Here we go again. Why can't our people manage success and show understanding for their hosts? Some of us read about osmosis in school and we know stuff moves into more dilute areas. Naija is a pressure cooker relative to our neighbouring countries so we find life easier in those countries and do better than the indigenes who were born into those more relaxed environments. It doesn't make us better or superior in any way but is just a natural outcome of where we are coming from. Ditto for individuals that move from more resource poor / high pressure regions within Nigeria to more resource rich / lower pressure regions. They naturally outperform the indigenes on certain indices but unfortunately think it indicates personal and tribal superiority. The thoughtless bandying of such sentiments winds up increasing resentment in the host communities which ultimately leads to expulsions of the guests.

We must learn to understand why we perform the way we do in various environments and to manage our successes in those environments to avoid alienating the hosts and destroying opportunities for ourselves and others. Even in the US desperate immigrants from Asia, Africa and elsewhere outperform the 'indigenes' but that only holds through initially. After a few generations of settling in the US the edge is dulled and they soon revert to the mean performance wise. Surely our initial stellar performance in the US doesn't cause us to think we are better than the oyinbos?

Why we dislike Nigerians with a passion – Republic of Benin people

AUGUST 24, 2013 BY ADEMOLA OLONILUA 5 COMMENTS



An illustration
One would have thought that there would be mutual love and respect between Nigerians living in Benin Republic and indigenes of the neighbouring country, especially as they interact on a daily basis in their business and social lives.

This is not so, however, going by Saturday PUNCH’s investigation which revealed that there is a discreet hostility from the Béninoise to Nigerians living in their country.

Although Nigerians abound in the country -both as students or workers – there is usually an aggressive attitude once a Benin indigene realises that one is a Nigerian. The only people that seem to love Nigerians in the country are their females.

A Nigerian businessman, Promise Nwadigos of Digos Worldwide Limited, told Saturday PUNCH that he visits Benin Republic regularly because of the nature of his business. According to the civil engineer, the men of Benin do not like Nigerians because their women easily fall in love with Nigerians. He also added that an average Benin man was lazy and expected his wife to be the breadwinner of the family.

He said, “I come here every two weeks because of my car business and also, I import white cement from India and marbles too. It is cheaper to ‘clear’ the goods here than in Nigeria. Most young men that come here would want to live at ease.

“I’ll prefer to date a girl from Benin Republic than a Nigerian girl because they do not ask for money. In a scenario where you would give a Nigerian girl N5,000 her, a Benin girl would rather you feed her, accommodate here and give her N1,000. Benin people are not rich. Most of them are low-income earners; so whatever happens here is mostly done by Nigerians.”

Nwadigos added that Béninoise girls like Nigerian men because they (Nigerian men) work very hard and take care of the women.

He said, “They like Nigerian guys because we are hard working and decision makers. The women work the most here. Their men are the type of people that tie wrapper and wait for their women to bring food for them. An average Nigerian guy will work and want to impress his lady with his success. I know that some of the men here in Benin do not like Nigerians. For instance, if you take a cab and they find out you are a Nigerian, they are always aggressive, even with their bikes.

“Their girls like us, they don’t just like us because we are Nigerians, they like us because we are hard working, we know what we are doing and we are rich. They love us for our hard work. Most of their men here are taxi drivers and they do not go to school. Some are palm wine tappers, some sell bread. They live a useless life.”

However, an estate agent in the country, Cena Rodrick, told Saturday PUNCH that Nwadigos claims were not true. He stated that Béninoise men were hard working. He acknowledged that there was hostility towards Nigerians but said it was because some Béninoise have been swindled occasionally by Nigerians; especially the Igbos.

Rodrick said, “My clients are strictly Nigerians because I socialise mostly with Nigerians. I have worked with them well. The kind of house an indigene of Benin would be interested in would not pay me as much as a Nigerian’s apartment. The reason why Benin Republic people are hostile towards Nigerians is because although there are different tribes like Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo, Benin people see all Nigerians as Igbo. Some Igbo people have come here to dupe Benin people. They work here and do a lot of bad things. So that is why we are wary of Nigerians and the cause of the hostility. Personally, I do not have any problems with Nigerians. It is not true that Benin men are lazy. We take care of our women, not the other way round.”

A nationalised Béninoise, Daniel Laleye, said that he had heard about the hostility but had no personal experience and was indifferent about it.

A young man who refused to disclose his identity told Saturday PUNCH that the Beninoise also disliked Nigerians for economic reasons.

According to him, some complain that the influx of Nigerians into their country has made the price of basic goods go up.

He further stated that while seeking for jobs in the country, a firm would rather choose a Nigerian over a citizen of the country, even if the Béninoise had better qualifications. This, he said, was the reason they did not like Nigerians.

“They have this hatred for Nigerians. To start with, things are expensive here because of Nigerians. We are making things expensive for them. It might not be expensive to us because the exchange rate favours us but it pains them. Some Nigerians do not negotiate the price of goods and services here; they just pay. The reasoning of these Benin people is that all Nigerians have money to waste. So they have this natural hatred for Nigerians,” he said.

For Ibro, an Okada rider in Cotonou, there are several reasons why Nigerians are despised in the country.

