I found the following quotes, in particular, to be very true and accurate descriptions of the general mindset of the average naija'n [especially the ones living back home/homebased folks]:
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In Nigeria, the handset one uses has become a thing of status; a kind of “Show me your handset and I’ll tell you how much you are worth.” This craze for handsets has become so fierce that the first thing thieves or armed robbers ask when they attack is “where is your handset?”
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Whenever anyone is travelling abroad, people, even students, hardly talk of buying them books that are necessary for their education; what they ask you to buy for them when returning home are handsets. Most even give you specifications of the type they want.
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The malaise of trying to impress with handsets has gone so widespread in Nigeria that I remember a father once lamenting to my hearing that his son who is a student in one of our universities is using a handset that he, the father and the financier of his education, cannot afford! The son had the temerity to tell his father that if he doesn’t use such a handset his colleagues in school would mock him, and that his is just “ordinary” compared to those used by some of his colleagues! It is amazing that Nigeria has today become a ground for all sorts of goods from all corners of the world.
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The difference here [in America] is that rather than invest in an expensive handset or car, many would prefer to put such money into a foundation that would serve the less privileged and help the world.
I am very sure that if I have the opportunity to go to the White House or meet with President George Bush’s cabinet members, the handset I’ll see with most of them would not be anything compared to those we see with some ministers in Abuja or commissioners in Lagos.
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Now,
why is the above described mentality so pervasive in our culture/environment?? I consider that a classic case of [collective] misplaced/twisted priorities, of the highest order! IMHO.