Dangerous Places - Nigeria

Dangerous Places.

Stepping Out In Nigeria…

Best known for its 419 international criminal scams, you know, the ones that start ‘Hello my friend, God be with you and keep you safe I am Sani Saro-Wiwa and need your bank details so I can give you billions of dollars..’ usually, at best, ending up with a clean out of your bank and at worse you take up the invitation to visit the capital and come home in a body bag!
Nigeria sits in the West of Africa with its coastal feet soaking in the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf of Guinea. Generally in the south you’ll find the Christians and in the north the Muslims.
If you are really lucky, in the North East, you’ll share a banana or two with Mohammed Yusuf leader of Boko Haram, a terrorist jihad Islamic sect dedicated to ousting the infidels, as you wait for your ransom money to be paid or better still a failed attempt to rescue you. Fun or what!
Boko Haram translates to ‘western education is sacrilege or a sin’, Yusuf founded the movement in late 2001and in 2011it was responsible for 450 killings.
Violence isn’t restricted to Boko Haram, the Country is full of it from clashes between Muslims and Christians near Lake Chad to the lawless capital Lagos where you can join in with the daily muggings, car-jacking’s, robberies, assaults and murdering of any unsuspecting foreigner who just happens to be around, broad daylight or black of night, it doesn’t make any difference. Don’t bother telling the uniformed police or soldiers as many of them are responsible for murdering just for the fun of it, what a hoot!
As well as the 419 accolade Nigeria boasts one of the highest crime rates in the world with around 100 murders and 1300 thefts for every 100,000 people. Organised crime spreads across Europe where drug dealing, counterfeiting and credit card fraud are the norm. Just ask the Germans, it seems the Nigerians really like Germany.
Out and About:
You can walk of course, or try the dilapidated railway, but you’d miss the excitement of driving around the long-distance roads built in the 70’s by the world’s richest oil companies where accidents are commonplace, who would miss this? Not to mention the dangers posed by unauthorised checkpoints staffed by armed bandits, police and the military with the sole purpose of making money either by robbing or kidnapping you. If you are up for a smack on the nose, punch in the mouth or club on the head try to engage in these activities in one of the cities and have access to lots of dollars as the Health System is limited to cities and costs an arm and a leg (you can of course donate these for sale if you are down on your financial luck). Government and International Aid money earmarked to improve the population’s health is usually spent in the Prada Arcade at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ll, Milan or deposited in a Government leader’s personal account in the Deutsche Bank Frankfurt.
As a leaving present you could come home with a dose of meningitis, cholera, measles or gastroenteritis. So prolific are these that the Saudi’s once banned all Nigerians from entering the Kingdom and visiting the Islamic world’s holiest shrines.
What Joy!
For more information on this and many other worthwhile places to visit in the world why not attend one of the author’s regular personal and corporate safety courses designed to lessen the possibility of a corporate manslaughter charge if your employees are sent away without basic safety knowledge.