Multinational Crisis Part 1: Nigeria

You have all heard about Nigerians and Nigeria in general. The infamous scammer country. But let’s have a real conversation. Let me give you some extremely boring stats so we are on a level playing field with my thoughts. I’ll be as brief as possible, since no one wants an hour-long dissertation on economic issues.

Some history

Nigeria has a population of over 237 million people, living in a country the size of California, Nevada, and Utah. The U.S. is ten times larger. The median age of their country is 18, whereas ours is 39. The demographics show an even split between male and female. Their citizens live at approximately 260 per square kilometer, and more than half live in urban areas.

The life expectancy for them is 64.8 years for females and 62.2 years for males. Compare that to our life expectancy in the United States, which is 74.8. That’s a large difference. The top cause of death is malaria, followed by respiratory illnesses, including tuberculosis. Notice I didn’t state cancer?

In fact, it’s not even in their top ten. Cancer is the second leading cause of death for us, with cardiovascular disease at number one. They have only a 17 percent chance of dying from cardiovascular disease, and that rate is declining. Nigeria’s cancer rate is 113 cases per 100,000, while ours is 463 per 1000,000. Obesity is low, at only 24 percent among adults and 3.8 percent in children. I guess overabundant living causes cancer and chronic diabetes.

Financially, 61 percent of Nigerians are poor and live below the poverty line. Does anyone realize that ours is only 10 percent? That is still too high and shameful. Over half the nation is dirt poor, and I mean dirt poor. I have seen pictures of many of their homes, and no one should live like this in the modern world. I will discuss that in more detail later. The poverty in the country has several causes.

A lack of higher education, jobs, and basic essentials keeps people in shambles. The number one cause of extreme poverty is the government. Corruption is systemic at all levels. Nepotism and entrenched bribery, along with vote rigging, keep government employees in power. This keeps the dragon fed and everyone else in want. So, I hope I have given everyone a simple picture of the nation’s conditions.

Poverty’s and corruption’s outcomes

Let me address an issue that is a worldwide concern. Scamming, swindling, defrauding, cybercrime, or whatever you want to call it, runs rampant in Nigeria. It has given the people a bad name and reputation. Regrettably, two out of every ten young people aged 17 and up are involved in full-time online scamming. Yes, 2 out of every 10. You read that right. Of the population that is scamming as a full-time career, over 80 percent are teens. But it’s not limited to teens. The age range of these entrepreneurs is 18–34, with students comprising the majority. I don’t know about you or your children, but at those ages, we were all going to frat parties, getting acquainted with our now-enemy Jose Cuervo, and, for the most part, having a good time, as it should be. Adulting changes that, well, for most of us.

Many of the scammers are recent graduates as well. Surprised? You should be. That doesn’t happen here, for the most part. Graduates with no prospects for careers, and not enough to bribe their way into a job, choose this life of crime. I am talking about engineers, biomedical graduates, and mechanical fields. It is prevalent in all types of graduates. It’s fast money, and many can and have become wealthy doing it, at others’ expense.

I won’t defend their criminal activities, but I learned a great many things over the course of more than a year. This case of crime and punishment is not cut-and-dried. I hope that, over the next couple of parts, I can shed light on it. My information does not in any way condone scamming or deceit. Something indeed needs to be done, but you cannot incarcerate an entire nation. They need hope, they need guidance, they need someone to treat them as human beings with understanding, and they need solutions.

What I found and realized

I interacted with over two hundred scammers. Yes, two hundred and counting, to be honest. The men I dealt with ranged in age from 17 to 35. Students, graduates, and everyday Joes alike. They all tried to lure me into their scams. They all impersonated celebrities, musicians, and other famous figures. But don’t sit back and think that was the limit. Many came at me as Americans, servicemen here and abroad, businessmen, and so on. I have “met” with many in every category.

You might wonder how I got the information I will be writing about, and I am going to tell you upfront. I treated them as humans. My first encounter with an imposter was my lesson in naiveté and discernment. I was a lamb out to slaughter. After the first one, I did some groundwork. I trolled the internet and watched celebrity feeds and reels. I watched what people said and how they commented, shocked to see so many being deceived. I needed to do something.

How this journey started

I started by privately messaging each woman I saw posting comments on these pages and reels. I noticed that every time, several profiles used the same celebrity’s name and likeness to reply to them. All of them asked to move the conversation to other platforms, such as Zangi, Telegram, Signal, and eventually WhatsApp. It was not limited to those sites alone. Shockingly, a few used private messaging and even Microsoft Teams. I wanted to change all of this.

The women were my primary concern. Lonely, bored, middle-aged women looking for the dream. A celebrity romance or connection. Silly, at first glance, to most of us, but I promise it is anything but that, and that made me take action. I needed to know more. I wanted to know more. I wanted to take these men down.

What I discovered changed my approach. I was dealing with a hydra. I was a lone wolf with no pack, trying to outsmart a predator. I was losing. I actually did lose. There is learning in failure, and I became adept at approaching these hustlers.

Over the year, I outed many, especially the unrepentant. I didn’t have any sympathy for those who didn’t want to change. I also got to know many of them, the real them. It wasn’t easy to get them to admit who they are and what they do, but I did. I’ll share how I did that as we go on.

I hope to touch on the scammers, the women (and men) being scammed, and the industry that will, in the long run, suffer the consequences of inaction. I will also discuss social media’s position and actions, or, better stated, inaction. I hope you keep reading.

Tomorrow, I will get into more detail on the scams and how they work, and the scammers and the tools they use. I will tell you what I know of them and give some encouraging information.

Please trust me when I say these are beautiful people who are not cruel but kind, and not what they appear to be. We have many misconceptions about them, and they have misconceptions about us, which rationalizes their lack of empathy for their victims. Not an excuse or a green light. I reiterate this. Stay tuned.

Published on Medium, 2026