The reasonable level of comfort that many Nigerians experience when they travel abroad can be highly tempting. This seeming luxury has prompted quite a large number of Nigerians to seek greener pastures in foreign lands.
Despite the attraction traveling abroad holds, there is a nostalgic feeling about home and country many of them feel. As the popular saying goes, ‘there is no place like home’. Jovago.com, Africa’s No 1 hotel booking portal shares 6 exhilarating things that they miss dearly when they any part of Nigeria to travel abroad!
Owambe parties
Nigerians love to party. At gigs, they adorn unique resplendent attires popularly referred to as ‘aso ebi’. The music, dance, flamboyant hairstyles and the spraying of cash at these parties are what make Nigerian balls different. In fact, the organizers are often worried at the sheer amount of uninvited guests who will gatecrash the party, just so they can have a little fun. And Nigerian love it! Even if they organize a near similar owambe abroad, it can never be like the ones back home.
Your loved ones
Family, friends and loved ones are everything. Your well-being revolves around them. They are always there when you need them. They offer you a sense of belonging and community. You do not feel isolated. Any Nigerian that is abroad will always miss this because in other parts of the world you are not given this nature of treatment. This is because of the ‘mind your business syndrome’!
Lagos hustle
Lagos hustle! Who would not miss Lagos hustle? Waking up as early as 4 am, the notorious traffic, the nastiness, and restlessness of the yellow bus drivers, the bus conductor, the small kiosk, police, and Lastma wahala, the do you know I am hype and much more. You will always find hilarious things about Lagos. ‘Lasgidi’ is the place to be.
Street food
Akara, kuli kuli, moi moi, kokoro, kilishi, palm wine, roasted corn, boli and Isi-Ewuare some of the well-known street foods in Nigeria. You will find even executives patronizing the woman selling these street foods. They are very tasty! You will definitely miss street foods as well as other tasty Nigerian cuisines.
Market haggling
Haggling to get the best price is a part of the Nigerian culture. Women are more disposed to haggling than men. If you witness a haggling moment of a Nigerian woman, you will be dazed at the expertise with which this done. This, you cannot do in London or other places in the world.
Taxes
The drive for the collection of taxes is incomparable with the way it is done abroad. They take the collection of taxes very serious and you could be sent to jail for evading taxes. This is why quite a large amount is sliced off your salary as tax. In Nigeria, the tax system is a bit lopsided. You will pay tax but at least, you will not be jailed for tax evasion. Perhaps, this will change in the near future because tax is essential in developing any nation.
| Ogunfowoke Adeniyi |
