Saturday, May 19, 2007

The Hummer

There is no accident behind the Nigerian love affair for the Hummer. The air of military-level security, the chunky block form that mirrors the ugly concrete boxes most Nigerians who come by money like to house themselves in (the front grille hints at the deeply naff affection for pillars a la Southfork found throughout the land), and above all, the sheer expenditure required to carry oneself around in these monsters of the roads. Nouveau riche, nouveau depths of tastelessness, nouveau elephant's ecological footprint.

I'm sure the newly weds were thrilled to be escorted from Church in this beast. May they live happily ever after, in their maximum security compound, insulated from the wilds beyond the gates, lives draped in the aesthetic failures only an envy for all things American can provide.

46 comments:

Anonymous,  7:46 pm  

Get a life. Your self-righteousness stinks of hypocrisy. Reading your stuff, one would think all rich Nigerians made their money through ill means. Some actually work hard and for it and if they want a Hummer or whatever, let them be. If you want a British cab, go buy one.

Akin 8:06 pm  

And I visited a zoo today :-)

Snuffleupagus 8:10 pm  

Is it only Nigerians who like Hummers? Is it not just a black thing? Something about having a big car means you have something else that's big...? Or at least you feel as if you do? Or am I just cynical?

Fred 9:37 pm  

Just when I think it is impossible to sink any lower, you dig deeper in to the smug pretentiousness you mistake for sophistication, but which is, at last, just the classic lower-middle class British inferiority complex.

You need to get some new material.

Jeremy 10:05 pm  
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeremy 10:09 pm  

I suspect only a fat and overly contented American like yourself Fred could imagine that I feel inferior in the face of some stupid fucks in a Hummer.

Thinking that my comment betrays a 'classic lower-middle class' complex says all we need to know about your understanding of the British class system, ie diddly squat.

In fact, it is the lower-middle classes and the made-it-rich remnants of the working class who are more likely to slaver after a Hummer in Britain, and with it hanker after all the other trappings of a vulgar American life (the hot tub, the enormous barbecue set, the columns..)

Nigerian material aspirations so often mirror the most vulgar aspects of the defeated post-Thatcherite working class in the UK.

While in the UK it is confined to specific contexts, in Nigeria it is the sign of a society almost entirely devoid of a bourgeoise culture of understated taste, in favour of a rampant showy materialism. Societies tend to go that way when all the intellectuals and artists are forced to flee, and not many bother to return. In Nigeria, he who drives a Hummer is King - at least for the moment.

Anonymous,  11:50 pm  

The love of the Hummer is definitely a BLACK thing. I see millions of them here in Black USA, but they are strangely absent in richer, whiter areas. I personally hate the things, apart from the obvious facts of killing the ozone, grotesque expense, they are bloody UGLY!! But you can't ignore them and they scream 'look at me, I have money and YOU don't!!' So of course they appeal to Nigerians.....

Anonymous,  12:26 am  

Jeremy

People drive these cars, so they do not feel the potholes that they or [or their kin] refuse/will not to repair.....

"Nigerian material aspirations so often mirror the most vulgar aspects of the defeated post-Thatcherite working class in the UK." how true.

A black friend of mine working and living in Lambeth Borough in London - once said almost the same thing in your quote.

He said "Most Black people in Lambeth tend to copy the values and aspirations of the white working class"

Anonymous,  1:34 am  

"In fact, it is the lower-middle classes and the made-it-rich ... who are more likely to slaver after a Hummer in Britain"
What if I may ask, do the upper classes in Britain get up to these days? "Powdering their noses" at the Ascot racecourse toilets with the proceeds from selling their inheritance to rich Shieks, Russians and the made-it-rich?

"...a society almost entirely devoid of a bourgeoise culture of understated taste"
Unlike Britain I s'pose(You've been gone too long your own country has grown on you!).
I have one word about your constant berating of Nigerians and their lifestyle and culture. Corny.

--Abayomi

Anonymous,  3:15 am  

i live in the states and i don't find the hummer anymore of a black thing than a white thing. it may be an american thing, but then again it's an american product, so it makes sense.

