IAMA 25-year old Nigerian doctor who is fed up with all the misconceptions about my country. Ask me anything.

Can I get that email address to send my bank account info to again, I seem to have deleted your prior 74588 emails?

Those fraudsters play on greed. As they used to say on Hustle, "You can't scam an honest man". If the deal looks too good to be true, then it is.

What is the most common sickness or injury you treat people for?

The most common sickness is malaria. Its a much bigger problem than AIDS. Seriously. The commonest injuries are head injuries following road traffic accidents or domestic accidents. Or the occasional fight.

How old are most of the victims of malaria you see? Do they mostly fall within the average age range of under 5? And when they are diagnosed, what is the usual treatment?

Most of the victims are indeed under 5. Usually, when their parents notice the symptoms they keep the child at home, feeding them all kinds of concoctions, and then when they're nearly dead they rush the kids to the hospital. The most annoying part is that the government has provided free malaria treatment for children, yet these parents refuse to take advantage of this opportunity. Severe malaria is usually treated with intravenous quinine, but otherwise we use the Artemisinin Combination Therapy.

Why do the parents take this action? Stating their decision as you do it seems completely irrational. Why do they do this?

Its because of two major things: Poverty and Ignorance. Poverty makes them think they can't afford the medical costs, ignorance makes them believe the sickness isn't serious.

Travelling by road seems to be the most dangerous thing in Nigeria. Signs like this made me laugh at first, not so much once you'd seen a few nasty crashes every week (I used to live just off the Kaduna-Zaria expressway). http://imgur.com/mefcYX6

Do you know if there are any decent road-accident statistics these days? I couldn't find any on the FRSC site.

edit to make the image show up in RES

No, it's embarassing, but there aren't any real stats. The FRSC has a Twitter account, but it's more political than useful. This is not good because those who want to offer aid cannot offer adequate aid. And those who want to do 'preventive intervention' don't know where to start from. There are young people who are both qualified and willing to do the job, but they can't get it because the corrupt officials won't give it to them.

What is the best part about living in Nigeria?

Well, some people may argue that the best part about living is leaving, but not for me. There are so many good things to see in spite of all the undeniable evil. In fact I wrote a poem here www.bit.ly/XmZo43

What is the one thing you enjoy or are proud of about Nigeria?

The one thing I'm proud of is the Nigerian family. No matter how old you are or how far you go, your family's got your back. You can always find your way home. When I was much younger my dad or my friend's dad used to sit us around their feet and tell us folk tales. We also used to sit under the moonlight and just dream. Of course that kind of thing is rare now, what with X-box and PS3 and Facebook and Twitter, but the memories are still with me. That, I'm proud of. Our football team is a plus, btw.

Do Nigerians practice female genital mutilation? All, or mainly the Islamic part?

FGM is now illegal in Nigeria. Every part of it. Edit: FGM is not as common as it used to be because of the legal repercussions, and with increased education it's becoming unaccepted culturally. There's no denying that it still exists though.

Tell us about your movie industry. I know it is the third largest in the world, but why don't we see your movies coming to cinemas in Europe or the Americas. We get a bunch of Bollywood ones, but never any Nollywood ones. Is production solely for the domestic market?

Our movie industry is not as developed as we'd like it to be. There's a lot of talent there, but you'd agree with me that movies aren't all about acting. It's difficult to imagine investing a million dollars in a movie here, when our kids are dying from preventable diseases. We are also culprits though, we spend next to nothing to see our movies, but we'd gladly pay 10 dollars to see Django Unchained, and the obvious excuse is quality.

Those misconceptions being?

One example: Nigerians are fraudsters and scammers. Wrong. Another one: Nigeria is an Islamist state. Wrong again A third: Terrorists have overrun the country. Still wrong

OK...To respond in an intelligent fashion - where are you basing the view that this is the perception? For example, a simple google for the university of harcourt brings this up:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19895281 - to summarise, your university was shut down in october 2012 because of the lynching and burning of four people accused of stealing laptops and mobile phones...Is this really acceptable behaviour for a place of higher learning?

Again, from BBC news...And more recently, 17 hours ago: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21836639

Reports of a bomb explosion at a bus station from a group of terrorists seeking to overthrow the government and create an islamic state.

Again, in my email today, I have five email addresses, the IP addresses I can backtrace to Nigeria - you surely have to admit that this doesn't look good from an outside view. Now...Granted, I'm willing to accept that not all Nigerians are like this, but you surely have to admit that there is a massive problem with crime and corruption in Nigeria, just as there is in other African states such as Ghana?

