All the good Nigerians stand up.

I was at the library sometime last week and an elderly Caucasian man was asking an elderly Asian woman if she was Korean,the woman went into a fit saying she is American and she has always been American. She also said some things in another language that wasn't English. The man quickly said he was asking because he heard that students in North Korea were behaving like students in the US * or something sounding like that*. The woman didn't want to hear any of it. She just insisted in her broken English that she is American before shuffling away. She didn't want whatever was happening in North Korea to be rubbed on her. I bet she was thinking " what is this man's own sef, trying to rain on my parade". I tried to stifle the laughter that was bubbling inside of me. It was really funny. I didn't laugh for long though because it got me thinking and I remembered times when I had kept quiet or left gatherings when some issues were discussed. Of course I feel ashamed  but I just didn't want to be a part of all that drama at that time.


I remember watching the news once at a Kenyan friend's house and they had a special report on people who scam and cat-fishing and the main guy that was interviewed was talking about his girlfriend in Nigeria and how he sends her money; even though he knows that the probability he is being scammed is high, he can't help it. This led to discussions on how bad Nigerians were and how they cant be trusted bla bla bla. Sitting down there, hearing the back and forth, it didn't feel good to be identified as a Nigerian. Then when the Woolwich attack happened last week, it was my Ghanian neighbor who told me that 2 Nigerian boys butchered someone in broad daylight. My heart sank, not again. There are so many good people and things about Nigeria, why is it that it is only the bad things that makes headlines? There are many Nigerians home and overseas making a difference, adding value to their communities, why don't we hear about them? Those are not news worthy items?

There are only two types of people in this world irrespective of where you come from, people who make good choices and those who make bad choices.