Nigeria

yeah@J.G, kind of agree with you there. religion does suck!!!
The problem is that those moslems in the northern part of nigeria r the biggest hypocrites that have ever seen!.
The issue there aout the propsosed stoning of the young lady who commited adultery is all bull as far as i am concerned!. When i have been in nigeria, the men who chase so called "sinful" sex are the moslems in the north of the country. Those Hausa's, Fulanis, Kunari's etc always seem to have there hang out joints next to brothels and such the like. The truth is that the moslems northerners have no qualms about having serial, marathon sex with non-moslem girls in nigeria, but when it comes to there women and there sexuality, they start crying Sharia! and fundermentalism!!!. Having done business with northen nigerians who are 75% moslems in "mouth" but 99.9% non-moslem in life-style and heart!, its just a poor double standard. The lack of education among northern nigerians is appalling.There lack of global issues is even more dismal.
Its would be good for them to come out of their closet and stop playing "Self Righteous" in front of non-moslem nigerian men, but that would be to loose thier front of "Decency and respect". Most of the younger generation of kids born to moslem parents in nigeria born in the southern part of the country dont care much about Islam. Well most secretly attend church without there parents knowing!. Just my observation since i have been in nigeria for a considerable number =of years to interact and voice an opinion.
Richard Brason, the Business tycoon was in Port-harcourt of recnt launching his Virgin Airlines in West Africa. At the after party, according to my friend, the northern moslem business men were seriously on the prow to bed University of port-harcourt girls who were hostesses at the event. it was such a site to see them hungry for the so called "infidel Christian Luv-Bud". Hmm i could magine. That why i just ave a little turn of the the north of the country. Although abuja the capital in the north is beefing up security against any social-political unrest in the future. The southerners are getting real fed up with all this bad press in nigeria because of "Idle, mob steering, islamic youths in the north".
Well folks that the little down side. Although i must add that nigerians in general have a esteemable respect for foriegners and visitors. I heard that the govenor in the northern state if nigeria called zamfara state is going to get the axe at the next election for the dumb staemnet he made about calling for the death of the feamle nigerian journalist that made that statement about mohammed the prophet would have loved to have narried one of the beauty pagent contestants.
Well it happended and i hope the nigerian goverment learns from its mistake and deal with the problem accordingly next time. It is not helping issues in the northern part of the country.
well folks got to go. i PREPARING FOR MY TRIP TO LAGOS, NIGERIA NEXT WEEK.
cHEERS GENTS!
mIKE _Q

Hi Mike_q,

I just found out I'll be working in Nigeria for a couple of months beginning around the 12th of JAN. Will you be there then? What can you tell me about cell phone coverage in the major cities there? My definition of major city is anyplace that has a runway large enough to land a 747. Are cell phones cheap there? Can you contact me at my email;
B747plumber@hotmail.com. Thanks.

Hey Peterman I don't think there is anywhere you can land a 747 in Nigeria. If so it would be Lagos. I was just there yesterday. Cell phones are around 300 USD, the coverage sucks and you have to use these small chips that you put inside the phone called Sim cards.

Hi Beavis,

Very surprised to see your post. I emailed you a couple of days ago at Dcc... Did you get it? Could you get in contact with me at;
B747plumber@hotmail.com? I would really like to hook-up and watch a real pro in action when I am in Nigeria next month.

Regards,
Peterman

Peterman, I am not sure. I mnight have deleted it as I had so much junk and wouldn't have recognized the address. I will go back and see. I am back home as I got sick in Nigeria. Nothing serious but serious enough that I had to be sent home. I will e mail you shortly.

But how dangerous is it in Nigeria as a white guy? I remember how dangerous it was in Salvador, Brazil which as about 90 % blacks and mulats. I was assaulted several times, threatened, robbed and even got involved in a knife fight. People would go after me simply because I was white and signalled wealth (even though I dressed like the average backpacker). When I was in Ukraine (and in the really poor Eastern parts) I never experienced any hostility simply because I matched in well with the environment, and nobody assumed I was a foreginer. With this in mind, how would I do in Nigeria? Can you walk around alone outside of downtown with lots of people or do you always have to go by taxi? Is there alot of general crime? Also having met many Africans abroad I've noticed that Nigerians generally have a very bad reputation as being corrupt and unhelpfull, is there any truth to that?

Nigerians are used to white guys as there are thousands of ex pats there working in the oil industry. They see white people as bank machines so it is safe in the daytime just be careful. Never walk at night or go out at night without a Nigerian escort. A lot of Nigerians will walk up to you and begin to give you their life story and why you should help them. If you are approached by any of these people tell them you are in a hurry and leave. The women have a different approach. They won't ask you they will make it clear what they have to offer. Again there are some of the most beautiful women in the world here. There are also some that look like they belong on a box of pancake mix. If you have to be here savor some of the fruits that Nigeria has to offer. If you don't have to be there I would never consider going to this godforsaken place. Everywhere you look you will see mean looking people in uniforms that carry machine guns. There are few places that have bathrooms so imagine what this can be like.

