Are They in Soup for Being Nigerians? -By Waliyulah Olayiwola

­Sequel to the ENCOURAGEMENT message shared by Oludami Yomi-Alliyu on July 9th, on the “Writers In Charge”, Facebook group by Bamidele Onibalusi. I want to first congratulate him for getting results and sharing with everyone.

And a Yoruba adage says, without the neck, there’s nothing we can call the head. So, we thank Bamidele Onibalusi for being an inspiration to us all, Africans, Europeans, Asians, Americans and everyone alike who have chosen to follow his methods as Freelance writers.

I’ll be honest, I felt sad when Yomi-Alliyu mentioned that a couple potential clients stopped talking to him when they heard he’s a Nigerian. Another similar news got to me today where a Dubanian company specifically blacklisted Nigerians from applying for their godforsaken job.

Paypal also blacklisted Nigerians. As if our whole world revolves round them.

This is sad and I felt the need to quickly share this especially for the sake of our non-Nigerian friends right here.

You see as much as I’d have loved to cower or feel bad about being a Nigerian, I won’t.

Do you know why? Yes, my reason is simple: not all Nigerians are like those few bad eggs whose ill conducts you might have seen or even read of. They do not represent us.
And the media is biased. They won’t share the good news about us as much as the bad.

Hushpuppi was caught as a scammer. Yes, he’s an offender and that’s why he carries his father’s name.

Call people by their biological father’s name and not crucify where he comes from. He does not represent us.

But, then again, so what? There are many drug barrel and scammers in Europe, America, UK or elsewhere too. Do we castigate the lot because of the few? No, we cannot and we should not.

Many Nigerians are doing what is right. Many of us are legitimate. And because this kind of information does not circulate do not make the rest of us bad like the few people you read of online.

In celebration of the Black History month, WordRemit recently launched and recognized Top Ten Most Influential Africans.

Guess what? The list featured a whopping FOUR Nigerians out of ten on the list. Nigerians who made the list – Kehinde Wiley, Olurotimi Badero, Bennet Omalu and Afam Onyema, who are being honoured for their groundbreaking success in a vast spectrum of professions, including arts, medicine, fashion, entertainment and philanthropy.

I wish I could go on and on to cite the many good Nigerians changing the world for good.

Did you know? Phillips Emeagwali who won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize for price-performance in high-performance computing applications, is a Nigerian?
In layman’s terms, he, a Nigerian discovered what makes Supercomputers, super.

If those guys are far away, let’s cite an example closer to us. Bamidele Onibalusi is right here benefitting the world, you, and me, too. He shared the skill and strategy to make money as a Freelance writer.
He’s a Nigerian. A good and closer example especially to those who know him and who are not citizens of Nigeria.

In conclusion, anywhere you find yourself, as an Indian, a Kenyan, a South African, a British, an American, or as a citizen of any other nation of the world, don’t be too quick to dismiss Nigerians as bad. Or resolve you won’t ever work with a Nigerian.

Is your own country full of good people and no bad? Of course not. Every country has its fair share of good and bad citizens.

Nigerians are a bunch of good people with a sprinkle of few bad eggs just like any other country.

Calling all Nigerians scammers because of few internet fraudsters is like calling all Americans serial killers and rapists because of few Americans who are serial killers and rapists.

Yet, despite the bad eggs, we’re a bunch of nice, kind and welcoming set of people. Just come to Nigeria once and see things for yourself. Come and see how our people, young and old will happily welcome you and relate with you in the best of manners. Many high profile people have been here before including Mark Zuckerberg himself. According to YouTube, Nigerians are the happiest of people on the planet. And despite that, many of us are suffering. Being happy is the only thing keeping many of us from losing it.

In summary, not all Nigerians are bad. Please don’t judge the rest of us with the action of the few.
I am Waliyulah Olayiwola and I am proud to be a Nigerian.

Nigeria: good people, great nation.

Waliyulah Olayiwola is a Copywriter and Founder AFB Digital Agency.

You can catch him on Twitter @fineboywriter and @afbdigital