Fred 4:44 am  

Ooh, Jeremy cusses! This one must have hit close to the bullseye.

I'll just put this one down to jealousy then, shall I?

Anonymous,  7:59 am  

To the first anon, whats your point exactly? Reading his stuff doesn't make one assume that all Nigerians made their money through ill means. Yes, of course some actually work hard for their money. You think the 419ers and the corrupt politicians don't work hard to acquire there wealth? The fact of the matter is that there are very very few Nigerians who actually work hard for their money. Very few.

So because they work hard for their money, there is no room for critique? In a society where there is such a staggering inequality, you think that their is no room for a critical take on our excessive consumerism and vulgar display of wealth? What we as a society constantly need is critique. Critique doesn't always have to been seen as negative. They can also be productive.

From an aesthetic point of view, I find hummers ugly.

So Anon, get a life. You are an enemy of progress (as we say here).

Mosun

St Antonym,  2:19 pm  

"I have one word about your constant berating of Nigerians and their lifestyle and culture. Corny."

Abayomi, you're playing fast and loose with the truth there. Unless you equate driving Hummers with "Nigerian culture."

For my part, I have nothing against displays of wealth (which, after all, exists in every society), but I hate vulgarity. A Nigerian can be seriously rich, and show it, without being vulgar. Many are.

The part of Jeremy's post I would emphasise is the idea that certain newly rich Nigerians equate wealth with militarism. Hence the uniformed security officers on their walkie-talkies, the tank-like vehicle (which celebrates its own brutality), and the domestic architecture which is built with no regard for organic principles but instead apes fortresses. After years of being called "bloody civilians", the civilians adopt a jackboot aesthetic.

Lolita 6:15 pm  

Jeremy, this post spits abject venom, warum?

Listen, as I read the comments I wondered why nobody had stated the obvious until anonymous 12:26AM!

It is not an American imitation thing nor nouveau rich Nigerian thing not even defeated post-Thatcherite working class UK thing, it is The fucking meteor-sized craters that litter the fucking roads thing!

So if Nigerians can afford them, then, have at it!!!

The first time I wandered on to your blog, I believe I left a comment asking you to spend a month pointing out the positive aspects of Nigeria, for a minute there, you did, I think but you tend to veer off from time to time when that I am British White so I am superior mentality grabs control of you, maybe subconsciously.

The Hummer, like its predecessors Toyota Landcruiser and the Range Rover, is built for harsh terrain travel with emphasis on rocky, hilly, deserty , generally fucked up terrain. I don’t think anybody buys that vehicle for its beauty, gas mileage or showiness; for the most part, it is strictly purchased for functionality and in the case of Naij, its off-road capabilities.

You lost the plot on this one my dear, okay, come again!

Jeremy 6:50 pm  
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeremy 6:54 pm  

Lolita - I fear you miss the military symbolism which St.Antonym pointed out above. The Hummer is a hugely impractical car for Nigerian roads - it is too wide and too big for many of them. And the Hummer snapped in the post was in Abuja, where there aren't really any pot holes (at least not in the city itself). The practicality argument doesnt really wash.

As for the idea of my superiority.. first Fred accuses me of feeling inferior, now you accuse me of being superior. Confusion!

If you apply global standards to almost any aspect of Nigerian life, you will see a shortfall (often quite huge). When people point this out, they are accused of parading their sense of superiority, and we step into the defensive-Nigerian mode of behaviour one sees constantly.

The reality is, critique has to be allowed its space for Nigeria to continue to pull itself out of the mire. Engagement with the possibility of positive transformation requires honest critique of how things are. Many non-Nigerians, when asked what they think about the country, consider it to be an utter joke. Would you rather that attitude, or one of engaged critique?

Spook E 7:49 pm  

point well made Jeremey

Anonymous,  8:12 pm  

Gosh, aren't we a tad too defensive here? This reminds me of a similar "hummer debate" that I stumbled across on a Cameroonian website last year - http://www.postnewsline.com/2006/01/cars_and_egoins.html

dele,  8:55 pm  

what is wrong with all of you? he's white so he can't criticise? see me see trouble.
hummers are tasteless petrol guzzling monstrosities which are so american in their pointlessness.

only desperate people with egos the size of peanuts find anything attractive in these ugly waste of metal.

i'm even seeing them in europe now.

honestly stupidity is too much!