Again if you are there for work you can have fun. If you just want to go to Africa to play with some of the African women go to Cameroon and forget Nigeria. They speak French in Cameroon and they speak English in Nigeria but you will understand just as much of the Cameroon French as you will the Nigerian English.

Beavis
Good report as usual. I hope you're feeling better.
Lithium
I have never been to Africa, but I have met about 6 or 7 Nigerians here in the U.S. All professionals and first class people. So even though I am sure the country itself is extremely poor and volatile, I don't agree with the characterization that "Nigerians are generally corrupt and unhelpful". I still think it's worth going there once even though I am sure it won't be a hassle free trip. J.G.

Beavis,

Beavis,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I would only be going there to check out the local women and not for work reasons. So I guess I should avoid Nigeria. As for Cameroon, do you know if it's as easy to meet girls there or more difficult than in Nigeria? Is it friendlier to a tourist? And as a low-budget backpacker, would it at all be possible to find relatively cheap ($ 5 - $ 15) yet acceptable hotels in the centres of the big cities?

JG> I really have no idea what's true. All I've heard (and mostly from Cameroonian students in Ukraine) is that Nigerians are corrupt and that they always have hidden motives if they help you. Other people have told me that Nigerians generally have a bad reputation throughout Africa.

As for their reputation it is true. There are some good people there but it is much easier to find a bad one. It is very easy to meet local women anywhere in Africa. Bartenders, store clerks, waitresses whatever. As for the cheap hotels I don't think you would want to stay there. There are some acceptable hotels in Douala for around $25 but I don't remember the name of any. Douala is a modern city, more modern than anywhere in Nigeria. The women are just as good. You also might want to look at Abidjan, Ivory Coast. They are fighting in the North but Abidjan is safe. I spent 2 nights in Abidjan and 1 in Douala. In Douala I met a very pretty girl and spent the night with her.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Beavis
[i]Hey Peterman I don't think there is anywhere you can land a 747 in Nigeria. If so it would be Lagos. I was just there yesterday. Cell phones are around 300 USD, the coverage sucks and you have to use these small chips that you put inside the phone called Sim cards. [/i][/QUOTE]

Beavis
Wrong information here!
Abuja (the Federal Capital) and Kano, further north do handle 747s. You wouldn't like to be in either place for sex exploits though. Kano especially, it's the bastion of extreme Islamism.
Cellphone network is generally excellent.

Dear lithium:

Nigerians have an even worse reputation than you think. Back in 1989 I was in Zimbabwe and the Sunday government-controlled newspaper ran a lead editorial that "Nigerians are born and raised to be deceitful" - thus from a fellow OAU member!

Throughout West Africa (not just Cameroon, but also in countries like Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Cape Verde Islands), Nigerians are despised and hated for their corruptness. In the Ivory Coast, many people will no longer buy Nigerian-made products like automobile fan belts because of their poor reputation.

Here in the U.S., Nigerians have the worst reputation of any country among INS and Customs officials. Nigerians are the #1 drug smugglers from Africa into the U.S. U.S.-based universities question carefully any credentials/certificates/ diplomas/transcripts submitted by Nigerian applicants, since more often than not they are fake. Rental Car companies and Insurance companies will tell you that more fraudulent claims are submitted by Nigerians than any other nationality. And of course you have the infamous "letters" and "e-mails" from Nigerian flim-flam artists requesting the recipient's assistance in smuggling millions of dollars out of Nigeria. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. Perhaps this is why many of the Nigerians who I've met here in the U.S. lie and say that they're from Jamaica or the U.K., because they're too ashamed to admit the truth.

The "fake e-mail" problem has become so bad that the U.S. Government has formally requested the Nigerian government (through the Nigerian Embassy on M Street in Washington DC) to take steps to stop these e-mails by the end of 2002 or US-Nigerian relations will be affected. Interestingly, the response by the Nigerian flim-flam artists has been to change the setting of their e-mails to such settings as "I am the son of Jonas Savimbi of Angola" or "I am a South African" or "I am a representative of the late President Kabila's family of Congo) etc.

Having said all this, I have personally spent several wonderful evenings with hot Nigerian ladies over the years. And I have many individual friends who are from Nigeria. But collectively the Nigerian society is corrupt and you can't trust anyone, especially in any joint business ventures. So yes, you're better off going to Cameroon, both for business reasons and if you're on a "sex tour.".

And before someone rants and raves at how racist and anti-Nigerian I am, please note that I lived in Nigeria for several years(in the 1970s) and have also visited it several times since then, and all of the above is true!

Frank Africa is right about Nigerian society. All societies have crooks, and America is certainly no different in that regard, but it is not systemic and endemic here. The crooks here get busted sooner or later, 99% of the time. The old Enron is history. I still get emails from people in Nigeria asking for money.

FA lived in Nigeria for several years. Read all the other posts from folks here who have been in and LIVED in Nigeria. Don't be so quick to shoot off about what people who know better are saying.

Hey djeskine

Perhaps they can land a 747 there. I have always flown in on an A330 or A340 Airbus. I can say this, while I spent 7 hours waiting in the Lagos Nigeria airport I actually saw a live RAT on the inside of the airport.