Am starting this because i think everyone should be informed. Information is really key and makes the difference. I have been outside the country for sometime and now wonder if i am better off in london than Nigeria. This is serious because most people don't want to tell the truth about the situation espcially in the UK. I keep asking myself if it is worth it and need other peoples honest opinion.

I had a good job in Nigeria and i got a good job here too. I never did any odd job and i work as a professional. The money i earn is times five of what i earn Nigeria. But at the end of the day after paying for accomodation and tax, am probably left with the same thing. I hold my personality and self in high regard, i don't want to loose that. But here, no matter what you are a second class citizen.

Bothering on what i see around. A lot of people have lost their destiny, live goals and personality just because they want to relocate abroad. They come to the UK and clean roads and train stations. People do odd jobs that will definitely degrade one. You see graduates come here and do carpentry jobs, bricklaying. Is it really worth it. can't they go back to Nigeria and achieve what God sent them to the world to achieve. Most people are in the Uk just because they want people back home to think they are in the UK. they are suffering and smiling, living from hand to mouth and no savings worth soever.

We have to come to a point that we will tell ourselves the truth. If living abroad will not favour you and you know you had a good job at home or potential of then don't waste your life because of what people will say. UK or US is not heaven. i repeat most people lost their destiny my moving abroad and they probably need to retrace their steps. i have seen so many examples of that here. In the Uk, nobody smiles unlike Nigeria. What is the meaning of life without smiles and happiness.

Although i agree with most of what you said,i personally think decissions on what to do lies solely with individuals.it would be hypocritical of me to put myself in another person shoes as the person in those shoes knows where it pinches.I have come to realise that people have different reasons for doing things and it would be unfair to generalise and say go back to nigeria to all graduates struggling here in the UK.Situations and circumstances vary and so i think its best left for people to do what they think would suit them.

I kniow peopel who had good jobs back home in naija and just decided to move abroad and i always used to think are you mad or something.But with time i have come to realise that all that glitters is not gold and that sometimes what you see on the outside might be just an illusion.I have also seen people go back home to nigeria in frustration and sometimes be worse off than when they left.

I will always say one thing though,i want to move back home in the nearest future as an entreprenuer. lets just think of what will happen to graduates back home if all of the educated elite and nigerian graduates go back hometo compete in the labour market.

wumiabo:

Am starting this because i think everyone should be informed. Information is really key and makes the difference. I have been outside the country for sometime and now wonder if i am better off in london than Nigeria. This is serious because most people don't want to tell the truth about the situation espcially in the UK. I keep asking myself if it is worth it and need other peoples honest opinion.

I had a good job in Nigeria and i got a good job here too. I never did any odd job and i work as a professional. The money i earn is times five of what i earn Nigeria. But at the end of the day after paying for accomodation and tax, am probably left with the same thing. I hold my personality and self in high regard, i don't want to loose that. But here, no matter what you are a second class citizen.

Bothering on what i see around. A lot of people have lost their destiny, live goals and personality just because they want to relocate abroad. They come to the UK and clean roads and train stations. People do odd jobs that will definitely degrade one. You see graduates come here and do carpentry jobs, bricklaying. Is it really worth it. can't they go back to Nigeria and achieve what God sent them to the world to achieve. Most people are in the Uk just because they want people back home to think they are in the UK. they are suffering and smiling, living from hand to mouth and no savings worth soever.

We have to come to a point that we will tell ourselves the truth. If living abroad will not favour you and you know you had a good job at home or potential of then don't waste your life because of what people will say. UK or US is not heaven. i repeat most people lost their destiny my moving abroad and they probably need to retrace their steps. i have seen so many examples of that here. In the Uk, nobody smiles unlike Nigeria. What is the meaning of life without smiles and happiness.

