Why Should You Come to Nigeria?

One of the things I have found very interesting in the past weeks is my new role as PR Manager for AIESEC Nigeria (okay then, mostly AIESEC Ife but there have been exceptions). What I mean by that is my role in emailing potential SNs to explain to them that "Nigeria is really not that bad".

Sounds odd but I'll explain.

Nigeria surely gets some bad (ok horrible) press abroad. Nigerians of course hate it (quite rightly if its not all like that) and the AIESECers struggle because of it (believe me they can raise forms but will anyone come to fill them?). And I believe there are a number of @ countries that have this problem.

So I've been trying to help simply by emailing interested people with my stories. So for all of you potential SNs thinking of coming here keep this in mind and I won't need to keep repeating myself.

1) Its really not as bad as they say it is.
The most common things people ask is "I heard some things, bad things, so how is it really?" I guess like many stories, there is often a bit of truth in it, but the rest is just opinion.

2) No you will not get robbed/beaten/eaten by malaria-ridden mosquitoes/involved in the latest military coup/harassed by corrupt police.
I think Nigeria is fairly stable (as far as African governments go), I haven't yet experience or seen any real acts of violence (let's hope it stays that way) and no malaria yet. Yeah the police are (mostly) corrupt but it doesn't generally affect the average person too much. I guess I could say some threats exist but they aren't as frequent as some publications might make out (at least not anywhere where I've been).

3) People are going to make your stay great.
I guess I'm a bit luckier that some trainees because my traineeship is in the city where they study (often traineeships raised in Lagos are with LCs from other parts of the country). But in general, the average Nigerian will make you feel so welcome. Read my post about travelling solo to Lagos for WALDS. Everywhere I go, people are so incredibly nice to me and wanting to know if I'm having a good time. "Have a chair/drink/meal please", "You are welcome", "How are you enjoying Nigeria" are all incredibly common phrases I hear (and of course "Oyinbo").

4) Living can be easy.
General living expenses (and importantly the beer) are damn cheap (at least compared to Australia). Admittedly whilst some foods are cool, its generally pretty simple in this part of the country (though I'm told different in other parts of Nigeria). But you'll get your belly full for a cheap price, so don't worry about that. Getting by on English is generally no problem (once you get a hold of the accent which I successfully have now) so don't worry about language barriers.

5) If you want to experience Africa, try Nigeria.
There is clearly a whole lot of diversity in Africa (53 countries?) and many people may want to see what its like as a continent. Nigeria could potentially be the place to do it. Like I am constantly reminded here, 1 in 4 Africans is Nigerian. Remember, there's a whole lot of people here and your experience is guaranteed to be very "African". And for good or for bad, Nigeria is a serious player on the continent. As the most populous and somewhat affluent (because of the oil), Nigeria is a big political and economic power in both the region and the whole continent. My guidebook describes Nigeria as a "heavyweight" of the region and I can see why.

So seriously, any potential SNs, if you're still unsure, or have questions, just email me. I'll always answer (if a little slowly sometimes). And enjoy your stay in Nigeria.

Nicholas
nicholas.wolf@aiesec.net