Welcome to Dubai, Nigeria! By Yinka Tella

It was 15 years ago when I first became conscious of Dubai’s presence. I was a manager at a mortgage bank which could not rally live up to its name. The National Housing Fund (NHF) that was supposed to be its lifeline by providing the pool of cheap funds for long-term housing financing remained stillborn, a victim of needless red tape and poor planning.

My “bank” was one of the primary mortgage institutions established in the wake of Decree No 3 of 1992 which provided the enabling framework for NHF.  Finding itself in a limbo – unable to fulfil the object that sired it – it nimbly delved into the world of LPO and projects financing, creating a niche for itself in the perfidious arena of high risk portfolios. For me, it was always a struggle navigating such treacherous waters. Customers seemed more interested in outsmarting the bank than adding value to themselves or the society. It was in the midst of all this that I had my first contact with an Iya Loja from Isale Eko who needed financing to import children clothes, shoes and accessories from Dubai, using her husband’s house as a collateral.

My initiation into the sophisticated world of Dubai did not, however,  acquire more personalized meaning until some of my friends began disptching their spouses to Dubai not only to shop but to return with merchandise which they ferried from office to office, attracting a bourgeoning clientele. Dubai was a notch higher than Cotonou in the class totem of destinations of Nigeria’s itinerant traders. I remember that my Aunt – an Elubo seller in my elementary school days – used to na Ile Tapa or Ile Hausa, bringing pristine wara delicacy and fura di nunu back as a treat. Paris, Italy and London belonged to the jet-set crowd in this pecking order of destination importers.

A particularly close friend, a lawyer, fellow Great Ife alumnus and aspiring nouveau rich also began frequenting Dubai with his wife. While he specialized in men’s corporate suits and fashion accessories, his wife traded in all things feminine. Looking back now, those were the humble beginnings of the current state of things in which Dubai, one of the seven sister Emirates constituting the United Arab Emirates has virtually been coopted as Nigeria’s 37^th state.

These days, it is not out of place to follow the news and see Nigeria and Dubai frequently mentioned in the same sentence. Dubai, it was, that James Ibori, the Godogodo of Nigerian politics coordinated a sick Yar’Adua’s surrogate presidency and later sought refuge from justice only to be caught flat-footed by Scotland Yard; Dubai, it was, where Cecilia Ibru, the Dr. Ishola Oyenusi of Nigerian bankers hid 15 real-estate property reportedly purchased with depositors’ funds. There are also reports that a former military administrator, a former Nigerian vice president and a hitherto radical Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister own choice properties, including eye-popping Burjs (towers) in the city.

Although many of those properties were said to have been bought in cash, raising suspicion of ill-gotten wealth and money laundering, there is little doubt that Nigerians are well respected with almost all their visa applications granted. This stands in stark contrast to Nigerians’ experiences at Western embassies where they are routinely denied visas.

Indeed, during a shopping trip to the Deira district of the city last month, I was surprised at how many Nigerians were casually strolling around looking for bargains, manning stores or acting as guides proudly conversing in Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa and Ebira. As I sauntered passed the frontage of a Pakistani shop owner, I was startled when he mouthed “E kaabo o. Goodluck wa, Atiku wa, Obasanjo wa” as he sought to interest me in buying fabrics of attires typical of former and current Nigerian leaders. I later found that the fabrics were so branded in his shop when I allowed myself to be lured inside to listen to his full marketing presentation.

In the midst of all the fun and the hoopla of our Christmas vacation in this desert nation, I could not but remember that the United Arab Emirates only became independent from Britain in 1971, five years after Nigeria attained the same milestone. Today, its per capita income is 42,080 compared to Nigeria’s $2661. Both are elite oil producing countries. UAE, the eighth largest oil producing country in the world, accounts for 3.32% of the global output while Nigeria is ranked 13^th with 2.62% of world production. UAE’s population of 9.206 million (2012), which pales when compared with Nigeria’s estimated population of about 170 million could account for some of the variances but it does not excuse our profligacy or lack of planning.

Despite the favorable climate for Nigerians in Dubai, I did not see any Nigeria-made goods on display. No Adire, no epo pupa. Nothing signifying Nigerian thoughtfulness or ingenuity. Instead, all I heard were tales of Nigerian state governors and other politicians who routinely “lose” it in the splendor of the 60-story, “7-star” Burj Al Arab hotel where room rates ranged between $1,000 and $28,000 per night. Obscene tales of yet another Nigerian party where all guests are flown into Dubai for all-night reverie at The Armani Club on the 150^th floor of the, Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building at an entry fee of $1500 per guest. Sad tales of Omo Oninakuna and Alainironu!

Yet, ten years ago, this was largely an arid desert brimming with camels and weaned on oil. Conscious of the precariousness of a mono-cultural economy, Dubai established free trade zones and enacted an investor-friendly environment that allowed 100 percent business ownership and profit repatriation, invested heavily in first-world roads infrastructure, airport, seaports and iconic touristic sites, hotels and resorts. Today, the largest chunk of the emirate’s income is earned from hotel and tourism, real estate and financial services.

Today, it’s one of the world’s seven top tourist destinations with a skyline and infrastructural base that is the envy of many Western capitals. All these while not sacrificing the human essence of development.

