Nigeria: Why We Shouldn't Lose Hope-and Our Heads

13 September 2012
opinion

"Nigerians are one of the smartest people I have met in my life, very friendly and warm and just like everywhere else, there are good people and bad people, nice people and not so nice people. They are normal people in a normal country living normal lives who just want to succeed in life." - George Deek, former Deputy Head of Mission, Israeli Embassy -July 2, 2012.

Sometime ago, just few days after the ill-fated Dana plane crash, I was in a public gathering and thus, was unavoidably in the midst of a vociferous and vituperating interchange of words. What was it? A young man was busy shouting and swearing that everybody in Nigeria was a thief. My caution to avoid undue generalization, met a brick wall. Unfortunately, I seemed to be the lone voice in the thick forest - everybody appeared to side the chap who dared not listen to alternative view - everybody in Nigeria is a thief. Period! He posited that any Nigerian that's sainting or popeing is simply doing so because opportunity (to steal) has not been presented to him. Another individual in the audience also hollered that he would like to become politically exposed someday, so that he could steal as much money as possible. Of course, I would have none of that!

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