Mutanda 10:35 pm  

Anon--it's sad if you actually believe that "very very few Nigerians who actually work hard for their money. Very few." I guess it takes one to know one.

Jeremy--your critique is welcome and so should our critique of your criticism. People have different tastes in cars. And in nigeria practical considerations come into play. because that hummer is in abuja doesn't mean it will never travel out of the city or to other states. with the potholes in so many roads in nigeria, the hummer makes sense as an all purpose vehicle. It's also likely safer than an aston martin convertible

Lolita 12:58 am  

Jeremy, according to Adler, your repressed feelings of inferiority have led to your superiority complex so I guess the cycle has manifested itself, nope, no confusion there my dear.

No, but seriously, this is not a personal attack, as I mentioned it is in your subconscious so you are not aware of it, maybe.

But there is a difference between critique and voicing your personal annoyance before taking a second and being objective in your thinking. There's no difference, however, between your "critique" and the view you say many non-Nigerians share.

If your argument was that driving in Nigeria is a beast of a task, I don't think anybody would argue there or be "defensive" as you put it but you are angry about an individual's preferred mode of transportation, oh, come on! You know that had nothing in the least bit to do with critique, that was just pure, unadulterated, personal pet peeve.

This is why I said you missed the plot.

That’s all!

chima,  1:13 am  

The Hummer is ugly and weird but you need it to visit the East.

Mosun, I second Mutanda. You must be a thief. Some of us work hard for HONEST means. Your statement insults millions of Nigerians who have NEVER gotten their naira and kobo through ill means.

You should get a life, but I suppose your family has stolen so much that you need not do anything with your time.

Anonymous,  1:22 am  

where is blog police, kemi? we need some serious cussing of nigerians here. and jeremy needs some support?

loomnie 8:26 am  

I really got here late, but I suppose I can add something. Jeremy, don't mind them jare. Your criticisms are welcome; rather that than being taken for a joke. I am sure that all those who live in Europe, even in those small Scandinavian countries, and those remote East European countries can testify to the initial reactions generated by the mention of your nationality. Go further and ask them what they know about Nigerians and you'll find that it is about nothing, except that, well, everybody says we are bad. At least when I see people point at specific things I feel much better than when it is just the usual 'Yes, Nigerians just have a bad reputation'. And I feel that any other country can be criticised too. Let's have some of those too, instead of shouting our voices hoarse when someone criticises our country.

And people, yes, there are those who made their money 'honestly', whatever that means, but that does not mean we cannot speak against them when we think they are being vulgar, or when we suspect that their behaviour stems from a deeper feeling of insecurity, and not the least when we know that they are contributing to global warming

Abeg, e don do. Got to work.

Jeremy 9:27 am  

Nope Lolita, it is you who is missing the point. Far from being a 'personal peeve', the argument is that the Hummer (with origins in the US Military Humvee) is testimony to a warped value system among the elite - Snoop Dogg blingery in a land of mass poverty. Of course, every society has its rampant materialists; its just that in Nigeria, these are the only people who get air-time, on television, in the newspapers. A society with no other form of role model except this is sick.

Why do you feel the need to defend people who buy these things? Don't tell me you have a secret longing for one!!

יושה (Yosh) 10:19 am  

And in most comments I can sense a lot of subtle and not so subtle anti-American angst. Get over it, already! Like both systems never get to benefit from each other...hmph

