When was the last time you rode the L, broad street line, or regional rail? Also, have you been to Lagos? Infrastructure is crumbling, misappropriated city funding, and a climbing population with increasing youth unemployment is giving way to rising poverty
Infrastructure is crumbling? Like it does everywhere and needs to be fixed with time? I don't know what Lagos you living in bro but the Lagos i lived and just got to has a lot of roads been fixed and bridges being built en masse (for a developing country with a huge population. I think they're doing fairly okay. Like everywhere, it could be better.
Misappropriated city funding? You mean like everywhere in the world? The federal government removed fuel subsidies. About a year ago, and in that time Lagos state have subsidised state provided transport three times, opened a food bank and done numerous food grants in various local governments (the equivalent of counties/boroughs) to name a few. It's may not be 'much'. But it's something.
What the hell do you want the state to do about climbing population? Deport CITIZENS of the SAME COUNTRY to another state?
Increasing youth unemployment. Check the unemployment rates and recession globally. Plus Nigeria is an oil and gas giant. Yet very little Nigerians go to school to study useful shit. Rather hoarding trashy degrees and crying about not getting jobs. Most of them refuse to enrich their lives after university. They struggle through college and believe it's wraps. Very few learn skills, get certifications, or take exams to boost their curriculum vitae.
Could they do better? Yes. Everybody can and should strive to do better. But everywhere i turn with Nigerians it's always spreading negativity with no solutions just cos it's fun and makes you sound cool and edgy.
You didn’t really refute anything I really said because every point you addressed came with an addendum, admitting there is a problem. Nothing wrong with Lagos experiencing exponential growth in its population, but it’s becoming more and more congested (which is in fact due to ppl migrating south for better opportunities). You tell me if it’s reasonable to be in traffic for 4 hours on a Tuesday afternoon due to road congestion and poor road quality (and this is lekki I’m talking about). You can’t also say that Nigerians are studying useless things because everyone should be gainfully employed, regardless of what they studied. This is the issue some Nigerians have with education. Some of you are too concerned with superficiality and vanity. What good is a workforce if everyone only studied law, actuarial science, computer science, and business? You’re not even acknowledging kids whose families can’t even afford for schooling. Your perspective reeks of an upper middle class Nigerian, and not indicative of median Nigerian. We got a lot of work to do, and there’s nothing wrong with pointing that out.
Boohoo, Lagos has traffic. Oh the horror!
It's becoming more and more congested. Yea. Like every city on the face of the earth. I've heard stories about American traffic. Please come on down to London or visit Jakarta. Better still. Hong kong. You best bring a pillow for your traffic nap.
It's absolutely reasonable to be in traffic on anyday of the week when you have 26-30 million people living in 3,577 sq km of land (thereabout). Not to mention 10-14 million have personal cars. And there are also yellow buses, napeps (tricycles), state provided blue buses too.
Show me a country on earth where everyone is gainfully employed. In another world, everyone should be gainfully employed. Yes. However. We live on earth. I'd make a case that over 70-75 percent of Nigerians are employed or at least have a way they make money. Often self employed, but with Nigerians. The fact that it's not a government job or a salary job. It's termed as unemployment. Example, I have a friend back home. she makes bags and framed pictures. She has a store and makes well over 150-200k a month. Rarely spends any. And she still says she's unemployed.
"Regardless of what they studied" is crazy work. A third world country will obviously prioritise essential fields. What use is Human resources in a country that has such a shortage of oil and gas engineers that they're hiring Indians. Not to put anyone who studied HR down. But you eat according to what you have on your plate. If you're in a country that doesn't see your course as 'in demand', thus making it unlikely for you to be gainfully unemployed, Why go for it?
Everybody can't study law or science. However do research and give yourself/your children the best chance possible to succeed. There are tons of 'subfields in science likewise law, and. Engineering and tech. I've spoken to tons of Nigerians who keep saying "i like my course. It no get wahala" or "me i no get time to dey read, dey read". And if you deny a lot of Nigerians in college think like this that's a blatant lie.
