We have a lot of Nigerians doing fantastic in USA and UK,that is the truth. Having made tremendous strides in various professions such as medicine, arts and IT,we still have tons of Nigerian folks that are hungry . A ratio of 5:1 would be apt for this explanation,forget what you see in silver screen or social media. It ain’t all kumbaya here.
For each successful Nigerian abroad, there are at least 5 other Nigerians struggling to make ends meet in the same country. Struggle as in struggling to pay rent, buy mobile phone data, pay for electricity, cooking gas, and all the same things Nigerians struggle to have in Nigeria.
We met a Nigerian woman begging for £10 to to buy rice for dinner in front of Plumstead Health Center in London some years ago. The viral video of a White man humiliating a Nigerian woman begging in a public place in Canada is still online.
Success starts from at least 5 years of hard work on average for a Nigerian in diaspora doing legitimate work. Most times, these are the kind of work many would not do in Nigeria. For many, it takes 10-20 years to start making ends meet.
The level of poverty in Nigeria is frightening. There is no denying that but the general thinking that the grass is always greener abroad or that everyone living abroad is better (and can comfortably give you $100) is the height of nauseating ignorance.
This is the TRUTH Nigerians would not want to hear but someone must find the courage to say it!!
Mbe Nwaniga and Anthony Nwosu
