as long as you dont eat while you're in Calabar you'll be fine

. . . something positive about Nigeria
i love nigeria, i miss everything about Nigeria. Interestingly as i watch the ABC 20/20 report on Nigerian scammers, i am not angry. Eerily i do not feel ashamed to be recognised as being a fellow citizen with those who scam greedy American mugus. I am busy searching for the song "I go chop your dollar", well not that i'm going out tomorrow to start chopping someone's dollar. I can't believe Americans can be such mugu's, thanks to them Nkem Owoh is probably smiling to the banks now! So much for indirectly chopping their dollar.

i love Nigeria, its hard to imagine that a nation with some of the poorest people in the world can also be the nation of the happiest and warmest souls on earth. I miss the days studying by candle light, i miss trudging down to the borehole to get a bucket of water to take the once daily shower in college.
Christmas is knocking at the door and every American is getting excited about christmas trees and costumes. I can only long for the days when dad would have bought his goat, my brothers and i feeding and patting it diligently as we hoped in vain to fatten it before christmas when we would kill our friend (always named mailee) and roast him dancing around a bonfire! Mom would cook the fat on her wood fire (the only time of the yr we got to get firewood smell on our clothes).

Nigeria may not be as beautiful as New York, but until you leave it you never know how blessed you are to have been a part of a melting pot of some of the world's most fascinating people. I miss the rusty old molues, i miss the crowd at oshodi, sweat grimed bodies glued to each other as they struggle to get on the fastest bus speeding perhaps on its last trip to the bowels of the lagoon. I miss the bad roads, i miss having to pay N20 at check points that are no more than police extortion posts. I miss the frustrations of NEPA, NITEL, corrupt politicians, election riggers and looters. I am condemned to watching home videos to keep in touch with Naija life while counting the days to when next i would see Lagos again.
I miss having a good laugh over the nightly ritual of government endorsed lies on the NTA network, i miss the camaraderie and never-say-die attitude of the average Nigerian.

In Nigeria, no one cries over lack of drugs or absence of good healthcare, we have since learnt to "take our problems to God in prayer". We learn early from our mothers knees to preceed every road travel with a night vigil, each time we are reminded of the poor state of our economy, we are reminded that "the downfall of a man is not the end of his life". When we feel depressed, we are comforted as we "count our blessings and name them one by one". While looking for non-existent jobs, "God will make a way" is a song that is never far from our lips and for those who have climbed the ladder, may it be permanent!

As i'm writing this piece, i am reminded that i shall be looked upon with disdain at international airports anytime i flash my green passport. I no longer care, let them say whatever they like. I have never been prouder of my country, if they are not careful i will make sure i chop their dollar, i am the winner and they are the loser!!

hmmmm. let me seee oo. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,  wait oo (after 4 hours, stil thinking), lets see.hmmmmmm,  I'LL GET BACK TO You ON THAT ON,

;d

stilk thinking , hmmmmmmmmmmmm , i'll get back to u soon , stil thinking , this is hard oooo

ha ha ha davidylan u're too funny.
I do agree with u on the white mugu thing sha. those guys are just GREEDY they are happy to enrich themselves by undoing individuals or the govt of my country and then when they get their fingers burnt, they complain. them neva hala!

It is quite unfortunate that we are all portraying this country in this form,that is nobody sees anything good in it whereas this is country that we all live and spend lavishly on wedding,naming,burial etc without much ado.Please,i will implore you to come and have the feel of what it takes to stay in Nigeria,i bet it you will never regret it.God bless NIGERIA.

@Topic

Dear Coco29

We Nigerians are voted the happiest people in the world despite all adversities.  Living in Nigeria makes you resilient in any circumstance.  We know how to survive!

We are also voted the most sexually satisfied!   We do not do anything after 7PM from Sunday through Saturday except jump in the sack and screw our brains out till the next morning!

If you are looking for something good, as you can see even the ones that live in Nigeria cannot tell you why they are living there.  Hint, hint, hint-----NOTHING GOOD OH!  Just do not take those poor children of yours over there yet.  Go for yourself and survey the area.  Like people said here---it defies all answers.  You will have to go and experience the "positives" for your self.  Anything "positive" in Nigeria is highly subjective--it is not a one size fits all concept at all!  Goodluck sha and I am praying for you!

Most Nigerians couldn't tell you anything good about Thy Mother Land, not because there is nothing good to discuss, but because they are oblivious to positive developments in our Great Country.