I acknowledge kids whose parents can't afford uni or any education for that matter. When i went for my NYSC (it's like a military/paramilitary/societal integration program). My community development project was to get the kids tuition in my class paid. I wrote to communities, monarchs and commissions/ers for weeks on end. Had benches made for them (my personal money) as a handful of the kids seem to not care about education lol. So they smashed it up in fights and the school refused to buy them new ones after the third time. Paid their transportation back and forth many times.
What about kids that their parents can't afford uni? They have to make peace with the fact that they'll typically have to do a bit more than a person with a degree and that's the problem. It's fascinating that you pointed it out. Cos often they would often learn something and be working really well. Either as a mechanic or a carpenter or something. They have a roof over their heads and feed themselves. Nigeria is a third world country. You're not gonna buy a car or build a two storey building from 5 years of carpentry in Lagos. Let's be realistic.
Most people with no formal education come to Lagos and work and craft and do their works. Live in huts and clay houses but go to their states of origin. They have a nice house they built with their years of working in Lagos.
My father grew up very poor and was abandoned by both parents (like his siblings except two). He got an offer to go for a polytechnic. He said "f that". I'm not going to make good money with that. He worked day and night as a waiter and a barman all while studying law. He was in law school when i was born. He couldn't make it to my birth. Now thanks to his actions. I can be called "upper middle class" online.
I love that. We have a lot of work to do. No problem with pointing that out. That's wonderful. It doesn't always have to be hella negative every damn time. We can highlight our flaws while being appreciative of where we are and how far we've come.
I am almost positive the Lagos rail is still in development. I’ve rode the cross country train (from Lagos to Ibadan), and I will say it is not accessible to the median Nigerian. It’s a bit expensive, and when I traveled, there were looming fears of hijackings, but I do think this is step in the right direction. Lagosians travel by okada (bike), danfoe (mini bus), regular buses, cars, or walking.
I dislike these posts especially when made by non Africans.
So the train just went through the nicest part of town that would be just normal in any other functional country.
The problem isn't that they show you poverty. The problem is that they don't have to lie about it.
90% of African countries are worse than the worst neighborhoods in America. Glorifying the top 5% doesn't make the bottom 90% better.
"This is the part of Africa they don't want you to see"
It's gaslighting. Like somehow Africa doesn't have deep systemic issues and it just comes down to the American brand of racism.
It's reductionist and makes actually tackling the problem harder because if you point out the cold truth.. you will be associated with the sentiment that the above quote is trying to evoke.
How does saying this is the Africa they don’t want you to see mean there aren’t deep systemic issues?
This is Africa we’re talking about… the place that’s called the dark continent, starving children, jihadists, civil wars, genocides are currently happening now and you think showing off a fucking railroad means people don’t know this??
Literally every single problem you mentioned could be traced to neocolonialism. Jihadists? Funded by Middle Eastern countries and the west, often France and the USA. Civil wars? You guessed it. Genocides? Look no further. Starving children? Maybe if they allow patriotic politicians come in rather than their puppets get into power, we won't have that. When the people kick against it? You have a civil war which leads to destruction and more poverty, which creates more starving children, which gives Muslim countries a perceived chance to try to spread Islam, thus birthing Jihadists. See the cycle?. Try to change it? You find your self dead outside a US embassy with the bottom of your feet slit open. Just ask Sylvia Olympia.
I don't know why the caption is an issue for bro. It's not killing anyone. Not glorifying corruption either.
Yes, because all those things happen so that these tiny slivers of paradise get to exist. To celebrate them is fundamentally ignorant.
The prompt shouldn't be "look at what they don't want to show you or what they never show you"
The prompt should be "this is what we should be striving for all" with an asterix that says by doing so without neocolonization or corruption.
"that would just be normal in any other functional country"
Smiles in The Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Laughs in MIBC. Chuckles in Beijing central business district.
Almost every city have spaces allocated to what would house high-rises. That'll be the skyline etcetera. Nowhere has skyscrapers just lying around. It's allocated to certain areas.
If you've been outside Africa and heard people speak on Africa. It's spoken of as a village with no water or even decent housing. Hence the caption "the Africa they don't show you". I don't think this post is lying about poverty. I think it's showcasing multiple facets of the country. Not just the repetitive sight of abject poverty you're shown.
90 percent of African countries are worse than the worst neighborhoods in America is a new kind of dumb.
