15 Things Nigerians In Diaspora Miss while Living Abroad

There is no doubt that living abroad is one of the desires of most Nigerians, it is one of the most unforgettable and incredible experiences that anyone will love to partake in.

However, there are quite a few things that you may miss outside Nigeria. Yes, you may have taken these things for granted, wait till you have spent few months abroad, by then, the excitement and fun of the new city must have worn off. This is when you may start missing the some things about Nigeria and you’ll shockingly be longing for them.

Here are 15 things Nigerians miss while living abroad:

1.Visitation from friends, neighbours and families

There is nothing as unique as the visits we get from our friends and neighbours in Nigeria, especially from our families in the village or our home town. During these visits, food is served and stories are shared. It is one experience that brings oneness and bond between people. Most people living abroad do not enjoy this luxury and they miss home badly when they are lying alone in their apartments.

2. Free car parks

Photo Source: Sunnewsonline

You don’t need to worry about traffic tickets when you are in Nigeria. There is no police ticket for you when you default in your parking space, it is either you are called out to re-park your car or warned. When you park wrongly abroad, you pay the penalty fee. In Nigeria, you can park an airplane on the street without stress.

3. Street shops

You would definitely miss the street shops in Nigeria when you travel abroad. The reason is, these street shops provide you with everything you may need early in the morning or late in the night when the markets are closed. On every street, you will find Aboki with small kiosk selling a variety of household items or a pharmacy store right at the corner of the street.

4. Street Jamz

You must have realized that most developed countries are noise free, sometimes; you can feel a pin drop because making a noise is regarded as an offence. Come to Nigeria and experience something that will blow your mind, the jamz that comes from different shops can be exciting because it is one avenue where you can know the hottest tracks in the music industry without surfing the internet.

5. The TV shows

Nigerian TV soaps and reality shows are like no other, you can’t compare them with American or British TV shows because they are have been uniquely produced. Some of the TV soaps have good story and once you start viewing them, you will get hooked. Most Nigerians living abroad miss these shows because they tell a lot about our lifestyles and how to tackle most problems we encounter in our daily lives.

6. Lagos bus conductors

Photo Source: Bankole Oluwafemi on Flickr

Even though, bus conductors in Lagos can be annoying, you can’t but miss the way they behave especially when they have a disagreement with someone in the bus. It’s always an interesting and memorable scenario.

7. Speaking daily vernacular – Pidgin English

Pidgin English makes communication very easy among Nigerians. Nigerians living abroad miss speaking their favourite slangs such as ‘How far?’, ‘Wetin dey happen?’, ‘How you dey?’.

8. Owambe Parties

Photo Source: Precious Olivine Ventures

Nigerian parties are famous for some reasons – the fashionable clothes, foods, friends and families. They are the only massive weekend parties in the world and also the grooviest. Owambe party is a norm in Nigeria and if you like it or not, you will find yourself in one, celebrating with friends and families, dancing, eating and drinking with them. After all, a great celebration reveals itself wherever there is food, music and of course, Nigerians.

9. Market haggling

You may never know what you have until you have travelled abroad and discovered how difficult it is to bargain on some items because they come with price tags. In Nigeria, everything is very affordable and you can easily buy things without price tags. You have the freedom of down pricing every product with the sellers which is what you may never experience in malls and supermarkets abroad.

10. People who do everything for you

You can not get free labour outside Africa which is one thing you would definitely miss. There are a lot of relatives, friends and neighbours who would love to wash for you, cook and clean for you without asking for anything.

11. Affordable housing

Life in Nigeria may not be so rosy when compared to the life outside the shores of Africa, but when you calculate how much you are spending abroad and what half of that money can fetch for you in Nigerian housing, you would love to jump the next air plane to live in Nigeria again.

12. Cool weather

The weather condition in Nigeria is beautiful. There is no need to worry about snow, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. The sun may be scorching but it is better than the fear of unfriendly weather conditions outside the country.

13. Nigerian hospitality

The Nigerian police may not be your friend but the people in Nigeria are always out to help you in one way or the other. Nigerians don’t mind their business when things happen and this is what makes them unique. We bet you would miss this hospitality if you’ve ever experienced it once in Nigeria.

14. Street foods

Many times we have heard people say that they can also get Nigerian foods abroad especially in London but we’re sure it can never be like it is back home. Nigerian foods found in London are either overpriced or packaged to make it look like it is ‘made in London’. Naija street foods have a unique flavour that you can’t find anywhere. For instance: Akara has a local taste that you won’t trade for anything, its delicious and smells good.

15. Daily Lagos Scenes

Photo by Eve Andersson

There is nothing as interesting as Lagos city’s daily scenes. It’s been said that, “If you can live in Lagos, you can live in any city in the world”.

 People living abroad miss the daily scenes of Lagos – the traffic jams, the street vendors, Lagos transport hustles, Agbero shouting destination names – “Oshodi Oshodi’, the odd feeling they get when people push past them without saying sorry, the fights, street dance performances and many more.


There is no place like home. What do you miss most about Nigeria? Share with us in the comment below:

Source: TravelStart