Nigerians can talk. We all know it – from the office, to the marketplace, to the village square and from the city – Nigerians make it a point to have their voices heard but today, I am doing a piece on them here..!!!
Today I want to take you into the literary landscape of Nigeria-Naija-9ja, and not just the regular. In the past few years, it seems that our output in literature has grown in leaps and bounds even in the face of poverty and other hindrances. A Nigerian has now won the Booker – Ben Okri, the Orange – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (who also got the MacArthur Genius Grant), and the Man Booker International Prize – Chinua Achebe for his lifetime achievements. Need I forget Wole Soyinka who won the first Nobel Prize for Literature in Africa. I know, there are a couple of Ghanaians in the publishing industry worth mentioning but this piece is centered on my Naija people...
I am a proud member of the Ghana Blogging Group that meets once in a month to discuss and jaw-jaw on topical issues, set agenda's towards a cause we are aiming to bring into the light and also and socialize which is the part I do love.. Yes, you heard me.. I do LOVE... I am always reading Nana Sekyiamah's blog because, I get to read a lot I won't hear from my female partners.. She discusses issues which won't gain grounds in the Ghanaian open circle... Below is a group photograph of the Ghana Bloggers Group...
At the mention of someone been in a Nigerian, some many negative stuffs comes into mind. First on the list is; Fraud, Money Laundering, Armed Robbery, Prostitution and lastly, Rituals for money but trust me, Nuna even said, at the mention of a person to be a Niaja-man, she always sees "that person is looking for a cheap Ghanaian gal to explore..." My dear follower-cum-reader, there are couple of Nigerians in this country who are really positive and got businesses going on in Ghana and re making it big....
Take for instance, the Owner, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the Ovation Magazine, Chief Momodu Dele. He's got a business going on, created employment for the youth in Ghana and at least, he's a respected resident. My trip to Nigeria in the fall of 2004 took me to Victoria Island (It is the main business and financial center of Lagos, Nigeria), where I was hosted by a long distance Aunt who married a Nigerian doctor. I stayed for a couple of weeks before returning to Accra.
During my days in VI, I learn from the everyday life of the Naija man and till day, I am able to live and dwell in anywhere I find myself. The saying, "if you can stay in Lagos, you can live everywhere" is very true. I was having a chat with a friend of my aunt who works in the same hospital as her and this is what, he said about Ghana when he visited with his family for Xmas..
Everything is so organized and so straight forward. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly it was unbelievable. Life is reasonably cheaper and more relaxing than Naija. You come home there is constant power. You drive anyhow on the street and you are given an alcohol test, if you fail you face a jail sentence of 3 months. Petrol stations are open 24 hours a day with built in supermarkets like Europe. The whole city works on traffic lights 24 hrs a day.
The police are friendly and do not disturb anyone, in fact every police station has a telephone number for emergencies. Crime rate is very very low and in fact; its sad to know that all crime there are committed are by Nigerians or Liberian refugees. I put on the television one day and on the news, found out they caught a gang of 12 robbers terrorizing Kumasi in which 9 were Nigerians.
Honestly, I can go on and on and on, but I think experience is the best teacher. If any of you have any holidays, pay a visit to Accra and you will never regret. I am buying a house there and sending my family there by the middle of this year. I met a lot of Nigerians who have houses and their families there while they work here. I met a lot who are sending their children to school there and they come here on holidays because education is better in there. It is very sad, but the truth is painful. As much as you love and care for Nigeria, you don't get that in return...
This is what; a Nigerian citizen is saying about my beloved country Ghana.. What would a Ghanaian say about Nigeria...???
P.S: I am a Ghanaian blogger. This post is my contribution for our universal posting day
1 comment:
I would say Naija is just Ghana on a bigger scale - our other sibling. I feel more of a kinship to Naija than i do any of the other francophone or anglophone countries in West Africa, and also that i learned in social studies that the Ga people of Ghana migrated from Nigeria (I am half Ga)...so I feel sort of a kinship. Having never been to Naija, there is not much i can say about life there....Knowing their writers, i would say Naija produces great people - great inspirations - like the writers, and great hindrances - like the thieves and corrupt people. they are all there in the pot.
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