Can the Black woman just get a break, really? In the USA, she is marginalized in all ways possible. In the UK, the marginalization is just as intensified and just when she thinks she can find solace on the continent, the motherland, a few Western companies track her down and proceed to tear her down and annihilate her character, her essence and integrity.
Two days ago, I saw a news on my Facebook newsfeed with a headline to the effect of, “Nigerian Women Ranked Most Unfaithful Women in the World.” I honestly thought it was a joke and kept it moving. Yesterday, through my google alerts and other newsfeeds, I saw the story had gained momentum and was now going viral. Nigerian and non-Nigerian websites and blogs were now carrying the story. Worse, people appeared to be believing this propaganda.
In addition, I discovered the survey was conducted, per news reports, by Durex, a popular UK condom manufacturing company. Seeing all of these, I was vexed and had to, at the very minimal, take pen to paper/words to blog to offer a different view on this survey.
First, I find it hard to believe Durex would be this irresponsible in negatively branding an entire country. Further, Durex marketing and advertising practices should really be placed under strict scrutiny and thoroughly examined. Am I the only one that sees the obvious conflict of interest for a UK condom manufacturing company to put out a survey that ultimately ties into purchasing its brand of condoms? Are the reports making way online distorting what Durex says or are its results really what it is? I have tried to find the report on Durex’s main website but I am unable to see it anywhere.
Nevertheless, according to newsreports going viral, Durex’s survey states that of 29,000 persons surveyed from 36 countries, Nigerian women are the most unfaithful women in the world. A whopping 62% of Nigerian women. Really? An excerpt follows:
33 percent of Malaysian men admitted to have been unfaithful to their spouses. 39 percent of the women also confessed to have betrayed their partners.
Nigeria is ranked as the country with the most unfaithful women with a 62 percent, closely followed by the women of Thailand.
Russian women came fourth with a 33 percent, followed by Singaporeans.
The survey, which was done by the Condom manufacturing country, Durex, was based on interviews with 29,000 people in 36 countries.
The survey also indicated that Malaysian men have an average of three sex partners in their lives while those in Singapore and Hong Kong have 16!
My Questions
- How did Nigerian women in the Northern part of the country circumvent Sharia Laws and Muslim society to actually be unfaithful to their men?
- What cities did the survey draw its samples from? Lagos? If Durex used a sample of women in the city Lagos to represent an entire nation, shame on Durex.
- What was the nature of questions asked and in what language(s) and who did the interpretations?
- What was promised in exchange for the so called survey?
- Did the Nigerian women surveyed pull a 60min “mugu” on Durex’s representatives as a result of what they were promised?
- Why is Durex, a condom manufacturer, rather than an independent and neutral agency conducting this survey?
- Can Durex really say Nigeria’s robust and projected growth that would surpass South Africa in the next few years, as forecast by leading financial experts/economists, had nothing to do with its assassination of the Nigerian woman to make Nigerian men buy their condoms?
- When was the last time Durex bothered to exercise its corporate social responsibility, although it is not required to, to help young Nigerian women obtain scholarships for education, among other things.
- Why does Durex feign concern for the sexual health of the Nigerian woman by making the Nigerian man afraid of the Nigerian woman? Oops! I forgot. Nigerian men will now bombard their local pharmaceutical or retail stores to buy Durex because their women, even in a committed relationship, cannot be trusted to be faithful.
This negative country branding by Durex, a UK company, is propaganda and an attempt to destroy the Nigerian woman and the Nigerian family. Yes we need sexual education, yes we need our men and women to protect themselves when engaging in sexual activity but to say Nigerian women are the most unfaithful in THE WORLD, really? How is that possible when a Nigerian man can still marry four wives and expect and receive faithfulness from all four wives??? Such ridiculousness.
Nigerian women simply do not have the luxury like their Western counterparts to be that unfaithful to their men. We are talking about a country where the oppression of women is still the order of the day at alarming statistics: domestic violence, rape, sex trafficking . Nigerian women are busy grieving the killings of their children and violent attacks on their families, especially in the North, to even be concerned about unfaithfulness. Where is the chance for 62% of Nigerian women to be unfaithful to their men when most are in the markets, farms and other areas of the country fighting poverty and trying to make a $1.00 out of 15cents.