Between,i think nigerians have to get past the fact that some jobs are degrading.there is dignity in labour and i think cleaning train stations is better than doing yahoo yahoo.I will respect a LAWMA(lagos sate waste management management authority) cleaner better than a yahoo boy cos the cleaner worked for his money.Our no 1 problem and what irks me the most in naija(believe me i love naija more than anywhere in this world) is our 'i am better than u'syndrome.There was this stupid idiot boy i went to uni with who said 'what i hate about london is the fact that you will be seeing MD entering train with cleaner' can u beat that mentality.I hate london for alot of reasons but not for something as superficial as that.The head of my SBU at work earns good money both as salary and bonuses but takes the train to work.Even when fasola succeeds with metro rail i have friends who are just SBO's in banks that will never take it.So they will start taking the same train as cleaners?lai lai whick kain levels be that?they must park their new honda civic in the car park o.

@wumiabo,

You have started what I regard as my "BEST THREAD" ever on Nairaland. I totally agree with everything you raised in your thread. Let me make refernce to some specific statement :

If living abroad will not favour you and you know you had a good job at home or potential of then don't waste your life because of what people will say.

A lot of people have told me here in the UK that the main reason why they do not want to go back home is what people will say when they get back home. Even, some people say they can't stay more than a month in Nigeria because they do not want people to have the notion that they are deported. I consider this ridiculous. It's meant to be my life and not another person. I could remember being in Nigeria one time, and I spent about 3 months, a lot of the people around me were gossiping about me that I had been deported, but who cares?. Until we are able to stand for what we believe in, i don't see any progress in sight

A lot of people have lost their destiny, live goals and personality just because they want to relocate abroad

This is really the truth!. A loT of people drops out from Uni or Poly because they want to come abroad, with the believe that when they get there, they will come and "hustle" and use the proceed to fund their school. When they eventually get here, reality dawn on them. They can't move forward, and they wont want to go back to Nigeria, knowing fully well that they will have to start their Uni from the scratch , and moreso, it will amount to a huge shame among their friends. So many brilliant chaps are really wasting away due to this fact. Besides, some people are very comfortable back home, they relocate here only to see that all the hype about abroad IS a mirage. I think we must all learn that sometimes our decisions could be wrong, but we MUST not find it too hard to RETRACE our steps no matter how painful it could be.

People do odd jobs that will definitely degrade one

A trained lawyer in Naija doing care work abroad, to me is a degradation. Argue it from today till tommorrow, I wont shift my stance on this. There's a difference between a professional and layman. Imagine Gordon brown's Children , or Tony Blair's or even Obama's doing all these "odd" jobs. You wont find any of the elite children there. Call it "Nigeria" mentality, i dont care. What is the essence of a job that you are doing that negates all the values in you. Something that wont bring fulfilment but rather allow you to live from hands to mouth. Something you cant tell pple in Naija that this is what you are doing. or who prays to spend fortune on his child's education that at the end of the day , he will use such certificate to be a rubbish collector ??

Lastly, any one is free to choose his/her own destiny but I feel we must choose rather wisely. I will rather prefer to be a fulfilled professional in Nigeria than being a dish-washer, dog-walker, train-cleaner and any other menial jobs you could think of abroad. A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE!

watch this space

One thing I always say about issues like this is that there is really no clear cut answer.

Situations differ from person to person. I have seen people here in UK doin odd jobs and livin far,far better than they did back home in naija. And said people are professionals too. Do you know how many "professionals" are languishing back home, and would jump at d opportunity to come here for odd jobs? Its all about survival my people. What good is it piling up certificates, and clinging to titles when they wont fetch you money?
Again, it depends on what you're looking for. Some people were ok in naija, but just frustrated with the mess around them (i.e NEPA, water,  roads, etc) and just decided to relocate for comfort.

On the other hand, my advice to anyone is this; weigh your options, prioritize and whatever you decide, live with it.