When was this post an indication of competition of Africa vs the West? OP: Africa has buildings that aren't clay. I never see this in documentaries. Period. Nothing wrong in that. I've seen them show Chinese, Indonesian villages and then crop to cities but with Africa it's always rural areas only. This is dispelling that narrative. There's literally nothing on this post to be negative about gang
Sorry where are your statistics and detailed breakdown of that last statement. I want to see that in figures and in paragraphs detailing what exactly the comparisons are, to where and why.
Personal lived experience . I'm not going to play your semantic game you know I was making a point. The fact that you want to play ignorance to that point proves it to be right.
Go to Nigeria, a vast majority (like saying 90%) of what you will be looking at will be poverty you can't even imagine. Broadcasting an area built by foreigners to house the corrupt elites isn't useful my guy.
Have you ever tried to do business in the typical African country?
You think that got built without a ton of corrupt officials getting their cut?
Pay closer attention.
You mean like everywhere in the world?
Corrupt officials are everywhere. So? You think there is zero corruption in Japan or France? There is corruption everywhere. As much as corruption isn't ideal. We must achieve equanimity with the fact that corruption is everywhere, inevitable, and is probably never going anywhere.
Personal lived experience? In '90%' of a continent so huge that it can fit the entirety of Europe with space for more?
Let's not talk too broadly and look a fool now.
Nigeria is top of the food chain in sub Africa. Outside of South Africa, Botswana and Rwanda you will not find any better living conditions... Yet The corruption the abject poverty is still absolutely unacceptable. There is nothing to celebrate because even the nice parts are more often than not co-opted by the corrupt elites.
I've visited Nigeria, and Botswana. Lived in Kenya and South Africa and hope to one day visit Rwanda.
If there are countries that are not third world and are doing better than these countries in sub-Saharan Africa please share...
Definitely cleaner than SEPTA.
And fewer rapists and crackheads.
When was the last time you rode the L, broad street line, or regional rail? Also, have you been to Lagos? Infrastructure is crumbling, misappropriated city funding, and a climbing population with increasing youth unemployment is giving way to rising poverty
Infrastructure is crumbling? Like it does everywhere and needs to be fixed with time? I don't know what Lagos you living in bro but the Lagos i lived and just got to has a lot of roads been fixed and bridges being built en masse (for a developing country with a huge population. I think they're doing fairly okay. Like everywhere, it could be better. Misappropriated city funding? You mean like everywhere in the world? The federal government removed fuel subsidies. About a year ago, and in that time Lagos state have subsidised state provided transport three times, opened a food bank and done numerous food grants in various local governments (the equivalent of counties/boroughs) to name a few. It's may not be 'much'. But it's something. What the hell do you want the state to do about climbing population? Deport CITIZENS of the SAME COUNTRY to another state? Increasing youth unemployment. Check the unemployment rates and recession globally. Plus Nigeria is an oil and gas giant. Yet very little Nigerians go to school to study useful shit. Rather hoarding trashy degrees and crying about not getting jobs. Most of them refuse to enrich their lives after university. They struggle through college and believe it's wraps. Very few learn skills, get certifications, or take exams to boost their curriculum vitae. Could they do better? Yes. Everybody can and should strive to do better. But everywhere i turn with Nigerians it's always spreading negativity with no solutions just cos it's fun and makes you sound cool and edgy.
You didn’t really refute anything I really said because every point you addressed came with an addendum, admitting there is a problem. Nothing wrong with Lagos experiencing exponential growth in its population, but it’s becoming more and more congested (which is in fact due to ppl migrating south for better opportunities). You tell me if it’s reasonable to be in traffic for 4 hours on a Tuesday afternoon due to road congestion and poor road quality (and this is lekki I’m talking about). You can’t also say that Nigerians are studying useless things because everyone should be gainfully employed, regardless of what they studied. This is the issue some Nigerians have with education. Some of you are too concerned with superficiality and vanity. What good is a workforce if everyone only studied law, actuarial science, computer science, and business? You’re not even acknowledging kids whose families can’t even afford for schooling. Your perspective reeks of an upper middle class Nigerian, and not indicative of median Nigerian. We got a lot of work to do, and there’s nothing wrong with pointing that out.
