Spoiled By Oil

In Nigeria, the poor struggle in squalid ghettos, and millionaires become billionaires. Then, there is the organised racket in “miracle babies”

- Anita Pratap/Abuja

A country’s festivals are captivating attractions. But, in Nigeria, you can become a captive… or a corpse at one.

The travel advisory issued by the UK government cautions you to shun such occasions due to the “heightened risk of terrorist attacks”. Guerrillas roam this country’s northeast with improvised explosives, anti-aircraft guns and rocket-propelled grenades. To paint a broader picture, there is banditry in the northwest, escalating fatal clashes between farmers and herders in the central areas, gangsters battling to control resources in the south, pirates operating offthe southern coast, secessionism in the southeast, pollution, protests, scams and violent street crime in the cities (assassinations, muggings, armed robberies and car-jackings) and “high threat” of kidnap by criminals and terrorists for ransom throughout the country. Diplomats, aid workers, businessmen and journalists are legitimate captives. Some were killed.

There were three outbreaks of cholera this year; the threat of Zika virus transmission continues, warns the advisory. Also common are malaria, typhoid and lassa—whatever that is! Okay, Wikipedia says it’s a viral haemorrhagic fever causing mouth and stomach bleeding.

As gangsters and terrorists target them, the travel advisory suggests you avoid crowded areas like “places of worship, markets, shopping malls, football stadium, transport hubs, educational institutions, government buildings, international institutions, hotels, bars and restaurants”. So if you are not robbed, murdered or dangerously ill, what is left to visit?

Who in their right minds would travel to Nigeria, one of Africa’s “shithole” countries as provocatively labelled by President Donald Trump?

Nearly two million people do every year. I am one of them, and an old belief is reaffirmed: situations look more dangerous from outside than from within.