Imagine. A city without the usual staple of the homeless, the dispossessed and the beggarly roaming its streets or hidden from plain sight by officialdom. Imagine. A tourism economy not powered by poorly remunerated locals (or “natives”) waiting tables, serving as housekeepers or selling their bodies to ingratiate expatriates. Imagine. A construction boom not sustained by the sweat of local laborers; and in which citizens, educated free of charge by the state and guaranteed free access to health care, earn twice as much as an expatriate to serve in professional roles (as engineers, architects, technicians etc.).

Imagine that this is not a “democracy” like the United States or Nigeria, yet each citizen is guaranteed free modern housing by the state, regardless of whether they choose to live in the city or a village. Imagine that the 2013 International Human Rights Indicator (IHRRI) report ranks the country (UAE)that houses this city as 14th globally for respecting human rights – ahead of the US which is ranked 20th overall. Imagine, a city ruled by an absolute monarchy in which citizens do not have a right to bear arms, where incidence of robbery or murder are virtually unheard of!

Then imagine that you are a member of the parasitic Nigerian ruling class. You visit Dubai at least once a month often on tax-payers dime but all these facts do not provoke positive thoughts in you as to how you can redress the disgraceful retrogression of the Nigerian state. All you see are opportunities to loot more of the Nigerian people’s commonwealth to invest obscenely in Dubai real estate, display ill-gotten wealth and complicate the precariousness of a country ranked 153rd out of the 186 countries ranked in UNDP’s latest human development index report. It doesn’t bother you that 68% of Nigerians survive on less than $1.25 daily and adult illiteracy rate is stuck at 61.3 per cent despite the nation’s position as the 15th largest producer of oil in the world. Just imagine!Imagine. A city without the usual staple of the homeless, the dispossessed and the beggarly roaming its streets or hidden from plain sight by officialdom.

Imagine. A tourism economy not powered by poorly remunerated locals (or “natives”) waiting tables, serving as housekeepers or selling their bodies to ingratiate expatriates. Imagine. A construction boom not sustained by the sweat of local laborers; and in which citizens, educated free of charge by the state and guaranteed free access to health care, earn twice as much as an expatriate to serve in professional roles (as engineers, architects, technicians etc.). Imagine that this is not a “democracy” like the United States or Nigeria, yet each citizen is guaranteed free modern housing by the state, regardless of whether they choose to live in the city or a village. Imagine that the 2013 International Human Rights Indicator (IHRRI) report ranks the country (UAE)that houses this city as 14th globally for respecting human rights – ahead of the US which is ranked 20th overall.

Imagine, a city ruled by an absolute monarchy in which citizens do not have a right to bear arms, where incidence of robbery or murder are virtually unheard of! Then imagine that you are a member of the parasitic Nigerian ruling class. You visit Dubai at least once a month often on tax-payers dime but all these facts do not provoke positive thoughts in you as to how you can redress the disgraceful retrogression of the Nigerian state. All you see are opportunities to loot more of the Nigerian people’s commonwealth to invest obscenely in Dubai real estate, display ill-gotten wealth and complicate the precariousness of a country ranked 153rd out of the 186 countries ranked in UNDP’s latest human development index report. It doesn’t bother you that 68% of Nigerians survive on less than $1.25 daily and adult illiteracy rate is stuck at 61.3 per cent despite the nation’s position as the 15th largest producer of oil in the world. Just imagine!Imagine. A city without the usual staple of the homeless, the dispossessed and the beggarly roaming its streets or hidden from plain sight by officialdom.

Imagine. A tourism economy not powered by poorly remunerated locals (or “natives”) waiting tables, serving as housekeepers or selling their bodies to ingratiate expatriates. A construction boom not sustained by the sweat of local laborers; and in which citizens, educated free of charge by the state and guaranteed free access to health care, earn twice as much as an expatriate to serve in professional roles (as engineers, architects, technicians etc.).

Imagine that this is not a “democracy” like the United States or Nigeria, yet each citizen is guaranteed free modern housing by the state, regardless of whether they choose to live in the city or a village. Imagine that the 2013 International Human Rights Indicator (IHRRI) report ranks the country (UAE) that houses this city as 14th globally for respecting human rights – ahead of the US which is ranked 20th overall. Imagine, a city ruled by an absolute monarchy in which citizens do not have a right to bear arms, where incidence of robbery or murder are virtually unheard of!

Then imagine that you are a member of the parasitic Nigerian ruling class. You visit Dubai at least once a month often on tax-payers dime but your encounter with the UAE paradigm does not provoke positive thoughts in you as to how you can redress the disgraceful retrogression of the Nigerian state.

All you see are opportunities to loot more of the Nigerian people’s commonwealth to invest obscenely in Dubai real estate, display ill-gotten wealth and complicate the precariousness of a country ranked 153rd out of the 186 countries ranked in UNDP’s latest Human Development Index report. It doesn’t bother you that 68% of Nigerians survive on less than $1.25 daily and that adult illiteracy rate is stuck at 61.3 per cent. Just imagine. We are the deluded poor cousins of our “37^th state!”

Dr. Tella, a one-time news reporter, banker, and now education administrator, works and resides in the State of Florida in the United States.