MT:

@wumiabo,

You have started what I regard as my "BEST THREAD" ever on Nairaland. I totally agree with everything you raised in your thread. Let me make refernce to some specific statement :A lot of people have told me here in the UK that the main reason why they do not want to go back home is what people will say when they get back home. Even, some people say they can't stay more than a month in Nigeria because they do not want people to have the notion that they are deported. I consider this ridiculous. It's meant to be my life and not another person. I could remember being in Nigeria one time, and I spent about 3 months, a lot of the people around me were gossiping about me that I had been deported, but who cares?. Until we are able to stand for what we believe in, i don't see any progress in sight This is really the truth!. A loT of people drops out from Uni or Poly because they want to come abroad, with the believe that when they get there, they will come and "hustle" and use the proceed to fund their school. When they eventually get here, reality dawn on them. They can't move forward, and they wont want to go back to Nigeria, knowing fully well that they will have to start their Uni from the scratch , and moreso, it will amount to a huge shame among their friends. So many brilliant chaps are really wasting away due to this fact. Besides, some people are very comfortable back home, they relocate here only to see that all the hype about abroad IS a mirage. I think we must all learn that sometimes our decisions could be wrong, but we MUST not find it too hard to RETRACE our steps no matter how painful it could be.A trained lawyer in Naija doing care work abroad, to me is a degradation. Argue it from today till tommorrow, I wont shift my stance on this. There's a difference between a professional and layman. Imagine Gordon brown's Children , or Tony Blair's or even Obama's doing all these "odd" jobs. You wont find any of the elite children there. Call it "Nigeria" mentality, i don't care. What is the essence of a job that you are doing that negates all the values in you. Something that wont bring fulfilment but rather allow you to live from hands to mouth. Something you can't tell people in Naija that this is what you are doing. or who prays to spend fortune on his child's education that at the end of the day , he will use such certificate to be a rubbish collector ??

Lastly, any one is free to choose his/her own destiny but I feel we must choose rather wisely. I will rather prefer to be a fulfilled professional in Nigeria than being a dish-washer, dog-walker, train-cleaner and any other menial jobs you could think of abroad. A WORD IS ENOUGH FOR THE WISE!

I so much agree with all the points you have raised BUT as i said in my earlier post this issues are subjective as some people are proffessionals with a standard of living lower than someone who is doing menial jobs here.I have seen first hand experiences of such.So yeah if you are a proffessional with a well paying[i] satisfying [/i] job(some people are well paid and dont have job satisfaction so its not always about money) i see no reason why you should emigrate esp illegally and then be reduced to doing what you would not ordinarily do.

I have been over here alot of times before relocating and i made up my mind that i would NEVER leave nigeria to come and live here permanently illegally,Thats because i knew that i would be much better back home.But this is not the case for some people,they are sincerely not better back home.In short a whole family depends on that train cleaner.This is not to say i support those who joined the bandwagon of 'going to jand' and then not going to school.A cousin of my husband did that and he is really regretting doing that.All i was trying to say earlier is that we place alot of emphasis on status and all this 'odd' jobs actually feed families.

@Hesperus

Situations differ from person to person. I have seen people here in UK doin odd jobs and livin far,far better than they did back home in naija

If you had written this statement like 3 years ,  I would have agreed. I have seen individuals making it with odd jobs in UK as well, but even now with the recession setting in, every one knows where the shoe pinces. people are losing jobs at alarming rate, there is pressure on the "odd" jobs itself and thereby forcing down the salary. No money, no dignity!. Suffering and smiling

Besides, you are mixing 2 things up. This thread is referring to people who are professionals in their chosen careers doing Odd jobs, people who have better potentials to make it in Nigeria but because of what people will say when they get to Nigeria, they are stuck to living in UK. don't forget that some people are even illiterates but are professionals in their field. Some people just need 500 pounds to kickstart their business in naija, but they will get here and be thinking of billions.Billions they wont see, Naija they wont go, and thus getting worse off.
@Damiso

Some people are proffessionals with a standard of living lower than someone who is doing menial jobs here

I refuse to agree with this. The mistake we normally make is generally tagging all graduates as professionals. Hell no!. Professionals refer to authority in your chosen career.Some people graduate from Uni or Poly without any knowledge whatsoever about their discipline. I refuse to refer to such as professionals, and maybe they are the type you are referring to here. Sorry, they aint professionals, they are mediocres.

Some people were ok in naija, but just frustrated with the mess around them (i.e NEPA, water,  roads, etc) and just decided to relocate for comfort.

Where lies the comfort in UK ?. The silent racism, the tiny house, the steady light, gas, water that come at very exorbitant price, the killing taxes, their rude kids that insult and assault at every point in time etc.
I stand to be corrected tho.