Anonymous,  11:07 am  

I personally think that Hummers are UGLY but then Beauty is ultimately in the eyes of the beholder.Arnold Schwarzenneger is alleged to own more than five of those monstrosities so obviously Nigerians do not have a monopoly on excess, Jeremy.
However, I must say that sometimes, I find Jeremy just a tad dismissive but he does make up for it when he bashes other people: Blair, Bush, the cookie monster. Sometimes I think Jeremy is just passionate about certain things and he does exude some socialist vibe in his posts but I do not think there is anything fundamentally wrong with that. Afterall, he's British, and cannot really escape those subconscious influences that come with his make up.Like I commented once, I think he's a secret service agent and generally runs this blog to accurately guage the pulse of Nigerians.
That said, I agree quite a lot with his rants against those Nigerian practices even I find exasperating.There is no doubt that if I go for an interview at a nigerian company and have to square off with another Nigerian interviewee with the slightest strain of a foreign accent, most likely, he'll get the job.
There are many instances I believe we do get overly carried away with foreign things but then we are all evolving as a people. That does not mean criticism should be censured.We need to be honest with ourselves as a nation, period.
As for that excuse regarding buying a vehicle over 15 million naira simply because of portholes is just balderdash.I have done no research on this but I do not think Hummer owners buy it because of bad roads.Any standard jeep will do.

Anonymous,  12:00 pm  

B'sides, if you do not like Jeremy's blog site, don't visit it.
Hopefully, we can visit your own bias-free spot.

Kola,  5:29 pm  

"In fact, it is the lower-middle classes and the made-it-rich remnants of the working class who are more likely to slaver after a Hummer in Britain, and with it hanker after all the other trappings of a vulgar American life (the hot tub, the enormous barbecue set, the columns..)"

[All this shows is snobbishness, small mindedness and an unwillingness to understand life is about different people walking different paths, with differing aspirations. The beauty is in diversity, not an all encompassing search for the 'jeremy weate' ideal existence.]

"Nigerian material aspirations so often mirror the most vulgar aspects of the defeated post-Thatcherite working class in the UK."

[Your excellent sample of 140 million or so Nigerians has led to this intelligent summary]

"While in the UK it is confined to specific contexts, in Nigeria it is the sign of a society almost entirely devoid of a bourgeoise culture of understated taste, in favour of a rampant showy materialism. Societies tend to go that way when all the intellectuals and artists are forced to flee, and not many bother to return. In Nigeria, he who drives a Hummer is King - at least for the moment."

[More fittingly perhaps you only move around circles in Nigerian society that are devoid of sense as well as understated taste.

This statement is as rude as it is simplistic.

So if I live in the UK and see the overwhelming number of chavs in burberry and big gold jewellery driving huge cars, does that mean all British people can be described as drunken touts with no concept of understated taste?]

My problem isn't with the criticism. I'm all for Nigeria/Nigerians being criticised, its a positive thing that leads to positive things. You used to have interesting points, reflections, criticisms. Your points were well thought out and interesting to read.

This is more like the snobbish rant of a frustrated person. One can only hope/wish you'll move back to this happy place with 'understated taste' where you're from and appreciate that you are just being delusional.

The Nigerians you describes are like the chavs in the UK but you don't hear us accusing all of the UK of being chavs.

Kola,  5:43 pm  

Bring back the old Jeremy!

It was controversial before but well balanced and interesting.

Now its hard to find the will to read your blog. Its the the same cheap-shot filled story over and over and over and over and over and over...

Jeremy 5:46 pm  

Kola you have completely missed the point. Of course, vulgar materialism is found in any society - Essex chavs being a good example in the UK. But the point is, elsewhere, there are refined counterbalances to inyerface premier-league-footballer-snoop-dogg crass blingery.

Because of the tiny size of a cultured bourgoise class in Nigeria, the only elite we ever hear about is an uncultured, vulgar-materialistic one.

When you say:
"So if I live in the UK and see the overwhelming number of chavs in burberry and big gold jewellery driving huge cars, does that mean all British people can be described as drunken touts with no concept of understated taste?"
you are committing a false analogy. Just as there is a world of chavs in the UK, there is a world of culture, art institutions, museums, and cultural-intellectual elites that support them. There is, as yet, no such cultural-intellectual elite of substance in Nigeria which we can point to.

Things are changing of course, but not fast enough. The new administration should do much more on the cultural side - perhaps starting with a fully fledged National Museum in Abuja, to supplant the decaying and unloved museum in Onikan. It is with projects like this that other layers of society are nurtured, and the vulgar-materialists take their place alongside many other strands of society.

