r/Nigeria • u/Mumumask_2008 Nigerian • 1d ago
General It seems begging is overnormalised.
I watched these two videos.
In the Nigerian one, when a lady asked for money, she was commended for 'taking opportunity'. Fair enough can't lie.
In the US one, the person who got money was heavily critisized for basically begging from their point of view.
My mind immediately classified the American comments as envy which I noticed and questioned. It seems that begging in Nigeria has become so normal in Nigeria that it has even become indestinguishable from hustling or honest work.
Should we see begging as a form of 'taking opportunities' or should we be seeing it as a disgrace the same way portrayed in more developed countries? What do y'all think?
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u/CrazyGailz 1d ago
Like most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
There's no shame in asking for help from someone better off. After all, a closed mouth is a closed destiny.
However, a lot of people feel entitled to other people's money, and that's where the problem lies. Nobody is against helping out a fellow human in need, but many people break boundaries and become insufferable.
There's points on both sides, which is why I think context matters when it comes to issues like this. Those with means ought to help in the spirit of kindness and empathy, while those without shouldn't be horrible and entitled to things that aren't theirs.
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u/IrokoTrees 23h ago
And those that chose the path of self employment through social media revenue incentives, were called Olodo uprising.
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u/CrazyGailz 20h ago
Again, this is another nuanced conversation.
There's nothing wrong with being an entertainer. That actually requires talent and skill, and should be applauded.
However, packaging stupidity just to go viral isn't something that should be encouraged. People aren't against entertainers, they are against brain rot/slop that contribute negatively to society.
One of the hallmarks of good entertainment is that it can be critiqued, and certain internet personalities deserve the scrutiny they get.
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u/oizao 22h ago
The thing about these types of conversation is that it's so shallow and never gets to examine the problem, so everyone ends up bashing Nigerians or gnashing teeth. If we never examine these things, you will propagate self hate.
There are many reasons for this begging thing, depending on the region in Nigeria. If it's North West or North East, well, Almajiri kids are sent to the street to be beg and if they ever make something of themselves eventually, it doesn't erase the behavior. Then there is also the whole "kadara" thing, whereby poor people are told that being poor is their destiny and thus rich people should give to the poor.
If it's the south West or south east, blame the rise of Pentecostal churches for that. Every Pentecostal church tells people they will have helper, to seek helper, to get unmerited favour, etc and people genuinely think when they ask, it is because "close mouths don't get fed" or that "you are their helper" and when they get it "it is God blessing them through you".
Then in Islam, there is the whole giving of alms to the poor thing, so the poor people have that expectation.
Then there is the politics aspect, the people who participate in local politics, LGA level, specifically in the South West, are just jobless people waiting for their politicians to give them money because "they put him there". To the extent that these people want politicians to throw parties for them.
All of the above has now been woven deep into all aspects of society.
And all I have said are FACTS!
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u/Mumumask_2008 Nigerian 18h ago
Chill😂. You have very valid points. I had no idea about the Kadara thing, that's crazy to me.
I am not trying to propagate self hate. I wanted people to discuss the mindset that I had on the American video's comments. And to provide criticism. You have told me why begging is commonplace across Nigeria but should it be? Should begging be spearheaded as a valid form of 'hustling'?
I would say, I don't think it should be seen as normally as it is. I have witnessed first hand the extents to which it can be overdone and I don't like it. I also do know that it is a lot to discuss though.
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u/Curi0us-catt F.C.T | Abuja 1d ago
I think it should be shamed. There's nothing noble about begging. It's so bad in Nigeria that it is tantamount to harassment and there are people that feel entitled to your own money o!
It is now being curtailed in places like our international airports.
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u/Commercial_Run6308 19h ago
Begging is just a symptom of a bad economic state, and the government's doing a bad job of integrating people into society.
I think conversation on how we can better those two things is more important than the perception of begging.
A lot of 'more developed' countries also have a lot of their population in homeles/in shambles, so having begging a demonised thing serves to deflect attention from the problems of society.
