Dilemma of explaining Nigeria abroad

…also published in Daily Trust

Not long after I had arrived at my office, two Egyptian colleagues of mine came in casually starting a conversation, which soon centered on the socio-economic difficulties in their home country, Egypt. They kept lamenting what they regard as monumental corruption, unbearable economic hardship and depressing political atmosphere in their country.  

Incidentally, living in one of the highly demographically cosmopolitan countries in the world, i.e. the United Arab Emirates where the percentage of UAE nationals hardly exceeds 10% of the inhabitants, exposes one to circles of acquaintances, friends and colleagues coming literally from every corner of the globe.

Of course, therefore, in a typical casual conversation with an acquaintance(s), friend(s) or colleague(s) on, say, politics, security crisis, poverty, corruption, etc. everyone is expected to shed light on what obtains in his country in relation to the point(s) of conversation. However, one always hardly goes beyond listening in such a conversation. Even when one is specifically asked to shed light on a specific issue with reference to one’s country, one admittedly always subtly dodges the question and gives a generic answer that however doesn’t misrepresent the reality.

Interestingly, the irony is that a current affairs enthusiast; a regular, albeit humble, public commentator for that matter, is always reluctant to shed light on current affairs issues with reference to his country (Nigeria), in a casual conversation abroad.

Well, though one is already aware of the fact that Nigeria’s notoriety for bad governance, corruption, security crisis, poverty, impunity and gross mediocrity is worldwide, yet one always dodges going into details about these in a casual conversation with non-Nigerian friends abroad. Because one always assumes that one’s audience can hardly comprehend such details because their perception of, say, the socio-economic and political ills mentioned hereinabove is completely different from the perception of the same ills in the Nigerian context. For instance, one often finds what they consider serious corruption cases in their countries literally petty compared to what obtains in Nigeria.

Also, except those whose countries are in a full-scale war, when one’s non-Nigerian friends abroad lament what they consider serious security crises in their respective countries, one only feigns shock while actually envying them deep down, knowing that in Nigeria people would wish they could swap situations with them considering the overwhelming havoc that Boko Haram terrorists, kidnappers, bandits, armed robbers, thugs, etc. wreak across the country resulting in the persistence of the worsening atmosphere of fear in the country where almost everybody lives under constant fear for his life, safety, belongings  and even dignity.

Similarly, when they lament what they regard as extreme economic difficulties in their respective countries, one only musters an awkward and apparently sympathetic smile mixed with envy. Because, it’s always obvious from what they typically cite as instances of their supposed hardship that they simply can’t imagine what it is like being poor in one’s country, i.e. Nigeria.

Equally, when they lament impunity in their respective countries and cite what they regard as extremely scandalous cases of impunity, one compares the situation with what obtains in one’s country where impunity isn’t only systemically perpetrated but also celebrated by the very victims who suffer the resultant socio-economic misery.

One always feels that one’s non-Nigerian audience abroad cannot comprehend the fact that in one’s country (Nigeria) impunity is perpetrated so blatantly that even convicted corrupt government officials somehow and indeed inexplicably escape appropriate punishment while keeping their ill-gotten socio-political influence intact. Also, other notoriously corrupt government officials, some of whom were even caught red-handed receiving kickbacks and bribes, simply get away with their crimes literally smoothly, and retain power and/or influence among the general public, i.e. the very victims who also gladly continue to adore and celebrate them anyway.

Likewise, when one’s non-Nigerian friends abroad lament what they regard as gross negligence in their respective countries citing instances they consider awfully disappointing, one only smiles awkwardly in frustration knowing that their lamentation is grossly exaggerated with compared with the situation in Nigeria where negligence is literally the norm and is indeed so inherent that any semblance of efficiency in, say, delivery of a public service or functioning of public infrastructure is literally undermined by the general public. For instance, apparently, having been accustomed to, and indeed always expects extreme mediocrity in everything, the general public would always deliberately misuse any infrastructure or public service dispenser that happens to be running efficiently, or even vandalize it for that matter, as though they are hell-bent on ensuring that it only functions grossly inefficiently, which is also compounded by the absence of appropriate maintenance.  

In short, one always regards the lamentations of one’s non-Nigerian friends abroad about the situations in their respective countries largely as what Bahaushe calls “kukan dadi” compared to the situation in Nigeria. One, therefore, feels no need, and indeed dodges questions, to go into details about the situation unless when it’s absolutely necessary.

This is because one assumes that one’s audience may find the details too shocking to comprehend, and they may even draw an exaggerated mental picture of one’s country, which one fears may affect how they regard one as someone coming from that unimaginably chaotic country.