How is it possible that Nigeria’s feminist and/or liberation movement have made such huge strides overnight to the point where its women can be that unfaithful? At the very minimum, Durex’s so called global sexual well being survey should reveal its research methods that makes it an authority on such radical nonsensical conclusions about the women of an entire nation, perambulated on a world stage.
Nigerian women are too busy in the villages, townships and even big cities trying to sustain their families, deal with infant mortality and other serious illnesses; and fighting for gender equality and respect for 62% to be unfaithful to their men. Like really? *Side eye*
Ultimately, Nigerians, themselves, must kick their very bad habit and addiction of over consuming western goods and services. Over-consumption of Western goods continues to lead to a complete disrespect of Nigerians by the very Westerners who have made and are making substantial revenue from Nigerians. Nigerians must learn to grow and build their own brands and be aggressive with their own country branding. When other groups show up and attempt to take their specimen to the global laboratory for diagnosis and what have you, there should be a call for accountability and a challenge to these groups and companies that are ultimately focused on their bottom line. Durex is the #1 leading condom brand in the world for a reason.
Durex has a vested interest to conduct surveys like these around the world and push the “Use Durex” message across the globe.
So far, Nigeria and its citizens have been successfully marginalized as a fraudulent nation/people where other countries should be suspect of their intentions i.e. 419 (Fraud), sex and drug trafficking overseas. Despite that, Nigerians have shown they are relevant and simply cannot be ignored in a 21st century economy. Nigerians are saying, fine. Take your Western country. We will return home and build Nigeria. They are doing it. From our oil reserves to a new generation of young Nigerians re-branding the country and its people, on a global scale, in fashion , film and music, Nigerians press on. Nevertheless, Nigerians cannot afford to fold their arms and let third parties make a mockery of, and assault their women in an attempt to sell more condoms to 150million people. This kind of marginalization of the Nigerian woman is simply unacceptable.
Photo description: Unidentified women react to the sight of dead bodies in Dogo Nahwa, Nigeria, Monday, March 8, 2010. More than 200 people, most of them Christians, were slaughtered on Sunday in central Nigeria, according to residents, aid groups and journalists. The local government gave a figure more than twice that amount, but offered no casualty list or other information to substantiate it.
Photocredit: AP Photos/Jon Gambrell
-Uduak Oduok
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we worry so much about little things. The nation has so many problems at hand to start looking into issues like unfaithfullness of the Nigerian women. I believe if we tackle unemployment; poverty and curruption things like this would not surface
In denial. If they said Nigerians were the most happiest people in the world, we tend to concur. Look around and quit burying your head in the sand. How much do you really know about your woman , girlfriend, wife or daughter? Enough said.
It took durex to bring out such report?
1. Durex is a company that makes profit from having people having sex. If they are making a kill in Nigeria and know how sensitive Nigerians are to “statements” they wouldn’t say so. Unless of course they are not making profits and need to get a stirring in the people to get the word “durex” stuck to their minds and therefore increase sexual activities… Marketing strategies.
2. If a sample was made and said Nigerian women are the most faithful… Would there be really such complain, nagging or comments?
3. Just between you and I (Nigerian Family) we all know the truth… We don’t need durex to speak.
4. For a known fact you can go to Thailand, East African countries and so on and have sexual encounters with a completely different woman after every meal, every day and cost you only pennies…
In UK it is a well known fact within the brotherhood that the woman can be picked up like laser targeted missiles. The heat is really on. However not necessarily after money but to get married… security.
If information on sexual explosion, the past 25 years wasn’t streamed to Africa… would our Women just be the old stay virgin till married and stick to the “missionary position” like a log while the man does the pushing? Hmmm
Do you know the amount of Nigerian women on sex sites.. check the statistics on sites like Adult friend finder or casual date. Forget even eHarmony or match… those are full of scammers and rejects.
Our women have decided to go AWOL and we men are left with the understanding that our rapidly disintegrating culture and masked religious affiliation makes us look beyond them to others…
Otherwise perhaps, just perhaps, durex has a point…