Are Nigerians really bad people?

Frankly speaking, we are really Bad People. So bad that we tolerate the horrible reception given to us everywhere we go. The moment our passport/accent is spotted we are legally entitled to our daily dose of multiple scrutinization and unexplainable harrassment, in most cases without a word till we can’t bear it again.

We are terrorized at home and terrorized abroad, the reception given to us is hostile and naturally we have adapted to be defensively aggressive, defending that last bit of our fundamental rights with every Fibre in our being.

We are oppressed by our government, and oppressed by our people, we are judged based on our tribes(esp after the war) and maligned based on religion. We are attacked by the one’s put in place to defend us(police and army) and have to defend ourselves, our families, our rights, and our property from the Hyenas that have not been so lucky to get a meal even after hunting for days on end.

We grew up in a political jungle, some of the evident traits which you might spot out easily are cannibalism and instinctive self-defense. But I must say that such traits are not peculiar to only us but shared across many developing countries. The issue Nigerians are most popular for are internet scammers, but I must say from observation that these account for less than ten in a thousand and the rest are genuinely ready to do virtually anything to survive.

The one thing that stands us out in the crowd is extreme survival instinct, drive to succeed and adaptability.

If you study that Nigerian closely with an understanding of his history and surrounding, you might just find out that he’s a much nicer and better person than you are.

By Iheanyi Ogbonna