Without an honest appreciation of the dominance of a materialistic and largely philistine elite in Nigeria spurring on counterbalancing policies and plans which encourage an appreciation of national/local cultures, plus ca change..

I'd be keen to get your perspective on all this. Is your critical response to me an assertion of the status-quo? Do you disagree and think there is a cultural-intellectual elite in Nigeria? Do you think there should or should not be more policy efforts in this area?

Kola,  6:22 pm  

There are certainly refined counterbalances in Nigerian society. Yes, there is the more obvious pseudo 'cultured bourgeoisie class' as you've described them, but I think more importantly there is a grace and a simplicity of the bulk of Nigerians that your description does not do justice. They may not come with a PhD or degree in philosophy, but in their lives, their history, their philosophy, what they pass on to their children, there is culture, there is grace.

Ofcourse as a reasonably intelligent Nigerian person I want the cultural-intellectual elite to rise, be prominent and significant in shaping this new Nigeria. Still, it does a great disservice to the simplest Nigerians to discount them in your assessment. The hardest working Nigerians, your average Nigerians..... you cant simply brush over them with the same stroke as the 'money miss road' and sometimes thieving bunch, who rightfully deserve any insults you can throw their way.

[Having said that, I issue a disclaimer...to the extent that a Nigerian makes money through legitimate means and their sense of style is such that they want to drive said beast, then more grease to their elbows...honest, successful Nigerians should be applauded...may they one day be educated about the environment and if they are not chances are their children will be....a story of Nigeria moving forward....is it not?]

Perhaps my analogy to the chavs is an exaggeration but really who knows....it is a subjective issue...very much dependent on how you describe a chav. In my opinion the majority of British people including many who condemn the chav nation are chavs themselves...but that is just me. The example is merely to emphasise that in every society there are layers and you cannot choose to selectively view one and generalise about all...in fact I would say erased the majority of us in your assessment.

You are right on the money we need the funding and focus to be on 'culture, art institutions, museums' we have the talent and we certainly have the raw material for something exceptional in this realm. This is not an excuse to belittle that very culture, the vast majority of Nigerians live with the 'understated' grace we've been banging on about, composure and pride. Neither is it a reason to lash out at our successful compatriots with a poor fashion sense, as long as it is their money that they used to buy it....laugh at them yes! but generalisations about the whole country based on them and the morally bankrupt? Surely you concede that is not fair? Your eyes cannot have been shut all the years you have lived here.

In summary, you are preaching to the choir. We need change of focus as a society. However while the materialistic and largely philistine elite in Nigeria are dominant, they are by no means the majority, for this reason alone there will one day be change....

Anonymous,  6:28 pm  

Thank you Jeremy for this rejoinder.

I totally share your frustration about the vulgar materialism of my people. Of course, vulgarity is not unique to Nigeria and every society have their fair share of it. However, as you rightly say, what is missing is the counter-vbalance, the otherside of vulgar materialism. If they exist, they are certainly not celebrated in the popular press/media. where the views of the cultured elites dominates British society and the bling bling culture of the chavs are object of derision and mockery, in Nigeria, it is the other way round.

I guess what Nigeria needs to balance all this out is a return of more cultural workers. At the moment, most of us that return predominate in the economic sector. A society without its cultural workers, its intellectuals and artists becomes off-balance. Both the cultural workers and the money-makers are needed to balance each other out.

I certainly find hummers distasteful. they are part of an American military industrial complex and we should certainly not encourage it in Nigeria. Trust me, many who buy hummers in Nigeria certainly do not do off-road driving. They do not use for difficult tarrains. lets stop making excuses for vulgarity.

Laks

Jeremy 6:41 pm  

Kola I think our views are pretty similar really. As usual, my polemical stance kicks up more dust than photons of clarity. My venom is directed at the elite and their myriad failures, their hypocritical religiosity, the showiness etc.

The other 139m Nigerians outside the showy housing estates of Lagos and Abuja are not part of my critique at all. As soon as you get outside the big cities, you see another side to Nigeria - warm friendliness.

What needs to happen is a complete re-appraisal of various Nigerian cultures, as part of an umbrella National culture movement.

