On Tuesday, January 7, 2014, Akurang-Parry, Kwabena wrote:
--Although, I am not dignifying either side of this argument, there are studies that link poverty and deprivation with crime. Even in our small rural communities, those who were caught stealing a finger or two banana/plantain were located in the poor margins of social formations. Some say "man" must also chop!
From:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of John Mbaku [jmbaku@weber.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2014 9:28 AM
To:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Who Made That Nigerian Scam? - NYTimes.comOA:Sorry, but I do not buy your explanation about Nigeria. Sure, people are shaped by their cultural, social, economic, and political experiences--common historical experiences, you might say. What is it about Nigerians that makes them more likely to turn to crime to deal with their poverty than, say, people in Zimbabwe? Remember that the Nigerians who turn to crime instead of engaging in legitimate pursuits to deal with extreme poverty are a very tiny minority---these people are certainly not representative of a cross-section of the people of this great country.There are just criminals! Poverty has nothing to do with their decision to engage in crime.On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 4:54 PM, Anunoby, Ogugua <AnunobyO@lincolnu.edu> wrote:Criminals are criminals. Excuses should be sparingly made for criminal behavior. The sociology of crime suggests that there are enabling conditions for criminality. Some societies are more enabling of criminal behavior than others just as some societies for cultural, economic, political and other reasons may be more tolerant and therefore supportive of discrimination, inequality, and injustice than others.
JM asks why economic hardship has caused more Nigerians to peddle in financial criminality than it has Zimbabweans? I do not know that this comparison is appropriate or even makes good sense. My suspicion is that economic and other hardship tolerance differs from people to people, and from country to country. My thinking is that economic and social pressures are also different among peoples and countries as is acceptance of the indignity of the enduring state of want. Is cultural difference a factor? Why for example are more Eritreans, risking their lives in overcrowded, rickety boats to get to Europe than Yemenis? There are no easy answers.
What might be the case though is that people and societies are individually and collectively shaped by their shared past experience, and contemporary dreams and pressures. Nigerians it would seem, have been so buffeted by implacable politics-driven corruption that some Nigerians, following their conversion to the idolatrous creed of riches by hook or crook, have developed a nascent, unrestrained greed. A new morality is replacing the old morality. Only time will tell which morality will serve the country better.
oa
From:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Mbaku
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2014 2:24 PM
To:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Who Made That Nigerian Scam? - NYTimes.com
Sorry, but I do not buy this narration--fraud as a response to economic hardship? Is Nigeria the only country that has ever faced economic collapse? What about Zimbabwe, whose economy completely collapsed, including its monetary system and a rate of inflation that placed the country's economy in the hyperinflation category?
Individuals who engage in fraudulent activities, regardless of their nature,
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J.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Economics)
Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Attorney & Counselor at Law (Licensed in Utah)
Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow
Department of Economics
Weber State University
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