The blindness of expat privilege

“An expat is anyone who lives in a country outside their birthplace.” Right, so that would make South Asian ‘guest workers’ in Dubai expats, right? Well, no. Those guest workers are manual labourers who work for low wages. OK, so to be an expat you have live outside your passport country AND have a well-paying job. Well, that would make many immigrants expats but we wouldn’t call them expats because they plan on...

Searching for the Nigerian soul

If you live or plan to live in this country, particularly foreigners but also returning Nigerians, there is one book you must read. Looking for Transwonderland is a soul-searching travel through the four corners of modern-day Nigeria. It describes the country’s people with refreshing complexity, the depth and warmth of its many cultures, and uncovers many corners of the nation that most of us will never have the chance to...

Book Launch

On Saturday 12 May, I launched my latest book, Culture Smart! Nigeria. The event took place at the Lifehouse in Lagos, a centre of culture, reflection and support for all forms of artistic expression. The official part of the afternoon took place in the lovely garden, under a tree, as every important business should be traditionally conducted Africa. Nigeria is not a tourist destination and yet many foreigners come here for...

One woman who made a difference

There was a two-page spread in a Dutch newspaper the other week on a father and son’s decades worth of development experience in Africa. Looking back, they felt that their years of diligent work and best intentions had had very little lasting impact on pulling people out of poverty in the communities where they had worked. The article needs to be understood within the context of a raging political debate on development aid...

Lessons from Nigeria’s emancipated women

In marriage, Yoruba women (the predominant ethnic group in Nigeria’s southwest where Lagos is) are more emancipated than women in the west. I use the term ‘emancipation’ here in terms of the ‘goal’ of many western feminists that women should be financially independent and self-reliant. Nigerian women, by tradition and cultural practice are expected to work in order to provide for their own needs; the husband...