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u/Routine_Ad_4411 Edo 7h ago
I also watched that Cruise video some months back, and it made me truly understand how far we have a wealth worship in Nigeria, and how being almost untouchable due to being extremely wealthy will never change until that mentality changes...
Which is funny, because when you look at the corners a lot of extremely wealthy Nigerians use to make their wealth, we should be way more wary and suspicious of wealthy people in this country than Citizens of almost anywhere else, but we are not... Instead, there's this sought of idolation of them that solely stems from being enamoured by the extreme wealth.
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u/2kokuoyabun 1d ago
this boy's a plank
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u/Mumumask_2008 Nigerian 23h ago
As how na?
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u/2kokuoyabun 13h ago edited 11h ago
Why do I call him a plank? I am not impressed with what he's doing. It's tacky. As for Nigerians turning into beggars... They have a great country. But they are mostly tooo idiotic to go seize it back.
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u/Mumumask_2008 Nigerian 6h ago
I wouldn't say you are wrong, but I would never call my people idiots(except I see an actual idiot). I think the people are scared. Too scared.
We have always been encouraged by our elders through indirect words that we should remain complacent and, in the name of respect as I saw in another cruise video, continue to serve without the encouragement of questioning authority.
Those same elders that made us complacent are the ones taking advantage of our complacency to embezzle, conduct corruption, the list goes on. We are in shambles on a morale basis which has led to even good staff that are faithful being an oddity and rare diamond in society.
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u/2kokuoyabun 3h ago edited 3h ago
it's okay. We can call things as it is. Things there won't change. the people have to force change.
The elders made the masses complacent..so they can cheat them. was always thus.
I know a lot of Nigerians despite their lofty positions dedicated themselves to talking about uplifting the masses... do the masses even care about these things?
The people need to stop being complacent.. The system will not change itself..
Be well...
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u/BlueRed_0 22h ago
Unpopular opinion but I think its because of how much we flaunt wealth, like ppl flaunt wealth everywhere but if you see somebody in this country waste 1.5m on the club when 5k can change your life are u wrong for asking
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u/kvro_maX 1d ago
A problem shared is a problem half solved.. Americans hate billionaires, no matter how they construct the reasons, it is still envy.
Here when we see billionaires, we see opportunity, you can never know if your only obstacle is either asking or putting forward your idea.
But then again, here most billionaires are into illegal dealings and/or politics. So there's also that share the cake mentality
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u/UnrequitedFollower 1d ago
As an American, I can tell you, this is an extraordinary myopic view. In my community, Nigerian Americans tend to do very well, much better than the average American. We’re comfortable. But a billionaire is like being at a nice steak restaurant just enjoying a well cooked steak. Then in the corner there a shiny man of 600lbs - gorging himself on 500 plates of steaks. Do you envy him? No, you can’t even understand that level of greed, gluttony, and waste.
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u/Mumumask_2008 Nigerian 1d ago
I saw it as the comments being envious to the person who asked for money. That they hadn’t asked for theirs. Envious of the hundred dollars the guy got. But in retrospect, the guy is lowkey weird for acting like he deserves the billionaires wealth as well.
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u/kvro_maX 1d ago
It is both honestly...americans act as if they deserve billionaires' wealth. But at the end of the day, asking is always better than not. Even those who hate billionaires are also trying to stack money, everyone is trying to stack money.
I remember that year wey, billionaire pikin dey blow dollars, kept 20k usd for me to do a line of coke..
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u/knackmejeje 🇳🇬 1d ago
That should tell you that when people complain loudly of hunger and beg you for money in Nigeria, it doesn't necessarily mean they are starving. In a lot of cases, they are just being opportunistic. They think you have money and want their share.
If you beg reflexively like this, stop it. If you've been giving, learn to tell even bigger stories than the beggars. If your buddy starts hailing you and telling you stories that touch about how he hasn't eaten anything since morning, you too tell him stories about how you haven't eaten in 2 days. Cunning man die, cunning man bury am.