just over two weeks later on January 19, 2018, in what the Police described as “a robbery gone wrong” after he was found on a pavement suffering a knife wound to his chest.

London's black boys

On April 4, 2018, another Nigerian teenager, Israel Ogunsola was killed on the streets of the United Kingdom.

The 18-year-old died about half an hour after being stabbed and despite the efforts of police officers, paramedics and a trauma doctor from London’s air ambulance.

The rising wave of stabbings has all of England and most of the world worried, partly because all of this has happened before.

ALSO READ: London police investigate killing of Nigerian teenager, Oluwadamilola Odeyingbo

The number of deaths brings back a fearful apprehension and sour memories of November 2000, when a gang of teenagers stabbed Damilola Taylor to death, a stabbing that was followed by the Nigerian media.

Just 15 minutes after leaving Peckham library, the 11-year old was stabbed in the leg with a piece of broken glass.

British-Nigerian Actor, John Boyega and his sister, Grace, were two of the last people to be seen with Damilola as they followed him for part of his way home.

The Boyegas would help babysit Damilola and were family friends.

After Damilola’s death, Nigerians, home and abroad looked on with dismay as it took 6 years before his killers, Danny and Ricky Preddie were identified and convicted

Counting Scores

Someone who is on the front-lines of the stabbings, and has been for a while, blames a new game or ranking system known as “Scores” for the new wave of crime.

Chris, is a cousin of Danny and Ricky Preddie, the teens who killed Damilola Taylor.

He grew up surrounded by London’s gangs, teenage crimes and drugs.

But the inglorious spectacle of the recent spate of killings, which has drawn comparisons to New York’s Bronx in the 1970s.

ALSO READ: Model John Koh is charged with the death of Harry Uzoka

“It’s so much more serious than you think. This score system is real, and people are losing their lives.”

Speaking to the Sun Online, Chris claimed: “Basically, the points system has been running for many, many years now.

“When I was growing up, you would get stripes like in the army, there has always been a ranking system.

“Nowadays, it’s a score system, who’s the bravest. It’s all about competing.”

All of this is based on what has been called the "Postcode Wars", a system of gang-based division where young people from certain residential areas or 'postcodes' have territorial wars with other postcodes.

The scores system, though, might be familiar to anyone who has been around the epicenter of Nigeria's notorious campus cult wars.

In what are battles for supremacy, the cults often declare war on each other, counting successful kills in scores, the way you would count goals in a football match.

After losing his half-brother Andrew in a gang incident in south London, Chris decided to right what wrongs he could, working with troubled young people in the city.

In that time, he has made a lot of progress, culminating in being awarded the Order of the British Empire by the Queen of England.

But the audacity of these killings and the system that has been built and is growing around it has him worried.

“If I create a video saying I don’t like you and send it out — it’s not just the person who has seen it, it’s dozens.”, he told the Sun.

“How do you feel knowing that so many people have heard that you’re an idiot? You feel like you have to retaliate. It’s a battle over who has the most kudos and respect.”

Chris warned that the ranking system would become more brazen in London’s streets.

He said: “People aren’t talking about it yet, they’re too scared.

“Everyone will soon hear about it.”

But it’s not that simple.

Busy streets and disengaged youth

Damilola Taylor’s death was part of a wave of knife and gang crime in the early 2000s.

To combat the menace and engage the youth who had taken to carrying their own knives, the government created empowerment programs and schemes as well as youth centres to take the teens and knives off the street.

Along with other programs, it worked... for a while.

ALSO READ: Abike Dabiri is worried over the death of young Nigerians in the UK

A report into youth service provision showed that 30 youth centres had closed across London since 2011–2012.

Funding to voluntary sector youth services had gone down by 35%. These were programs which addressed youth crime and substance abuse, supporting youth clubs and projects.

It's easy to blame the local councils for this, but most of them have had to deal with their budget cuts from the central government.

Austerity measures, the state of the world economy and subtle finance-based preparations for Brexit have reversed whatever progressed was made.

It feels like normal London communities are now living in a state of emergency, a consequence of failed domestic policies, lack of funding, and institutional indifference.

The result is showing up not in the rooms where these decisions are made, or on spreadsheets where shirking a few councils can take little more than two clicks of a keyboard.

It is yielding fruit on London’s streets, in dark alleyways, in the Nigerian homes where hardworking parents treat each day with optimism and hope for a new generation of kids who they hope will have the opportunities they could never enjoy.

For a generation of London youth, the crime is hitting too close to home. Nigerians at home will be somewhat familiar with similar teenage gangs who commit audacious acts of crime with little care for the consequences.

There are a few too many parallels between these groups and the street gangs who swear by their streets like Ajegunle's "One Billion Boys"

What begs the bigger question, is that the solutions are obvious on one side of the divide, and they’ve been used before to considerable success.

It lays bare the failure of our systems, the universality of these problems and why youth, all over the world, deserve, no, need, more attention and resources than societies are willing to give them.