All politics is local, Johnathan seems like a half way bright guy from the speeches of his I've heard guess he is also ruthless and manipulative for personal gain. Might be a requirement for president of Nigeria.
I'm sure you're right in that he's playing to his constituents, at least in part. I'm very curious about Nigeria and I'd like to check it out sometime. Nigerians have had bad reputations in various countries I've been to and I'm sure that not all Nigerians are involved in scams, drugs or prostitution. It's an interesting diaspora that I don't really understand. I guess I don't really understand African politics all that well, but it's on my "to do" list.
I don't know any Nigerians, but a protege of mine is a first gen Nigerian-American who was admitted to an Ivy League medical school out of high school. To say she is exceptional is an understatement. Not that I think any one person is representative of a group, but I can certainly attest to the fact that not all Nigerians are scammers, drug runners, or pimps and whores.
Well, that's good to hear. I'd guess that opportunity plays a role. In Ho Chi Minh City there were a lot of Nigerians who held business visas and were infamous for fighting with each other in the streets. They were also known to sell drugs and to service female sex-tourists. The government got sick of it and then came down really hard on all foreigners and deported quite a lot of the Nigerians and for about 6 months it was really tough to get anything but a tourist visa, meaning that a lot of foreigners were forced to go without proper documentation for a period of time, some for more than 6 months. I get why border controls exist and the arguments against illegal immigrants, but it can be very, very difficult to operate 100% aboveboard, especially when the bureaucracy is so bloated, or alternatively, in an environment where bribery is the norm (not that I am condoning undocumented work).