JAPA CHRONICLES E3: I WAS WARNED TO BE CAREFUL OF NIGERIANS ABROAD AND THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT

Because some (Nigerians) are really used to borrowing money all the time, some of them might be envious of you or they may try to set you up or implicate you.

The two people I tried to help out fully— after putting aside my decision to not relate with Nigerians in this country— they actually did what I was expecting.

Can you please give us a quick introduction?

My name is ***. I first came here in 2018 as a Masters student but I’m studying for my PhD now and I’m also currently working as a research assistant in my university. I studied food biotechnology for my Masters and now I’m doing Biotechnology for my PhD.



How did you come to Russia?

I got the FSB scholarship and I arrived here in November 2018.

I first heard about the scholarship in 2015 from my friends but I saw the countries listed there— Hungary, Russia, etc. My mum was skeptical because of the kind of countries there.

And she was also thinking that it would be difficult to get it because of competition and because you might need connection so I decided to start my Masters in Nigeria.

But in 2017, when I decided to apply to another Masters programme in Germany, my friend returned from Russia and he told me Russia is not as terrible as I thought. That was when I started considering it.

I didn’t apply directly to FSB (the Nigerian Federal Scholarship Board). I found my current university online and I got to know that they offer courses in English but they don’t directly give scholarships.

They then directed me to the ‘Study in Russia’ portal. It wasn’t so popular then and the Russian embassy tried something different by merging our offer with the FSB scholarship award and sending our details there.

That’s why I didn’t do the first stage of the FSB exam and just went directly to the interview and luckily I got in.

I didn’t eventually finish my Masters in Nigeria because we left one week earlier before my defense date. But last year (thanks to COVID), I sent a message to my university in Nigeria to complete my defense and I’m now currently working on getting the degree from there too.




How did you start working as a research assistant?

My program is fully in English currently. And I got this job as a research assistant in my university because of the incentive they give to attract foreign English-speaking students in order to boost the university’s research profile.

Now, to get this kind of job, you have to do your research and find out how things work in the school..

I first met with my supervisor during my first year. She’s also well-informed and she helped us apply for employment and we got it.

Back then, it was much easier to get and for us it was a huge benefit because we are earning extra and we can add it as part of our CV that we conducted research and published papers.




Expectations when coming to Russia? Were you disappointed?

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations but it wasn’t as bad as American standard— how they portray European countries as poor countries.

I still had a little expectation when I came and I can say Russia exceeded them because of how good the road networks, the electricity and good water at least in the cities.

Once you get to the villages, you can feel like you’re in Nigeria.



Do you have any regrets at all about coming to Russia?

To be honest, I don’t have any regrets directly about leaving Nigeria for Russia— just other terrible experiences with the people here.

Because of course, I have more opportunities here. Especially if you are well-informed and you seek information about what you want, then you will get more opportunities.

My whole plan initially was that Russia would be a stepping stone to go to another country.

In fact, when I’m done here next year, I’m still moving to Germany. And I already have an offer for a job opportunity waiting there.

Congratulations! Do you speak/understand Russian at all?

I understand 60% and speak about 20%. My life in Russia is like a ghost so I stay at home a lot. It’s only in summer that I can go out to one of the parks, play football or take a stroll with my friends. In my free time, I draw even though I don’t do much now because of my workload.

I was also able to travel once. I left Russia for 2 weeks for a research programme in Germany and I visited like 5-6 more countries then.

That’s nice. Have you ever had a really bad experience in Russia?

Hmmm. I have a lot of terrible experiences in Russia, with Africans and Nigerians in particular. In fact, the bad experiences are more than the good ones.

After I left Nigeria, my uncle in the UK already warned me sternly not to associate myself with Nigerians abroad too much even the ones that told me about the scholarship, and not to tell anyone that I’m on scholarship.

So even till now, many people outside my university still don’t know that I’m on scholarship. And we just relate on a surface level.

I only talk with people when they need help with some basic things and it’s just surface friendships here and there.



Hmmm. Why are you this careful of Nigerians?

Yes, because of some of them are really used to borrowing money all the time, some of them might be envious of you or they may try to set you up or implicate you.

I was even told of the attitude of some Nigerians that once they know you are on scholarship, they will try to get money from you and not want to pay you back at all.

They will also be inviting me to clubs and co so that I will be spending money too with or on them. And I’m not really a social person— I don’t go to parties a lot, maybe once every two months.

So are you saying you’re not close with any Africans now?

Not many. I’ve really tried my best to help people especially with the Open Doors scholarship.

Because I understood how it worked and I had done a lot of research, I started helping people from Nigeria to modify their applications and put in the specific details the panel would like to see so that they would get the scholarship.

The two Nigerians I tried to help out fully. After putting aside my decision to not relate with Nigerians in this country. They actually did what I was expecting.

They were always trying to take advantage of me— relying on me for everything, feeling entitled to my time and money and then going behind my back to say bad things about me to other people. People can be very complicated some times.

And since then I haven’t helped any Nigerian again like that… At least that’s what I’ve promised myself.


Can you tell us more about that?

For example, there’s this girl that texted me on Instagram to know more about my university and that she wanted to come as a private student. I advised her that she won’t get the worth of her money that she should just wait till the following year.

I told her to defer the admission and apply for the open door scholarship trying to encourage her that she would get it.

Because she didn’t believe me, I still referred her to someone else who paid for her masters and later got a scholarship for PhD who said the same thing but she still didn’t listen.

She then realized when she started online classes and was complaining. When she was finally coming, I even used my own money to pay for her flight and school fees before she then sent it back.

I again helped her apply for the scholarship and even after she got it, she had issues with the school because they wanted her to pay for the rest of the school year. I followed it up and still helped her settle the matter.

She would create multiple issues and I would be the one settling it. After she got here, she started misbehaving and demanding all sorts of unreasonable things like I’m her boyfriend.

When it reached its peak, I just had to distance myself from her before the issue escalated but she had started spreading wrong things about me by then. But it’s okay sha. I learnt my lesson.



Interesting. Thank you so much for your time. All the best in your endeavours!