KIM KARDASHIAN’S NIGERIA VISIT WAS GOOD.

I think a lot of Nigerians have lost their self esteem and national pride, to make matters worse; they constantly join forces with sections of the international  community in running down Nigeria. So what if Kim Kardashian was invited to Nigeria and was paid handsomely for a 45 minute appearance, is this not showbizness for crying out loud?

I have read many local and international media outlets condemning Kim’s visit and insulting Nigeria and Nigerians in the process. One of such foreign headlines read ‘Kim Kardashian scams the scammers’, unfortunately many ‘enlightened’ Nigerians agree with these insinuations.

Nigeria over the years has developed an enviable vibrant entertainment industry that has taken thousands (if not millions) out of poverty. Yes, the actors, musicians, camera men, make up-artistes, dancers, BLOGGERS, Alaba boys/girls etc; most of these people would have been among the so-called ‘less than $2 a day’ Nigerians if our entertainment industry did not grow the way it did. If the western nations refuse to give us credit, can’t we give credit to ourselves?

A PRIVATE Nigerian entertainment outfit made a huge investment by bringing on Kim Kardashian to headline a well packaged social event; and the event ended up being a huge success, so what’s all the negative buzz about?

Nigeria has a huge struggling poor population-fact, but we also have a growing middle-class-don’t they also have the right to entertain themselves? Is it now an international crime to enjoy your legitimate wealth in Nigeria? India also has a massive population of desperately poor people coupled with caste discrimination issues, however Bollywood and other Hindi entertainment outfits are booming and the rest of the world is okay with it. So what is wrong with Nigeria doing same?

I don’t indulge in conspiracy theories and all, but it’s beginning to look like the outside world is not too comfortable with a ‘pure black’ nation making big strides in the entertainment industry. Nigeria is the only pure black nation with a bubbling and heavily lucrative entertainment industry. In spite of all our national problems such as boko-haram, electricity, corruption, kidnapping etc....Nigeria ‘still dey kampe’ and she’s making huge progress (at least in showbiz and recently football).

If Kim Kardashian was invited to a South Africa for example,I'm certain that all these negative buzz would not have ensued-no one would have reminded us of South Africa’s crime rate, rape rate or her very poor majority black population. Rather, international media organizations would have inundated us with pictures of Kim Kardashian dancing ‘Azonto’ with Mandela or feeding Elephants at a safari. Major businesses in South Africa are still controlled by the ‘white-west’ and so they would have maximized her visit and showcased South Africa’s beauty to the outside world. People following the Oscar Pistorius murder case should observe carefully and see how the ‘white-owned’ South Africa media is trying rather hard to sell the ‘I thought she was an intruder’ story to the rest of the world. Okay,my conspiracy theories end here.

I can still forgive foreigners who constantly rubbish any progress made by Nigeria but celebrate our misdeeds instead. But I will not forgive Nigerians that constantly connive with these people in running down their own nation in order to portray their disapproval of the present government administration or whatever. Love of nation must be distinguished from love of our politicians or sycophancy.

Entertainment remains what it is-'make believe'; Darey and his media partners are not responsible for the poverty situation in Nigeria neither is Kim Kardashian. But their event ‘Love...like a movie’ was a success and many jobs were created from organizing the event. Call Kim Kardashian what you like, but the fact still remains that she’s a celebrity and she makes more millions from American companies inside America.

Many Nigerian and foreign critics of Kim’s visit are sounding as though they would have preferred if Kim kardashian was invited by the UN or an NGO and taken to some remote slums in Nigeria where she’s made to feed dirty hungry black children and perhaps adopt one of them. This is certainly the news many western nations would have loved out of Kim’s visit to Nigeria.

Nigeria may be facing challenges in politics, security, economy etc, but let us continue to show the world our good sides and defend those good sides. Mexico is still a preferred tourist destination (even amongst American celebrities) in spite of its on-going gruesome drug wars that has led to the deaths of over 30,000 people since 2008.