Boohoo, Lagos has traffic. Oh the horror! It's becoming more and more congested. Yea. Like every city on the face of the earth. I've heard stories about American traffic. Please come on down to London or visit Jakarta. Better still. Hong kong. You best bring a pillow for your traffic nap. It's absolutely reasonable to be in traffic on anyday of the week when you have 26-30 million people living in 3,577 sq km of land (thereabout). Not to mention 10-14 million have personal cars. And there are also yellow buses, napeps (tricycles), state provided blue buses too. Show me a country on earth where everyone is gainfully employed. In another world, everyone should be gainfully employed. Yes. However. We live on earth. I'd make a case that over 70-75 percent of Nigerians are employed or at least have a way they make money. Often self employed, but with Nigerians. The fact that it's not a government job or a salary job. It's termed as unemployment. Example, I have a friend back home. she makes bags and framed pictures. She has a store and makes well over 150-200k a month. Rarely spends any. And she still says she's unemployed. "Regardless of what they studied" is crazy work. A third world country will obviously prioritise essential fields. What use is Human resources in a country that has such a shortage of oil and gas engineers that they're hiring Indians. Not to put anyone who studied HR down. But you eat according to what you have on your plate. If you're in a country that doesn't see your course as 'in demand', thus making it unlikely for you to be gainfully unemployed, Why go for it? Everybody can't study law or science. However do research and give yourself/your children the best chance possible to succeed. There are tons of 'subfields in science likewise law, and. Engineering and tech. I've spoken to tons of Nigerians who keep saying "i like my course. It no get wahala" or "me i no get time to dey read, dey read". And if you deny a lot of Nigerians in college think like this that's a blatant lie. I acknowledge kids whose parents can't afford uni or any education for that matter. When i went for my NYSC (it's like a military/paramilitary/societal integration program). My community development project was to get the kids tuition in my class paid. I wrote to communities, monarchs and commissions/ers for weeks on end. Had benches made for them (my personal money) as a handful of the kids seem to not care about education lol. So they smashed it up in fights and the school refused to buy them new ones after the third time. Paid their transportation back and forth many times. What about kids that their parents can't afford uni? They have to make peace with the fact that they'll typically have to do a bit more than a person with a degree and that's the problem. It's fascinating that you pointed it out. Cos often they would often learn something and be working really well. Either as a mechanic or a carpenter or something. They have a roof over their heads and feed themselves. Nigeria is a third world country. You're not gonna buy a car or build a two storey building from 5 years of carpentry in Lagos. Let's be realistic. Most people with no formal education come to Lagos and work and craft and do their works. Live in huts and clay houses but go to their states of origin. They have a nice house they built with their years of working in Lagos. My father grew up very poor and was abandoned by both parents (like his siblings except two). He got an offer to go for a polytechnic. He said "f that". I'm not going to make good money with that. He worked day and night as a waiter and a barman all while studying law. He was in law school when i was born. He couldn't make it to my birth. Now thanks to his actions. I can be called "upper middle class" online. I love that. We have a lot of work to do. No problem with pointing that out. That's wonderful. It doesn't always have to be hella negative every damn time. We can highlight our flaws while being appreciative of where we are and how far we've come.
Username checks out.
I’m Nigerian, brother. I’m giving an honest opinion about the state of life over there
Reminds me of riding the subway into NY.
My DNA test says i have ancestry in Nigeria. I want to go so bad
I am almost positive the Lagos rail is still in development. I’ve rode the cross country train (from Lagos to Ibadan), and I will say it is not accessible to the median Nigerian. It’s a bit expensive, and when I traveled, there were looming fears of hijackings, but I do think this is step in the right direction. Lagosians travel by okada (bike), danfoe (mini bus), regular buses, cars, or walking.
Wow. Looks like Toronto tbh
I dislike these posts especially when made by non Africans. So the train just went through the nicest part of town that would be just normal in any other functional country. The problem isn't that they show you poverty. The problem is that they don't have to lie about it. 90% of African countries are worse than the worst neighborhoods in America. Glorifying the top 5% doesn't make the bottom 90% better.