PS : I'm not slagging off UK but saying my mind in relations to Nigerian professionals (illiterate and literate) neck-deep in Odd jobs in UK but with better potentials to make it in Nigeria

MT:

@Hesperus If you had written this statement like 3 years , I would have agreed. I have seen individuals making it with odd jobs in UK as well, but even now with the recession setting in, every one knows where the shoe pinces. people are losing jobs at alarming rate, there is pressure on the "odd" jobs itself and thereby forcing down the salary. No money, no dignity!. Suffering and smiling

Besides, you are mixing 2 things up. This thread is referring to people who are professionals in their chosen careers doing Odd jobs, people who have better potentials to make it in Nigeria but because of what people will say when they get to Nigeria, they are stuck to living in UK. don't forget that some people are even illiterates but are professionals in their field. Some people just need 500 pounds to kickstart their business in naija, but they will get here and be thinking of billions.Billions they wont see, Naija they wont go, and thus getting worse off.
@DamisoI refuse to agree with this. The mistake we normally make is generally tagging all graduates as professionals. Hell no!. Professionals refer to authority in your chosen career.Some people graduate from Uni or Poly without any knowledge whatsoever about their discipline. I refuse to refer to such as professionals, and maybe they are the type you are referring to here. Sorry, they aint professionals, they are mediocres.
Where lies the comfort in UK ?. The silent racism, the tiny house, the steady light, gas, water that come at very exorbitant price, the killing taxes,their rude kids that insult and assault at every point in time etc.
I stand to be corrected tho.

PS : I'm not slagging off UK but saying my mind in relations to Nigerian professionals (illiterate and literate) neck-deep in Odd jobs in UK but with better potentials to make it in Nigeria

Pls i still lived in nigeria in 2008 and i know that it would be difficult to kickstart a business with £500 ie 182X500=91,000.That is not enough to buy a generator to run a pure water business.

I agree with you though that an authority in their field should not be reduced to doing menial jobs to survive.But come to think of it,i have never seen an authority in their chosen field doing menial jobs,maybe it is me sha but i dont know any.
_{btw i find the rude kids irritating too}.

@damiso

i know that it would be difficult to kickstart a business with £500

It's just an illustration just to show that people don't really need billions to kickstart their business in Naija

But come to think of it,i have never seen an authority in their chosen field doing menial jobs,

I can tell u there are loads and loads of people like that.

£500 ie 182X500=91,000

, aww so my darling pounds is 182 naira, thot it's 190 naira ni, who will stop the slide?, London bridge, oops, pounds sterling is falling down, falling down,

really really falling down.so pls if you are thinking of coming to london to hustle and take back the 'almighty kpounds' forgerrit its not worth it.funny enuff i dont know why i am not really bothered_{( really i should be)}

I don't live in Nigeria, but I know there are a great deal of businesses you can start for less than £500 in Nigeria

MT:

, aww so my darling pounds is 182 naira, thot it's 190 naira ni, who will stop the slide?, London bridge, oops, pounds sterling is falling down, falling down,

This is not a laughing matter, if it drops to 1-2-1 My £75,000 that I safely stashed away fo retirement will soon become 75,000 Naira before my korokoro eyes

Busy_body:

I don't live in Nigeria, but I know there are a great deal of businesses you can start for less than £500 in Nigeria

abeg be kind enough to fill me in and i dont mean hand to mouth business.one that can grow and sustain itself gradually.pls share this your knowledge pls.

Would love to, but that's what the jobs/career/business section is there for Kudos to the people in that section, they are miracle workers

@ MT. And corrected you shall.
You say the houses here are tiny, are they tinier than the face  me I face you houses in Naija? Are food prices not also going up in naija? The water and gas rates are exhorbitant, yeah I agree,but these things cost money. And i'd rather pay for available resources than do without them. I know of a place in Benin where they collect monthly local govt "tax" on personal household boreholes. Where is the justification?
Talkin about professionals, ah ah, i don't even want to go there. Go to Govt establishments and see civil servants with years of experience and ask them what their take home pay is. It is nothin to write home about. I have an uncle i naija who has been an accountant long before I was born (almost 30 years),now a fellow of ICAN and marks for them. Ask me if he's well off? Hell no! He's still struggling.
Yes there are good paying jobs for pros in naija,but the question is how many? I am not saying that a pro should come and do menial jobs here, no, but again, the end justifies the means. Each person has a choice to make.