What will drive development and transformation in Nigeria is a re-centring back on local traditions and ways of thinking, rather than constantly apeing what come from overseas - tokunbo-everything. In the case of my own special interest - Yoruba culture and philosophy (which is as you know stuffed full of the most amazing refinement and subtlety and is rightly placed by ethnographers as one of the most studied cultures in the world), there needs to be a return on every level. Young Yoruba kids need to understand more of their incredible, dazzling, beautiful culture (in Nigeria, in Cuba, in Bahia etc). This is why I rail against evangelism so often - it has successfully erased an appreciation of what came before, and what persists, quietly. When Yoruba kids learn the full majesty of their culture, a deep inner pride will push them forwards. Ditto for hausa culture, igbo culture etc etc.

In short, I am convinced that social development comes through a return to cultural origins (not in a conservative, heritage-y sense, but in a dynamic, looking-forward way). Development based simply on increased capital inflows is not enough.

Anonymous,  6:49 pm  

I believe the amount of vitriol shown towards an entire group of people borders on child like. The arguments you have come up with are structured yet not objective Jeremy. Take a breather and rethink this position.

An entire nation is like an onion made up of layers and although some layers do not hold power this does not mean they do not exist.

You compare Nigeria a democracy created from an interrupted civilization to one which did the interrupting! Nigeria for centuries was a country entirely based on culture and tradition, one which held greater respect for people over things, one which put age before power!

It was colonized stripped of its culture and now has started building up its new way..A new society, this will have its ups and downs but like every great nation it will arise.

Rather than criticizing the results of the psyche of a raped woman lets look at ways to get her back on her natural path of greatness.

Or instead you can keep on arguing like termagants!


Olu

Kola,  6:50 pm  

its like therapy!...that's the old Jeremy...I should charge you for you this service....

points well made...all i can say is here here ;-)

Anonymous,  7:01 pm  

I believe the amount of vitriol shown towards an entire group of people borders on child like. The arguments you have come up with are structured yet not objective Jeremy. Take a breather and rethink this position.

An entire nation is like an onion made up of layers and although some layers do not hold power this does not mean they do not exist.

You compare Nigeria a democracy created from an interrupted civilization to one which did the interrupting! Nigeria for centuries was a country entirely based on culture and tradition, one which held greater respect for people over things, one which put age before power!

It was colonized stripped of its culture and now has started building up its new way..A new society, this will have its ups and downs but like every great nation it will arise.

Rather than criticizing the results of the psyche of a raped woman lets look at ways to get her back on her natural path of greatness.

Or instead you can keep on arguing like termagants!

Olu

Coral,  7:09 pm  

I love your blog. It's thought provoking. Makes me scratch my head. Just what I need.

Kola,  7:16 pm  

well said Olu!

Anonymous,  9:22 pm  

What gets me about regular readers of this blog is how they actually don't read jeremy at all. If you read him well you know his drill: anti-evanglical christianity, anti-Nigerian elite, a love of Yoruba culture, desire to see a return to via a reworking of nigerian cultures, feminism, desire for transformation from below, socialism, anti-heterosexim and homophobia etc. So when he writes about the hummer, critical readers should know that he is directing his criticism at the elite and not the 139.5million Nigerians. They are hardly ever the object/subject of his attack. It is always the elite.

but I think for as long as he wears the skin he does, many of us will continue to have problem with him exposing us the way he does.

Now when I get annoyed with him, I say to myself what motivates his passion, his vitriol, his insistant that we can achieve more, his over-generalisation of our situation, condition and mores? All I can say is that he must have deep love for Nigeria. Love that many of us don't actually have, even though we think we have.

I say Jeremy please continue to provoke us into annoyance. Maybe that will force us to wake up to our reality and do something about it.

kemi,  3:33 pm  

Jeremy,
If you're wondering why Lolita doesn't get the point its because she is an estate agent.

The estate agent as we all know is the maggot in the eco-system that is the corporate world.
QED.


There is no way she will ever "get it" and will probably come back with some hysterical excuse for a retort either here or on her tedious and feeble blog.

