By Els William
Nigerian-American real estate investor, Blessing Nwachukwu, has sparked debate after claiming that many Nigerians living in Europe and the United States prefer caregiving and warehouse jobs because they are “intellectually lazy.”
In an interview with the Vanguard, Nwachukwu, who migrated from Nigeria to Russia in 2009 and later to the United States, said her opinion was formed while running a free tech training programme for Nigerians.
“I arrived at that in 2022 when I started teaching Nigerians,” she said. “I opened a program where I was teaching Nigerians for free. I did not collect any money to train them for 18 months. Honestly, when I started training them, I thought I would just come and teach them software and go. Then I realised Nigerians don’t even know basic things like typing on a computer.”
According to her, the lack of basic digital literacy and an aversion to research among many Nigerians led her to the conclusion that “intellectual laziness” is widespread.
“When you try to make them know it or even research, you see the average Nigerian will ask you 20 questions instead of just going to do their research. And if you tell them (anything), they just believe,” she said. “The average Nigerian believes anything. I don’t know why we are like that. We’re very positive believers. That’s why it’s easy to scam Nigerians.”
Nwachukwu also criticized what she described as a poor reading culture. “We don’t like to read. We don’t have a reading culture. And so we prefer jobs that are physically demanding that we don’t have to use our brains too much,” she added.
She acknowledged that caregiving and warehouse jobs are often the easiest to secure due to low entry requirements. “You can get a job that pays you like $15 to $20 an hour with no experience. They’re even willing to train you and they will give you a lot of overtime hours, but that’s a trap.”
While these jobs provide financial stability, she warned that they often come with limited prospects for advancement. “It can take care of your needs. It can pay your bills. It can keep your life. It can even give you enough money to send back home. If you’re smart, you can even buy a house. But you’re never really going to grow because a lot of times, these companies do not promote Nigerians to supervisor positions.”
She concluded by highlighting a systemic challenge: the exhausting nature of such jobs leaves little room for professional growth or time for further certification. “To get to that position, you need more certifications, and many people don’t even have the time because they’re always working overtime,” she said.