Why is Nigeria such a backwards illiterate country full of people that steal?

Question

ok, not everyone steals, just 3% of the population. That is still 500,000 scammers there.

I do know a lot about Nigeria. Maybe I am prejudice because I know so many people that have beeen scammed out of their life savings. I also know that there are good honest people there. I do have many friends there. I post controversial questions like this to bring attention to the fraud and corruption problem there. I hope that this helps. I also refer you to Nigeria.com. Go to the forum there and read the article "tears of a dying Child" where the author is a nigerian and talks about stealing by Nigerians. You are right in the fact, that many people use this as an excuse to survive. They still must know the difference from right and wrong.

Nigeria has a wealth of natural resources that could be used to generate income for the country. The infrastructure has been destroyed by military rule since 1960. They need to get organized there to do this.

Answer 1

I'm a Nigerian (proudly)............. it's a free world you all can say whatever you want to say. Some small fraction or Nigerian scamming people or whatever you guys might call.............for Naija ....we call and 419. (we call it 419 in Nigeria)............that doesn't give you guys the power to stereotype us. We're not all bad. Every country have they wahala (problem)........same for Nigeria. Anyway, for person that asked this question..............so .. "..backwards illiterate.." is the best word you can some up with qualify us? You just don't know us..................just browsing thru some online forum tell you all about us. And above all, how on earth would a sensible, literate person would fall for all those cheap scams? i guess its greed. Themselves do wanna scam the person (they would say let them cheap this african black monkey or something..) not knowing the the black moneys are too smart for them.......they in turn becomes the victim. I'm not trying to justify what they do, but i think you guys should not generalize the whole scam thing. WE ARE NOT ALL BAD.

Answer 2

Nigeria like many other African countries are over populated and have very little of the natural resources. Food and water are very scarce and hard to come by. Many nations supply relief to these countries but it is still not enough.

So put yourself in that position and when an opportunity arises and you being caught up in a survival situation...What would you do?

You would also steal or possibly die.

Answer 3

It appears you are being prejudice against something you know nothing about.
You have to put your feet in their shoes; they have grown up (generation after generation) learning they must do anything they can just to survive, it just becomes a way of life, you see nothing wrong with it and you pass this onto your off-spring.
Example; when my ex was in the military, serving in Viet Nam, visiting villages on the weekends (but only by the escort of the Red Cross and on a bus) he often witnessed people just squatting at the curb edge, pulling their wide-legged pants to one side and going to the bathroom. We don't do that here - but that was all they knew and they saw nothing wrong with it. The military also constructed a huge apartment building and installed all fixtures like we have here; during the first week, the military noticed a huge pile of toilets outside on the ground. After asking the Viet Namese why they did this - they replied "we don't know what they are, we don't need them and so we threw them out".
Once you take the time to understand their 'way of life' - then you will understand more as to why they behave the way they do.

Answer 4

So because they live in poverty, that's their excuse. They should be fogiven for bilking our country out of billions of dollars each year. Get a grip, people. They have no conscience. It's the almighty dollar to them. I am a baiter and I have someone now who has confessed his dirty deeds to me and is running from the law. They know the difference between right and wrong. You're making excuses. They love the high life, just like so many of us would if we were to win the lottery. These people are criminals. Stop making excuses for them. Someday you may get taken in for thousands of dollars. And guess what, they don't give a damn about you. They will leave you hanging once their finished with you, when the well runs dry.

Answer 5

yes I agree with the others why should Africa get excuses that they are poor & should steal from people.. Africa always gets the highest aides,help & still they steal.. & I say this if you wanna steal then steal from Africans.. why are you dragging the whole world into this.. unknown people strangers from foreign countries are getting scammed by these Africans black people.. not only Nigeria but also south Africa, Liberia,dakar(Senegal),ivory coast,ghana.. whole Africa is just full of scamming people.. I again say this "WHY STEAL FROM THE FOREIGNERS? IF U WANT TO STEAL STEAL FROM AFRICANS I.E YOUR OWN PEOPLE.." all Africans are lying thives cheaters & bastards.. if you meet any black person just avoid them & don t help them.. don t make them friends & stop all contact with them.. they are just a waste of your time & money.. & Africa is also famous for romance scams.. they steal pictures of models of white girls & post them on dating wesbites.. just in a nutshell I will say this in bold letters "BEWARE OF AFRICA"

Answer 6

Same as Liberia, Ivory Coast, and the rest of Africa....the color of the skin, the same as it is in the United States.