₦airaland Forum

zboyd:
It makes a big difference. Why wouldn't I be more knowledgeable about my own country than a non-native who has only lived in the country for a few years.? I could live in Nigeria for 30 years and still not know Nigeria like the natives.

Wrong! Be born in a country doesn't make you more knowledgeable about the country than someone who moves to that country. How do you explain the fact that many immigrants in the US do better than the natives. They learn the system and can navigate the system better than many natives.

TheCongo:
Wrong! Be born in a country doesn't make you more knowledgeable about the country than someone who moves to that country. How do you explain the fact that many immigrants in the US do better than the natives. They learn the system and can navigate the system better than many natives.

First, I still disagree.

Second, since I don't want to assume anything, specifically what do you mean, when you say: "How do you explain the fact that many immigrants do better than the natives"? "What "system" are you referring to?

Third, when I asked: "Why wouldn't I be more knowledgeable about my own country than a non-native who has only lived in the country for a few years?"...I was referring to American history, geography, ecosystems, ethnic groups, culture, customs, religions, politics, laws, attitudes, foods, socioeconomic issues, etc.

Btw...I'm beginning to detect a bit of testiness in your responses. Why is that?

spectroscopic:
I have always been thinking:

Is the African culture part of the problem of Africa? Africans are family-oriented but not society-oriented.
They build individual families but have not been able to string that together to develop their societies. Because of their familism (meaning penchant for family), the financial head of a family is forced to ''work'' for members of his immediate and extended family. A western professor of mine who lived extensively in Africa once told me that family problems are one of the main reasons why middle class Africans are as good as poor. I had argued with him back then with a fervor bothering on pan Africanism, but now I know better.

There is so much dependency that, oftentimes, the bread winner has to steal public money to satisfy his family's needs. Relatives troop in and out, putting people under pressure to give and give and give. Now with smart phones, Facebook and twitter, they come in your face on cyberspace with requests. There is now no hiding place, except you get off cyberspace. It is such that even if you earn a good monthly pay, you end up an impoverished employed person, month in, month out.

There is total lack of the culture to compete for the common good. In contrast, there is breath-taking competition to be corrupt and to be able to lord it over others with the stolen wealth. On top of that, there is the tendency to blame others for African problems.

They say it's due to colonialism and slavery. But hey!! Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Philippines, and virtually all South American countries were colonized too. Indians were enslaved by the Dutch and taken to Suriname in South America. These people and countries have since moved on, and have become self-sustaining in many development indices that African countries can only dream of. But Africa remains the basket case of the world, beset with hunger, malnutrition, grinding poverty and disease. Moreover, Ethiopia and Liberia were never colonized. Are they any better than the colonized African countries?

Even ordinary Ebola, Africans cannot contain on their own after 40 whole years of its first discovery in remote Central Africa. Admitted that Nigeria was able to achieve that feat. But it was largely mother nature at work for them. One is regaled with images of dirt and squalor on Western media covering the Ebola crisis in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. From those images you would conclude every single individual in those countries are dirt poor and live under the most horrible sanitary conditions. But there are presidents and leaders governing these countries. There are the rich and mighty. Have they been sleeping?

What excuse does Africa have to remain poor, dirty and a perpetual underdog? Africans on the street often say their leaders are corrupt. But leadership does not exist in a vacuum. Every leader was once a follower, and many new leaders, just followers a few years ago, have become even more corrupt than veteran leaders. How can you get good leaders from bad followers? The question then is, are Africans naturally wired to be what they are today?

What is the role being played by religion in certain African countries such as Nigeria? Virtually all the prosperous countries are those not overly enmeshed in all sorts of religion in equal numbers. They are either 100% (at least nearly so) Christians, 100% (at least nearly so) Muslims, or completely devoid of any religious affiliations. Nigeria has pursued the path of mixed religiosity in equal measure; yet all the religions that Africans ''die'' for are foreign to them. Why do they bear religion on their shoulders with unprecedented burdensomeness?

Election is coming up in Nigeria and everyone has become entrenched in their primordial positions. Common sense has been thrown to the dogs, and failed leaders, past and present, are doing all they can to recycle themselves. They throw crumbs at you and you fall hook, line and sinker for them. Where is the rallying for intellectualism and leadership quality? Where is Fasola, Utomi and the rest of the few good ones? Why are they not contesting and why is there no one promoting their candidacy? You all, ordinary Nigerians, have either been bought over by the corrupt and bigoted elites on both sides of the divide, or you are too ignorant and loving of the status quo to know any better.

Today, the president of Burkina Faso was chased out, and the parliament building set on fire. It was all because that president, despite having stayed 27 or so years in power, was angling to stay longer and sought to be backed up by lawmakers. That is the African system most like to live with.

Well, so much for my rambling. I just wanted to share what I have bottled up all these years.

PS: Today, I received my US citizenship; I am glad that I did, but I am not giving up on Nigeria and Africa, not yet.

US Citizenship or no you cannot wish away that you are Nigerian and African to boot! The typical African American aches for ever cause he may never know where he really originated from. Good thing you are not giving up on Nigeria but don't get on CNN to announce the time of your arrival and departure when, if ever, you choose to visit.

davitogreat:
The reason africa is poor is because many africans are like you.

They only know how to run to foreign lands, worship foreigners and bi.tch moan and complain.

I thank God there are africans like dangote, Mitchell elegbe, innocent chukwuma, tunde kehinde, wale tinubu, ladi jadesimi and many others

Africa is poor because of so many empty headed barbaric mumu punk a $$ citizens in one space

When you try to bring change, the same people you want to help will eat you up

useless kuntinent

Pangea:
@ Op

Why are you wasting your time , trying to educate the idiots?

Reading almost all the response, I can deduce that, all hope is lost for the country if this is the mindset of an average Nigerian!
For a change to happen, one must first agree, there is a problem.
The people in the zoo called Nigeria has adapted to their problems instead of going out of their way to bring solution or a change!

They are like the Cypher in the movie - The Matrix, who opined that "Ignorance is bliss"
They prefer the illusion rather than the reality !
The OP has just painted the reality, but what do we get, the cyphers of Nigeria, throwing tantrums because once again they have been yanked out of their illusion!

unfortunately true

Nigeria has become something else