I love this thread.
People ought to know that living "abroad" has it's challenges.
Leaving Nigeria without completing your degree to move "to abroad" is the most foolish thing anyone can do and I've seen several do it.
A girl left Unical after her third year to marry an americana husband,she regrets it daily.

Hesperus:


. . . Yes there are good paying jobs for pros in naija,but the question is how many? I am not saying that a pro should come and do menial jobs here, no, but again, the end justifies the means. Each person has a choice to make.

There are equally a good number of pofessionals in this country who are struggling too. Middle class people who should be relatively well off too struggle, they make an average of £30,000 per annum which is slashed to around £21,000 after tax, what are they left with after paying their mortgages, nothing, they often have to take on second, third jobs just to make ends meet, heard of moonlighting

So it's not easy everywhere and with the impending recession taking hold eveywhere, Nigerians in diaspora are in for a rough ride, fasten your seat belt firmly lest you fall

For Nigerians thinking of emigrating to the USA,I always tell them ,if you're not in the medical field or ready to switch over,please reconsider that move.
If you studied Philosophy,or BK in the University and hoping to live well here,you're kidding.
[b]Anything you study in Nigeria that cannot earn you a professional registration with a board here in the USA after you take their exams,you're in for a steep climb.[/b]That's just the gospel truth.

*osisi:

I love this thread.
People ought to know that living "abroad" has it's challenges.
Leaving Nigeria without completing your degree to move "to abroad" is the most foolish thing anyone can do and I've seen several do it.
A girl left Unical after her third year to marry an americana husband,she regrets it daily.

Yeah cos after a while and once the romance have worn off, the guy would stat getting irritated by the girl's ineptitude, and then she would start esenting him fo forcing her to look fo a job beneath her, and the poor thing would be too tired to cook for her husband when she comes home. Or she would have to work night shifts whilst the hubby works day shift, to save money on daycare if pickin are involved. It is not easy my sister.

*osisi:

A girl left Unical after her third year to marry an americana husband,she regrets it daily.

LOL, lookin for awoof green card! Ehya! Me I know dat as soon as am done with with this place, am going home sweet home. . .

@ busybody, yes o, struggle continues everywhere!

@busybody,

Oh you beat me to it. You echo what I was a bout to write

@Hesperus

There are exceptions in every society. I hope you listen to the pre-budget of allistair as well as opinions of pple in the dailies. Professionals in UK, not to even talk of the Odd-jobbers, are in for a real squeeze in this recession period.

No one is talking about recession in naija, as it has become ways of life there since 1904

That your uncle you refer to would have done better in a credit society, (remember that pple abroad live on credit). So, dont even compare pple in naija with abroad pple cos while pple in naija pay CASH for everything they own, pple abroad OWE what they own to some banks

Busy_body:

There are equally a good number of pofessionals in this country who are struggling too. Middle class people who should be relatively well off too struggle, they make an average of £30,000 per annum which is slashed to around £21,000 after tax, what are they left with after paying their mortgages, nothing, they often have to take on second, third jobs just to make ends meet, heard of moonlighting

So it's not easy everywhere and with the impending recession taking hold eveywhere, Nigerians in diaspora are in for a rough ride, fasten your seat belt firmly lest you fall

   

At least they can work a 2nd and a 3rd job.Where are the jobs in Naija talk less of 2nd and 3rd?

I already know people that have lost their jobs here.
And this is not a place where you can move in with relatives and go down to the East from Lagos to ride out hard times.The only place you can go to is a homeless shelter if not the streets.
People are suffering here sadly,they hide it very well from folks in Naija due to distance.

In short life is a struggle everywhere,anywhere as long its still on the this earth.

@ osisi

Where is the job here too, on average 1600 jobs are being lost daily and people are joining the dole queue. Go to the hospital A&E it is full of alchoholics who have lost their jobs and turned to alchohol.