And to the anonymous commenter at 6:49pm who said

Nigeria for centuries was a country entirely based on culture and tradition,
UTTER BULLSHIT.
Nigeria has only existed as an country for 93 years. Not for centuries.
IT was made up of many kingdoms with many different cultures and traditions imbibed from all over africa and the middle east.
Our culture and traditions like that of many other countries, changed regularly and even before the Brits came, our history records complaints by the ever vocal elders about how we were losing our culture.

one which held greater respect for people over things,
COMPLETE AND UTTER BULLSHIT.
We bought and sold our people, friends, families and our enemies as chattels. Our rulers sold them to Europeans for guns and broken mirrors.

HOW IS THAT A CULTURE THAT VALUES PEOPLE OVER THINGS?

Go and read A History of the Yoruba Peoples or if that is too big for you, Go read Chinua Achebe's "Things fall Apart" anything even.

When I call people idiots, people say I am being abusive. Is this anonymous person not a lunatic, or at best some sort of deluded casuist?

one which put age before power!
Not really, although it definitely put age over common sense and STILL DOES. This is why we are continuously ruled and bullied by a succession of old fools.

It was colonized
Like many countries, such as India, South Africa and Ghana which are all doing MUCH better than Nigeria.

stripped of its culture
Such as human sacrifices, the creation of outcast tribes like the osu and the killing of twins

and now has started building up its new way.
Which explains why the country is much worse than it was 30 years ago and has just had the most fraudulent elections ever held.

Otherwise, I doubt anybody can list 10 things or even 5 good things that the British stripped us of. i.e. things which by 1960 we had been stripped of.
The truth is that we LOST and THREW away our culture.

Stop blaming others for the state of our country. Give this colonization argument a rest!

Jeremy, sometimes I don't know where you get the patience to argue with some of these nincompoops.
Differing opinions and disagreements are healthy, but the foundations to many of these arguments are so pathetic.

ijebuman 4:45 pm  

@kemi
on one hand you say a particular poster doesn't understand "the point" because she's an estate agent then you later say 'Differing opinions and disagreements are healthy, but the foundations to many of these arguments are so pathetic.'

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and i'm sure the owner of the blog can choose to delete any post he finds insulting.

I'm sorry, this is not the way to put your points across.

ijebuman 5:02 pm  

@kemi
will suggest you read Harold Smith's “A Squalid End to Empire: British Retreat from Africa”
http://www.libertas.demon.co.uk/autobio.htm
http://www.libertas.demon.co.uk/index.htm
it's an account of senior civil servant Harold Smith (who worked in Nigeria from 1955 to 1960)

Anonymous,  9:12 pm  

Hen hen. Kemi shows up. hey, shrew! Where have u been? smartie pants. U call somebody's blog pathetic. Where's ur own? Or are u such a coward that u keep hiding behind a stolen name?

Ode. I don plan for u finish. That your okro mouth will get some dryness.

Anonymous,  9:21 pm  

Ijebuman, why bother trying to get some decency out of Kemi? The girl has issues and Jeremy's blog is where she comes when she runs out of anti-depressants. Some of us know her story and you should pity, rather than chastise her.

Kemi, ndo dear. They stole your bread again? Pele. Mummy will buy you another one. Suck the pacifier till we get to the shops.

Anonymous,  11:54 am  

@Kemi
At last a useless termagant enters the conversation, when people are discussing issues in our country there is always someone who opens what is likely to be a big trap and criticize every word written rather than seeing just stating her view. This is the same person no doubt who would have been educated in the UK and will not return to Nigeria unless people like most on this blog have sacrificesd time and blood to change the status quo.

Kemi, I believe you should come back to Nigeria and try and change this coutnry whos culture you so hate..if as i will assume you will not either try or be able to make a difference i advise you to seat on you living room floor or in the four corners of your office cubicle and continue to criticize those who actually care..

You seem to be a watcher...what have you ever done for Nigeria? What will you ever do?

Rather than criticize your motherland i suggest you either get a blue British passport or if you have already naturalized go and complain about the problems you have in the UK.

As I said you remain no more than a termagant and a stain on this blog!!

The very anonymous OLU.

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