Nigerians Are Objective & Brutally Honest!

by Paul I. Adujie

The first defamer may be defendant number one, and you will take your turn as defendant number two, etc, to the degree or extent of your liability. It is not the case that you are exonerated because you were merely repeating the offensive statements of slander or libel. Hence you verify and ascertain before you publish and this is why reputable media house employ facts-checkers!

Some Nigerians have sought to ‘explain’ and excuse CNN by stating that the forty-percent statements in the documentary was nothing CNN said, but instead, it was by a Nigerian /African interviewee. To that, I say hogwash! The question I would like to ask such Nigerian is this, would CNN broadcast a documentary in which a Nigerian assert that 40% of the population in America use cocaine or that 40% of the people in America are violent criminals? Would CNN rely and broadcast an assertion as such by a Nigeria/African interviewee? Would CNN broadcast such disparagements against the US, especially, where the assertions are not based on hard facts and solid evidence?

John Gotti is an Italian American, so was Paul Costellano before him, and Ditto Vincent Gigante etc, they were all friends in organized crimes, also known as the Mafia. How could it be possibly fair to judge the average Italian, Italian American by the standard of these Mafioso?

A Nigerian who goes by the name Naija for Life has actually made my arguments and contentions, when he asserted that the nation of Switzerland is known for being bankers of looters, but the Western Press only barrage us with stories about Swiss Alps and ski resorts and all the good stuff about the Swiss.

Just when I thought that we had heard enough bizarre efforts by some Nigerians in defense of CNN’s denigration of Nigerians and Nigeria; then came Mr. Wayo Guy! Who is a Nigerian lawyer in Washington DC; Perhaps it is better that Mr. Wayo Guy should be promptly ignored? Who takes advice or chastisement from a wayo guy anyway? Mr. Wayo Guy with countless clichés and anecdotal spews lectured us on why we should light candles and desist from cursing the darkness et al.

He insisted that our government should have looked for two or perhaps more Nigerians to rebut CNN interviewee assertion that 40% of the Nigerians in Houston are up to no good. Truth is, Mr. Alaibo and Mr. Adujie are Nigerians living in the United States. Both of them, in published opinions, have debunked the forty-percent spoil rate crap by the CNN interviewee! What rebuttal is enough for this Mr. Wayo Guy? Or for any wayo-man for that matter?

Mr. Wayo Guy also naively believed that CNN is not mindful of what it does and so, there is no “conspiracy” against Nigeria through CNN’s riff raff documentary. When CNN or any Western media write stories about the United States or say, Israel, they are alive to the possibility of vocal and vociferous reactions and defense of the US and or Israel! Western media engage in circumspection in stories about America and Europe.

But when it comes to Nigeria and Africa, western media do not generally expect reactions to whatever lies they spin about us. They do not expect reactions or adverse consequences for maligning and lampooning us. Western Press engage in no political correctness in their Nigerian African coverage or stories, precisely because, they do not anticipate consequences as part of the equation. They do not ever expect anyone to exact a cost from them, a cost or price for doing the wrong thing. Just imagine CNN’s attitude, if CNN thought that doing a stupid story or documentary on Nigeria will cost them money or viewership?

In the case of Nigeria, on the other hand, CNN and other Western media can always be sure to trust tepid reactions and even arguments by some Nigerians like Mr. Wayo Guy and others, defending the offending CNN and justifying CNN sexed up salacious and gratuitously insulting trash called documentary by CNN!

Would CNN similarly rely on an unverified assertions or claims by a non-expert, non-statistician without empirical data as CNN relied on, to make spurious conclusions about Nigeria. If CNN was doing a similar documentary on the nations of Israel, the USA or Italy? My Jewish friends will call CNN anti Semitic if CNN tried these shenanigans on Jews! But Nigerians are easy targets, because we are so objective and brutally honest about ourselves and our country, especially when Nigerians and Nigeria are castigated by foreigners, Dianne Abbott or by CNN!

