Who will help me judge? Canada vs. Nigeria. Which place is the better place to live right now? For years, many Nigerians have left Nigeria to find better pastures in the UK, US and Canada. When I first moved here and told people where I was coming from. They were shocked. Many wondered why did I move to Nigeria when many Nigerians are trying to move to Canada. So now I have been here for almost 5 years. Which is the better place to live? Canada or Nigeria?
Let’s start with why many people leave Nigeria in the first place. The main reason people leave Nigeria is because of poor and corrupt governance. It is an established truth that many of the government officials get into politics, not to help the country move forward but to have access to government money. They are not truly interested in making changes to improve Nigeria’s infrastructure or public policy. And this has severely affected the Nigerian economy in a disastrous way. I found out there was a time, only a few decades ago, when the Naira was on par with the US Dollar. Now 1 Naira is worth $0.00065! There is no coin for that. That is less than a penny. When people leave Nigeria for countries like Canada, US and UK, ultimately they are also looking to increase their earning potential.
I still think and spend in dollars even though I only earn in Naira. I literally only earn $500 CAD per month! It is so tiny and we work so hard for it. I remember I took a job doing digital marketing. The salary was appx $100 CAD per month and I basically worked 7 days a week from morning to evening. I did not last long in that job. There is nothing called overtime; everybody is a salaried worker; everybody gets paid monthly. There is no bi-weekly paycheque; there is no hourly pay. This year, I’ve made a plan to make at least 1 Million Naira per month. That is appx $1000 CAD. So the same skills and knowledge that would earn me over $100,000 CAD per annum, I could only hope would earn me 12 Million Naira per annum.
Let me just do the math for you… $100,000 CAD = apprx #100,000,000 Naira. So I’m losing appx #88,000,000 Naira per year!
In Canada, however, over the last few years, the federal government of Canada has made some detrimental decisions which has caused the Canadian dollar to also decrease in value over the last 5 years. At this moment in time the cost of living is extremely high in Canada. In 2019/2020, my last full year in Canada, to rent a one bedroom apartment was on average $1,200 CAD per month. Now, that same one bedroom is on average $2,500 CAD per month. This is plus utilities like electricity and water. In 2020, I was already struggling and planning how I would ask my mom to move back in with her. I don’t know how I would be managing now.
Nigeria has also experienced a major increase in the cost of living. In a matter of minutes, gas prices, rent and food costs tripled! However, unlike Canada, the salaries have not increased to match the inflation. The national minimum wage was just set to #70,000 per month. The average price of a bag of rice right now is #90,000 Naira. When I came to Nigeria in 2021, that same bag of rice was #32,000 Naira.
Ultimately though, I am happy here in Nigeria in a way that I have not been in Canada for a very long time. Here I am fulfilled and very at peace. And you can’t put a price on that. So in the Canada Vs. Nigeria war… the winnder for me is Nigeria!
However, if you know of any contract remote work in Canada… Let ya girl know!
“Nigeria we hail thee, our own dear native land.” – First line of Nigerian national anthem.
“Oh Canada, my home and native land.” – First line of Canadian national anthem.