Here's a more pointed question - Are you being proactive to dispel the perception that Nigeria is a corrupt and unwelcoming place for visitors...If so, what are you doing?

First, I graduated from the University of Port Harcourt. The school was shut down temporarily because a vigilante group near the school lynched four students. The unacceptable lynching behaviour was carried out ON the undergrads, and was widely condemned.

Secondly, you correctly said, terrorists are SEEKING TO overthrow the government. Would you call Afghanistan a terrorist nation? And we're not even close to that.

Yes, I agree that those fraudulent emails might be in your inbox. Indeed the term 419 or 419er originated from Nigeria. But there are so many more honest Nigerians just trying to make a living through honest, legit means. I'm sure the two Nigerians on the Forbes 100 got there legitimately.

Finally, I am being proactive. For one I'm doing an AMA.

I've frankly never heard those misconceptions. People who get the "Nigerian Prince" emails know that it's not really from Nigeria, just a scammer.

Good luck to you as you treat the sick and injured though.

Thanks! For a moment though I thought you said Goodluck. That's our president's name!

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Becoming a doctor here is no easy task. Most of our textbooks are foreign, and so apart from the pictures in the books we're left to our imaginations, in many cases. Imagine 20 medical students around one patient, trying to learn something. We do work very hard though to meet up with international standards, but it's really not easy. Our professional exams are sometimes very subjective, so you could fail just because a senior examiner is having a bad day, or pass because she knows your mum. it doesn't end in medical school. Getting a place for Residency is another cup of tea. Usually you must be an indigene of the host community, or you must know someone 'at the top'.

I chose medicine because it appealed a lot to me. There hasn't been any doctor in my family before me, but... I don't know how else to put it. Practicing medicine was the only thing that made sense to me. (Next to computer science). I guess this is the 'call' I've heard so much about. Edit: OMG! Thanks for the gold! Edit 2.0 (Clarify) I mentioned we do work hard to meet international standards, and 'usual' is not the same as 'always'.

Well- having spent time volunteering in hospitals in Kenya and Tanzania, I can tell you in East Africa being a doctor does not mean you have an MD. In fact the hospital I spent the most time at had only one MD and he was never there. The doctors that actually ran the hospital basically just had the equivalent of a bachelors. This is not true for the big hospitals in major cities- but it's pretty common everywhere else. I mean- I'm only a student and I was assisting in surgery... And no one ever asked to see any credentials from me... So- I'd be interested to know if you are a doctor or if you are a doctor with a medical degree.

I have a degree in Medicine and Surgery. I'm not a specialist.

How is electricity in your country? I mean, is it expensive, how good is the grid, what sources does it come from? Do you think that developing countries should focus on renewable energy?

As Amanpour pointed out recently on CNN, electricity supply is still very bad, but it's improving. In my office we get electricity on the average 6hrs a day. At home, nada, over the past year. Our source of electricity is one hydroelectric dam. I think developing countries should invest in renewable energy, but our primary goal for now should be to maximize what we have. At home we run generators for about 8hrs every day, that's about 15litres of fuel every day! If we had electricity supplied to us by private companies I doubt we'd pay as much, and the companies would still profit a lot. That's one investment opportunity there.

Do people still revere Fela Kuti in Nigeria?

He was brilliant. (link)

Yes. A lot of people do, but mostly the older generation. Some people (me inclusive) don't really dig his style of music. We respect him though, for his boldness in speaking against the military government through his lyrics.

If I travel to Nigeria and walk through the streets with my expensive camera, smartphone and wallet like a tourist, how probable is it I get mugged, knifed or kidnapped?

Just like anywhere else in the world, it depends on what street you're walking on. Lots of people walk on lots of streets without incident. I have NEVER been mugged, and I've been to all kinds of places.

how many different languages do you encounter on a daily as a doctor in Nigeria?

Three languages. English, Ikwerre and Ibo. But that's because of my location. English IS our official language.

So you have to deal with a lot of malaria, whats the root cause? and why is malaria not a big issue in more developed countries?

Malaria is a tropical disease, the parasite is transmitted by female mosquitoes. These mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, and we have lots of those. Some years ago, on the average one child died of malaria every 30seconds. Now its one child every minute. In developed countries, apart from the geography/climate, mosquitoes don't find breeding ground because of the industrialization/cleaner environment. Here, you won't find mosquitoes around clean houses that don't have bushes around them.

What do Nigerians think of Bill Gates, with all the work he's done trying to fight Malaria?