Thank goodness for Nigerians such Mr. Ebi Bozimo and this Naija For Life fellow, otherwise you are forced to wonder why every Nigerian, or some of them, seem to be their most objective, brutally honest when it comes to damning fellow Nigerians and Nigeria! Whatever happened to the idea, maxim, to the effect, nobody does cooking better than your mother? Why are so many Nigerians in the business of always assuming that the food cooked by other moms are ALWAYS preferable and better than food cooked by their own mother? CNN, BBC and others, in their portrayals of some Nigerians with unsavory characters, do not isolate their depictions.These negative depictions are extrapolated in effect to cover all Nigerians. Mr. Wale Akin just made that point again regarding how decent Nigerians are treated in airplanes, airports and in banks in the UK!

Some Nigerians deceive themselves in thinking they are decent and sexy, so that when CNN and BBC and other media houses castigate, stigmatize and malign Nigerians and Nigeria, it does not include them. But the truth is they are referring to you, to you, to all Nigerians! They make no distinction neither do their viewers or listeners. CNN and BBC cater to a world with short attention span. A world that is unwilling to engaged in analyses required to separate Nigerians with virtues from Nigerians with vices. Especially, when these issues relate, touch and concern Nigeria or Africa; the inconvenient part of the world?

Too many Nigerians tend to always, always, give the benefit of the doubt to foreign institutions and foreign governments, but are loathe to believe in and applaud anything that Nigerians and Nigeria does! Some Nigerians are too quick to assume that Americans and Europeans are always dealing with us in altruistic and benevolent manners and that they are acting in good faith! But geopolitics and world affairs are like a soccer game, everyone plays for his team to win.

Why is it that some Nigerians wax and waltz most eloquently, only when they criticize Nigeria, why can’t these Nigerians put their eloquence to use, in Nigeria’s defense? Nigeria’s national purpose vide national interests

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2 comments

smokeysmokey48238@yahoo.com June 20, 2006 - 5:37 pm

Well written.

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Ben Idris Alooma June 20, 2006 - 11:48 am

I am really impressed with your article. You have any excellent point to ponder. However the truth is Nigerians, from the president to the bums, need to clean up their acts. I used to defend Nigeria and Nigerians with all my heart like there was no better place on the solar system than Nigeria and no better people alive than Nigerians. All that had changed!

Yes, there are corrupt people everywhere on the surface of the earth but Nigerians have taken corruption to the apex. Nigerians stink from inside out, that is to say, that they are scandalously corrupt from the land of Nigeria. They do not know when, where, or how to stop or slow down. I think the Nigerian government or someone needs to open a Univeristy of Corruption in Nigeria (UCN). There are more than enough materials, living or dead, for research. I know Nigerians! Notwithstanding what I truly know about Nigerians, I still love them and love Nigeria. Monkey no fine but him mama like am so.

Deep down inside, Nigerians are good people. Nigerians love to live big, bigmanism, big fish, big gun, etc. Nigerians like to consume good things though they do not manufacture anything. They work very hard. Majority of them are generally impatient to acquire wealth. The Nigerian owambe-rankadede-do-you-know-who-I-am-who-are-you culture is not helping either. All these are ingredients for corruptions, frauds, crimes, scams, lies, etc. atimes I think all Nigerians are chronic liars, from their presidents, to senators, to reps, to all politicians to soldiers to police officers to custom officers to managing directors to lawyers to bankers to …. prostitutes to ….. the old to the young to men to women to boys to girls to ….. and most especially the pastors, overseers, prophets, prophetesses, imams, alfas, juju men/women, …..

There are very few people that I may exempt from my opinion of Nigerians. These are the true journalists (not the surrogates of politicians), the professors, the true farmers (not the mega farmers), etc. I have not totally given up on Nigeria and Nigerians. Better days are on the horizon for Nigeria and Nigerians. Better image will then follow.

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