As for the family one, that's the one that sends a shock to people's spine. The rate at which people ask their close relatives to leave is alarming. Can you imagine how many people arriving in UK and staying with your own blood sister and being asked to live after two weeks that they cannot afford to look after you again.

Hmmn, i don't even wanna start on the number of people who arrive at the airport to find out that noone had bothered to come and pick them up. When you eventually get through to them, they tell you to take the public transport and find your own way

please nigerians abroad are(those like me sha that have most their life in nigeria) can survive recession anywhere.esp those of us that have put living on credit to the barest min.
sebi this thread was even to give advsie sef;advice 1;
STAY AWAY FROM CREDIT CARDS.IF U WANT RADO WATCH SAVE FOR IT.
one valuaable lesson i learnt from my husband.also all those people who sha wanted to say 'we have bought house'and paid£5,000 deposit with £1,200 monthly repayments.them go hear wen(.esp while working odd jobs)

damiso:

In short life is a struggle everywhere,anywhere as long as its still on this earth.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum!

My first job after I left Naija was washing dishes in an Indo/ paki restaurant.
Before then I had never worked a day in my life
Here I was from an average Nigerian family with 2 cars with an enviable degree from a prestigious first tier Nigerian university in London washing dishes in a smelly Indian restaurants with all the abuse.
But I needed to survive.
I had to eat so I did what I had to do but my goal was clear before me.
I knew that all I had to do was pass the professional exams and my situation would be reversed dramatically.
But there are many Nigerians who don't even have a degree falling over themselves at the embassies to leave Nigeria for England and America.

What exactly does the poster want? An advise for her about relocation or giving advise to people to stay in Nigeria?

wakagirl:

What exactly does the poster want? An advise for her about relocation or giving advise to people to stay in Nigeria?

an alarm so that those changing their names and growing bia bia to arrive at the embassies for the millionth time know exactly what to expect

*osisi:

My first job after I left Naija was washing dishes in an Indo/ paki restaurant.
Before then I had never worked a day in my life
Here I was from an average Nigerian family with 2 cars with an enviable degree from a prestigious first tier Nigerian university in London washing dishes in a smelly Indian restaurants with all the abuse.
But I needed to survive.
I had to eat so I did what I had to do but my goal was clear before me.
I knew that all I had to do was pass the professional exams and my situation would be reversed dramatically.
But there are many Nigerians who don't even have a degree falling over themselves at the embassies to leave Nigeria for England and America.

nice story osisi but some people are in that your category at the moment and some nigerians will look down on them.my bro in law also had to go through all that when he first relocated to america but he is doing quite well now.i really don't like the way nigerians make fun of certain jobs.for some  people those jobs are just a means to an end.Also agree for you to have a clear idea of your destination not just wanting to 'travel' beacuse everyone is travelling or beacuse 'abroad'i.e 'ilu or obodo oyinbo' is heaven.You are in for  rude shock.
You have to struggle man.nobody gives u anything for free.
I remeber when i was in UNI apart from my parents,i had like 2 uncles who saying Good morning to meant like 5 or 10k for baffs,where you wan see that one abroad.Your are On.Your.Own.Its good small sha it makes you appreciate when people give you cos i sure know i used to take people giving me things for granted alot when i was younger.

damiso:

please nigerians abroad are(those like me sha that have most their life in nigeria) can survive recession anywhere.

You were lucky your hubby had put everything in place before you came, besides the fact that you had managed to visit the country several times before coming to live with your hubby indicates that you are not the type of people who sells their last possession on earth in order to travel abroad, who then get here and discover that the abroad they had dreamed of was just a mirage.

Some of them manage to struggle to make ends meet, whilst the majoity either resort to yahoo yahoo or fall into depression. Go and check the mental wards to see the numbers of Nigerian in the wards.

There is even this running joke that if anyone else goes to their family doctor to tell them they have depression, they give them anti-depressants or refer them for counselling, but if a Nigerian visits the same GP with the same problem, they get an instant referral to see a psychiatrist ^{cos we hardly seek help for such due to the stigma involved}