They are so caught up with Negative situations, that when Good things happen, it is foreign. Or they Distort the Good Happenings into Bad occurrences, by looking for mistakes in them.

Nigerians don't want a better Nigeria, they want a better Life for themselves, which makes them indifferent from the Politicians that they criticize on a Daily Basis.

The problem with Nigeria is that if people have the amenities that they seek, they don't care if their neighbors are in a bad situation. People just buy their Generators and Bore Hole, and they don't care if their neighbor goes eternity without Basic Necessities.

How can Nigeria get good leaders when the source is corrupt. Nigerians are indifferent from the very people that they criticize.

The Problem with Nigeria isn't corrupt leaders, history has told us that countries with corrupt leaders, eventually turn around, countries like Spain have turned Around, Angola is making it's U Turn.

The Problem with Nigeria is not leaders, it's the Foundation in which Nigeria was built upon. Nigeria was never supposed to be a country, Nigeria is only so, because our colonial masters thought that it would be easy to merge the Northern and Southern Protectorates.

Nigeria cannot move forward, until Nigerians love each other, we can scheme and we can talk, but nothing can be achieved in this country until Nigerians love each other.

Igbos, Hausas, Yorubas, Itsekiris, Fulanis, Ijaws, Kalabaris and all other Nigerian ethnicities and Tribes need to love each other. If we love each other, then their will be no need to hurt each other.

I Love you all. I love every Nigerian.

PEACE, PEACE, PEACE.



Let's all unite, regardless of Tribe and be Nigerians.

PEACE,

@dblock

Please, you wrote a long letter but did not answer Coco29's question! Nice try though! You get an "E" for effort!

@dblock
very nice post. And true too.

What do I love about Nigeria?

Ah, plenty!

One: The 'never-say-die' attitude of our people. You see a man who ought to be down cast, because he has nothing to fall back on, pull himself up by the bootstraps, ready to give his next assignment his best shot, simply because of that gut feeling he has that, 'e go better!"

Two: You see folks with even worse problems than yours', coming to give you something small, even out of their own penury, in order to alleviate your own suffering

Three: Your car breaks down along a busy road, and some sympathisers are ready & willing to push it off the main street, into a quiet corner, so that someone else does not ram into it or so that you can jump start it, if possible;

Four: The diffent types of unsolicited pieces of advice, that come flowing in your direction, the minute anything happens to you or anyone hears about your problem;

Five: Those neighbours who are ready to buy you free drinks and peppersoup whenever they have something to celebrate;

Six: The correct suya at Obalende and all those areas of town, where the seasoning & flavour are done in that special way that makes your taste buds come alive;

Seven: The mama-put joints that are tucked away in various parts of town where the correct mix of shaki, ponmo, ogufe, ofe nsala, edikainkong, amal, ewedu, pounded yam, isis ewu etc. are simmering at the right temperature, waiting for you to make your pick;

Ah. . . . the list is too long, o jare! Make I stop here, for now.

MILITIA:

@dblock

Please, you wrote a long letter but did not answer Coco29's question! Nice try though! You get an "E" for effort!

I know, I just got all emotional, dats all.

no comment.

One man's meat is definitely another man's poison,so I'll reserve my comments

@ David
Now I know you're a gifted satirical writer,don't waste that talent,hope you've written or are writing materials to be published.You oughtta be earning some dollars on the side via your writing skills;SERIOUSLY

Nigeria is a place in Africa where everyone is free to visit his pal without invitation, greet a stranger in a bus or along the street, throw parties and close the road, play music to the loudest from your house e.t.c
I love this country

slimes:

Nigeria is a place in Africa where everyone is free to visit his pal without invitation, greet a stranger in a bus or along the street, throw parties and close the road, play music to the loudest from your house e.t.c
I love this country

i just love this country!!!

in addition, our women are some of the best dressed by any standard, our 'never say die attitude' and the rhythm in our traditional music,

Always thought about it too. What are the good things of Nigeria

adconline:
Naija is country where   you can get anything you want without any form of identification. No ID check at  clubs, bars and lounges, No ID  for alcohol. Where people are hospitable. Where you can visit your family or relations without any formal notice.

Where people still eat in a big family table and pray together every night . Naija is place where you  borrow N10,000 from your next door neighbour if you are in a police custody.  Its a place where you are greeted and respected by everyone.  You will love your visit as a first timer. The difference between Naija and  UK is  more infrastructural than behavioral. U going to love it baby. Besides its  a place where you feel financially empowered if  u ve got some foreign currencies in your wallet.