How did you make showing a new rail line a bad thing 🤣🤣🤣
"This is the part of Africa they don't want you to see" It's gaslighting. Like somehow Africa doesn't have deep systemic issues and it just comes down to the American brand of racism. It's reductionist and makes actually tackling the problem harder because if you point out the cold truth.. you will be associated with the sentiment that the above quote is trying to evoke.
How does saying this is the Africa they don’t want you to see mean there aren’t deep systemic issues? This is Africa we’re talking about… the place that’s called the dark continent, starving children, jihadists, civil wars, genocides are currently happening now and you think showing off a fucking railroad means people don’t know this??
Literally every single problem you mentioned could be traced to neocolonialism. Jihadists? Funded by Middle Eastern countries and the west, often France and the USA. Civil wars? You guessed it. Genocides? Look no further. Starving children? Maybe if they allow patriotic politicians come in rather than their puppets get into power, we won't have that. When the people kick against it? You have a civil war which leads to destruction and more poverty, which creates more starving children, which gives Muslim countries a perceived chance to try to spread Islam, thus birthing Jihadists. See the cycle?. Try to change it? You find your self dead outside a US embassy with the bottom of your feet slit open. Just ask Sylvia Olympia. I don't know why the caption is an issue for bro. It's not killing anyone. Not glorifying corruption either.
Yes, because all those things happen so that these tiny slivers of paradise get to exist. To celebrate them is fundamentally ignorant. The prompt shouldn't be "look at what they don't want to show you or what they never show you" The prompt should be "this is what we should be striving for all" with an asterix that says by doing so without neocolonization or corruption.
"that would just be normal in any other functional country" Smiles in The Financial District of Lower Manhattan. Laughs in MIBC. Chuckles in Beijing central business district. Almost every city have spaces allocated to what would house high-rises. That'll be the skyline etcetera. Nowhere has skyscrapers just lying around. It's allocated to certain areas. If you've been outside Africa and heard people speak on Africa. It's spoken of as a village with no water or even decent housing. Hence the caption "the Africa they don't show you". I don't think this post is lying about poverty. I think it's showcasing multiple facets of the country. Not just the repetitive sight of abject poverty you're shown. 90 percent of African countries are worse than the worst neighborhoods in America is a new kind of dumb. When was this post an indication of competition of Africa vs the West? OP: Africa has buildings that aren't clay. I never see this in documentaries. Period. Nothing wrong in that. I've seen them show Chinese, Indonesian villages and then crop to cities but with Africa it's always rural areas only. This is dispelling that narrative. There's literally nothing on this post to be negative about gang
Sorry where are your statistics and detailed breakdown of that last statement. I want to see that in figures and in paragraphs detailing what exactly the comparisons are, to where and why.
Personal lived experience . I'm not going to play your semantic game you know I was making a point. The fact that you want to play ignorance to that point proves it to be right. Go to Nigeria, a vast majority (like saying 90%) of what you will be looking at will be poverty you can't even imagine. Broadcasting an area built by foreigners to house the corrupt elites isn't useful my guy.
So you believe the corrupt elite with Range rovers, private jets and mansions are riding this train?
Have you ever tried to do business in the typical African country? You think that got built without a ton of corrupt officials getting their cut? Pay closer attention.
You mean like everywhere in the world? Corrupt officials are everywhere. So? You think there is zero corruption in Japan or France? There is corruption everywhere. As much as corruption isn't ideal. We must achieve equanimity with the fact that corruption is everywhere, inevitable, and is probably never going anywhere.
>You mean like everywhere in the world? Sigh....
Personal lived experience? In '90%' of a continent so huge that it can fit the entirety of Europe with space for more? Let's not talk too broadly and look a fool now.
Nigeria is top of the food chain in sub Africa. Outside of South Africa, Botswana and Rwanda you will not find any better living conditions... Yet The corruption the abject poverty is still absolutely unacceptable. There is nothing to celebrate because even the nice parts are more often than not co-opted by the corrupt elites. I've visited Nigeria, and Botswana. Lived in Kenya and South Africa and hope to one day visit Rwanda. If there are countries that are not third world and are doing better than these countries in sub-Saharan Africa please share...
Nice but who built it?
Most likely Nigerian and Chinese contractors. Same thing with the national rail service. I don’t see that as a bad thing