Who owns this joke is a non-issue. It is already out there, in its different versions! Like all narratives, it embodies its own violence. That violence is the same for those who would likely argue that it was invented to humiliate or embarrass Nigeria and those who might see it as a true reflection of the phenomenon in question. So, critically ‘enjoy’ it. It goes like this:
A man died and went to Hell. There, he found that there was a different hell for each country. He decided he’ll pick the least painful to spend his eternity.
He went to the German Hell and asked “What do they do here?
He was told that, first, the authorities in Hell put you in an electric chair for an hour. Then they lay you on a bed of nails for another hour. Then the German devil comes in and whips you for the rest of the day”. The man did not like the sound of that at all so he moved on.
He checked out the USA Hell as well as the Russian Hell and many more. He discovered that they were all similar to the German Hell.
Then he went over to the Nigerian Hell and found that there was a long queue of people waiting to get in. Amazed, he asked, “What do they do here?”
He was told “first they put you in an electric chair for an hour, then they lay you on a bed of nails for another hour. The Nigerian devil comes in after and whips you for the rest of the day.”
But that is exactly the same as all the other Hells. Why are there so many people waiting to get in?” asked the man.
A concerned fellow called him aside and said in a whisper, “Because there is never any electricity, so the electric chair doesn’t work.”
The nails were paid for but they were never supplied by the contractor. So, the bed is comfortable to sleep on.
And the Nigerian devil was formerly a civil servant in Nigeria. So, he comes in, signs his time sheet and goes back home for other businesses”. That is to say that the Nigerian Hell is no Hell at all because the Nigerian DNA is a creatively destructive one the same manner David Harvey speaks of neoliberal globalisation