Personally, I love what he's done against malaria, and I figure the best way to show my appreciation would be to play my part in the fight. Many Nigerians don't know about his charity, and just relate him to Microsoft and his reign as the world's richest man.

Is there much homophobia in your country?

Oh yes! There's homophobia a-plenty, everywhere. I haven't met anyone who openly accepted homosexuality or lesbianism. Besides, I'm Christian, so maybe it's just the company I keep.

Thanks for doing AMA. Have you encountered any terrorists while working?

I live in the south, so I haven't encountered any terrorists. However, there was an incident once at the Teaching Hospital where I trained. Four gunmen came to rob a paypoint within the hospital, and killed one cashier in the process. It was really scary.

You are a well educated, probably relatively wealthy young man. What makes you think you can speak on behalf of a country where only about 30% of people finish secondary school and the 45% of the country is below the poverty line?

I grew up in a middle class neighbourhood. We didn't have a TV till I was about 8. No computers till I got to university. I went to a Government Secondary School (High School) and a Government University. I am not a 'relatively wealthy young man', as you have put it. Doctors don't earn as much as we should, at least at the beginning of our career. I've lived all my life here, I'v been in the strikes and protests and hunger and sickness, so I believe I can speak for my country. Recently 'European Engineer' did an AMA on behalf of 'Africa', and he was applauded so much he made it to the front page. I think I deserve some more credit. TL;DR I'm an average Nigerian.

Is anything being done about Nigeria's exploding population on a grassroots level? The world's birth rate is slowing down rapidly, but Nigeria in particular is not slowing down. Some estimates have the population of Nigeria at one billion by the end of the century, which might be a humanitarian disaster that can't be fixed.

Is anyone being proactive about women's education and birth control or are they just content about the status quo? I understand much of it is cultural or religious but when women are having 6 or seven children as the norm in an incredibly overpopulated state as it is, shouldn't the government at least promote slowing down the birthrate?

Yes. Family Planning and Female Education are at the core of the efforts to control the population explosion, but we're also trying to improve healthcare. The logic behind having so many children was that, since the infant mortality rate was high and life expectancy was low, they figured they'd have as many kids as possible, so a few would survive to old age.

What little known fact do you have about Nigeria?

There are more people in Nigeria than all of Russia

The richest black man and black woman are from Nigeria.

Thank you. Mrs Folorunsho Alakija is no longer the richest black woman though, but the Richest black man is Aliko Dangote. A Nigerian.

Is it really true; the stereotypes of Nigerian men and Nigerian women in relationships?

The man needs to be respected and treated like a King....otherwise he will be very angry and unhappy? There was a stereotype of Nigerians in the countries I lived in that they would be very hot/cold and hit their women(...it happened enough publically).

This happens in the rural areas, among the illiterate population, but it's changing fast. You need to see Nigerian women now, don't you dare mess with them.

25 year old doctor? maybe we have misconceptions about medical school? how long is medical school in Nigeria?

It's six years, then you do a 1-year internship, then 1-year of National youth service, then Residency which lasts between 4 and 6 years. After that you become a Consultant/Specialist

OP looking through all these replies i believe your intentions were to talk about the other side of Nigeria, the good part. i have come to actually understand that those misconceptions are part if Nigeria (most of them are very true) it is not the only part. there are many good things about Nigeria. i used to feel like this till i started doing some research of my own. Nigerian to Nigerian our country has a long way to go. you can only hope that it gets there. there is a certain love you have for Nigeria that no one will understand. we are just a lot tougher so we don't see what others are saying when they cringe at the thought of Nigeria. you are talking to first worlders their lives are so different. i was raised in port- Harcourt and we can sit here and talk about the games we played outside in the absence of electricity and we will be like oh "good times". but to them that is just a horror story. they just wont understand and rightly so too

True. Thanks!

Hello!

I was reading statistics, and was wondering why Africans have the lowest IQ's in the world in comparison to the rest of the world? Considering you are a doctor, maybe you could shine light onto perhaps why the standard is so low, and I'm also wondering if intelligence plays any role in why those countries are poorer. Thanks.

http://i.imgur.com/mEsk46G.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/m5G01nh.png

Let me give him a chance. The thing about statistics is that they're just that. Statistics. I'm not sure who conducted those studies or how they arrived at those results, but surely you can explain to me how people with IQs below 70 defraud those with IQs above 100. Intelligence is not the problem. For example I'm doing this AMA on a Nokia phone on a network with an average speed of 115kb/s. It could affect what I post or how fast I reply, and make me come across as er...not so smart.