Ibro said, “I am a native of Cotonou. I was born here, but I shuffle between here and Lagos. I came here to make money. I have lived in both communities. I even arrange girls for some Nigerians when they are around. I collect my cut when I do that. They pay good money for my services. However, it is true that there is hostility from Benin people. For example, some of the girls I have introduced to Nigerians on several occasions have complained to me that some of these Nigerians did not stick to their part of the deal.”

He complained about the way Nigerians treat his fellow citizens. He told Saturday PUNCH that the police too were not particularly fond of Nigerians because some Nigerians sometimes behaved like rascals, a behavior not permitted in the country.

Ibro said, “The truth is there are several tribes in Cotonou. Most of the people in Cotonou are Egun people. These Egun people are the ones that mostly travel to Nigeria and they are not happy the way Nigerians treat them. They are the ones that get menial jobs (like house helps) in Nigeria and they are not treated well. Also, the police might not be particularly fond of Nigerians because when they come here, they forget that they are not in their country where anything goes. Here, we believe in order; so, if you misbehave, the police here will whisk you away. It is always advisable not to resist arrest because the police here are very fit physically; they are also very good runners.”

A woman who identified herself as Iya Bola corroborated Ibro’s claims. She stated that because things were tough for her at a point, she allowed her daughter to go to Nigeria to get a job. When her daughter came back during Christmas season, she cried. Her14-year-old daughter came back with numerous scars and injuries.

Iya Bola said that when her daughter told her what she went through, she regretted her decision.

She said, “I for one cannot like a Nigerian because of what they have done to me. A friend of mine came to me and said she could get my daughter a job in Nigeria. Because of the way things were for me, I agreed. My child went for a year without me hearing a word from her. Occasionally, I go to meet my friend to ask about my daughter and she always assured me my daughter was fine. In December, when I finally saw my child, I could not help but cry because of the injuries on her body. She explained to me that it was the worst one year of her life as she used to be flogged everyday by her Madam. Is it people like that I will like?”

She said that no matter what her daughter must have done, she did not deserve to be treated like an animal. She said that such injury should be inflicted on thieves, not her innocent child and till date, she never allowed any of her children to come to Nigeria again

I pray make them hate us oooo. mtweeeeeew. nonsense

I don't even knw wat 2 type.

ibos in cotonou are not helping matters
and yorubas that get cotonou house help are worsening the matter.

I knew the op and the writter where Yoruba after reading a few line...
Crap

hardywaltz: I knew the op and the writter where Yoruba after reading a few line...
Crap

Bros, the poster, author and the Punch Newspaper, have one thing in common – Yoruba. Even the thought expressed in the article reeks of Yoruba.

swindled occasionally by Nigerians; especially the Igbos.

This is all the editor wanted to say

Is it not great when you think you are winning? Do people ever learn? My people say you cover your yam when it is sprouting vigorously but maybe that bit of native wisdom is peculiar to my people.

I can't believe that there are people that see us as top dogs, wow!

biodunid: Is it not great when you think you are winning? Do people ever learn? My people say you cover your yam when it is sprouting vigorously but maybe that bit of native wisdom is peculiar to my people.

The native wisdom seems to fail you on this matter. For example, the name of the lady, Iye Bola, mentioned in the idiotic episode is likely Yoruba and Béninoise. Also, it is very unlikely that her 14-year-old daughter went to Lagos State or Ogun State to serve as house cleaner in Igbo household.

I guess you realized few Nigerians knew that the majority of Béninoise in and around Cotonou are Yoruba. If it quacks like duck, it is definitely a duck.

I begin to understand Dr Osuji now.

DerideGull:


The native wisdom seems to fail you on this matter. For example, the name of the lady, Iye Bola, mentioned in the idiotic episode is likely Yoruba and Béninoise. Also, it is very unlikely that her 14-year-old daughter went to Lagos State or Ogun State to serve as house cleaner in Igbo household.

I guess you realized few Nigerians knew that the majority of Béninoise in and around Cotonou are Yoruba. If it quacks like duck, it is definitely a duck.

And some people are laughing about this
These few Nigerians are giving us a very bad name.
There are good Nigerians in other countries but obviously the bad ones will always stand out as such is life.
How dare he call their way of life useless!!! Just the way he generalized them as being uneducated and lazy(which I'm sure isn't true because most Africans in general are very hard working) is the same way everyone will generalize us as "always feeling superior" when in fact most of us aren't like that. I'm so pissed!

But isn't that the way certain tribes are denigrated by another certain tribe in naija? As Yorubas say: Ise ile ni won gbe de ita - the bad habits acquired at home have followed them into the public domain.

N_girl: And some people are laughing about this
These few Nigerians are giving us a very bad name.
There are good Nigerians in other countries but obviously the bad ones will always stand out as such is life.
How dare he call their way of life useless!!! Just the way he generalized them as being uneducated and lazy(which I'm sure isn't true because most Africans in general are very hard working) is the same way everyone will generalize us as "always feeling superior" when in fact most of us aren't like that. I'm so pissed!

Ibo people again,is it until common gambia start deporting our citizens that we are going to realize that ibo people are bad news