{"id":1059,"date":"2023-01-17T11:24:36","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T11:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.feelnubia.com\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2025-05-21T13:58:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:58:34","slug":"we-don-close-eurocentrism-in-corporate-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/index.php\/2023\/blog-misc-and-opinions\/we-don-close-eurocentrism-in-corporate-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;We Don Close&#8221;: Gatekeeping, and the Skin Color Advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2512 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-400x301.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-400x301.jpg 400w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-650x489.jpg 650w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-250x188.jpg 250w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-768x578.jpg 768w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-1536x1156.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-150x113.jpg 150w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-50x38.jpg 50w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-100x75.jpg 100w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-200x151.jpg 200w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-300x226.jpg 300w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-350x264.jpg 350w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-450x339.jpg 450w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-500x376.jpg 500w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-550x414.jpg 550w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-800x602.jpg 800w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-1200x904.jpg 1200w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-1600x1205.jpg 1600w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-1320x994.jpg 1320w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324-600x452.jpg 600w, http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/s-laiba-ali-C0_7D50wZQ0-unsplash-scaled-e1751037783324.jpg 1708w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"608\" data-end=\"682\"><strong data-start=\"608\" data-end=\"682\">&#8220;Welcome Massa!&#8221; \u2014 A Glimpse Into Nigeria&#8217;s Lingering Colonial Complex<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"684\" data-end=\"942\">As the gates flung open and the gateman barked \u201cWelcome Massa!\u201d to the approaching white expatriate\u2019s car, I felt as though I had time-traveled to colonial-era Nigeria\u2014a time I hadn\u2019t lived through, yet here it was unfolding before my eyes in the year 2010.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"944\" data-end=\"969\"><strong data-start=\"944\" data-end=\"969\">A Tale of Two Entries: The Double Standard<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"971\" data-end=\"1317\">Just minutes earlier, I was stuck at the gate, ordered out of my chauffeur-driven car to present myself for security clearance. Despite a confirmed appointment with senior government officials, the security chief claimed my name wasn\u2019t on the visitors&#8217; register. The secretary\u2019s pleas over the phone made no difference. The gate remained shut.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1319\" data-end=\"1363\">I was to chair that meeting. Time ticked on.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1365\" data-end=\"1514\">Eventually, I requested that the secretary responsible for the scheduling error come down to escort me in. As I waited, the white expatriate arrived.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1541\" data-end=\"1761\">&#8220;Doesn\u2019t he need security clearance?&#8221; I asked, more out of disbelief than hope. The officer\u2019s response was chilling in its clarity:<br data-start=\"1672\" data-end=\"1675\" \/>\u201cCan you not see he is a <em data-start=\"1702\" data-end=\"1709\">white<\/em> man? He must have important business here today.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1763\" data-end=\"2085\">As my associate and his secretary finally walked me in, half an hour late, I passed the same white man in the corridor. He was now struggling to convince someone to grant him an unscheduled meeting, in thick Pidgin English. Ironically, <em data-start=\"1997\" data-end=\"2002\">now<\/em> he was being asked to return to the gate for proper screening and a visitor\u2019s tag.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2087\" data-end=\"2127\"><strong data-start=\"2087\" data-end=\"2127\">Mental Colonization: Still a Reality<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2129\" data-end=\"2246\">\u201cOga no dey\u201d (The boss isn\u2019t around). \u201cWe don close\u201d (We\u2019re closed).<br data-start=\"2197\" data-end=\"2200\" \/>At 11 a.m.? The irony was rich and disturbing.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2248\" data-end=\"2567\">This is Nigeria, 50 years post-independence, still haunted by the ghosts of colonialism. Many Nigerians remain shackled by <strong data-start=\"2371\" data-end=\"2394\">mental colonization<\/strong>, assuming that anything foreign is superior. \u201cWhite is right,\u201d they seem to believe, whether it\u2019s a visitor at the gate or a job applicant with a fabricated foreign accent.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2618\" data-end=\"2872\">In today\u2019s corporate Nigeria, foreign trumps qualified.<br data-start=\"2673\" data-end=\"2676\" \/>Companies sideline brilliant local professionals in favor of underqualified expats\u2014some with glorified certificates from \u201cCorner-shop Academy\u201d in New York, picked up during a layover at LaGuardia.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2874\" data-end=\"2917\"><strong data-start=\"2874\" data-end=\"2917\">White Privilege Meets Nigerian Business<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2919\" data-end=\"3088\">Even construction contracts get awarded to start-ups headed by foreign \u201cCEOs\u201d with irrelevant degrees, so long as they have the magic of white skin and a foreign address. Frustrated business owners have learned to play the game:<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3090\" data-end=\"3149\">Want to get past the gate? Think like the gate-man. Degrees from MIT may not help, but hiring an Eastern European artisan to front your company? That might just open doors.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3331\" data-end=\"3389\">Meet the EERP: Expatriate External Relations personnel. It doesn\u2019t stop at corporate firms. Schools, property agencies, restaurants\u2014they all now employ EERPs: white (or pale-enough) frontmen whose main qualification is skin tone.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3570\" data-end=\"3691\">Can\u2019t afford a full-blown expatriate? Hire an albino. He\u2019ll glide through more gates than your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 ever could. And just in case he stalls at the checkpoint? Train him to toss in a \u201cCheers, mate!\u201d now and then. That elusive contract might just be yours.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"153\" data-end=\"385\">This isn\u2019t just about racism or insecurity. It\u2019s a systemic issue, deeply embedded in how Nigerians view themselves and others. It\u2019s the echo of colonial rule, now amplified by our gatekeepers who have internalized inferiority.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"387\" data-end=\"499\">Until we confront this post-colonial mindset, we\u2019ll continue to open doors for others while locking our own out.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"387\" data-end=\"499\">Join the Conversation. Have you experienced or witnessed similar forms of subtle gatekeeping, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cFNAJcvBEh4?si=mO8F339Wxy1ddvi6\">colourism<\/a>, or mental colonization in Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa?<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"665\" data-end=\"714\">Leave a comment below. Let\u2019s talk about it. Or share this story with someone who needs to read it. \u00a0Or email us your story at [externalaffairs@feelnubia.com]. Add subject line: My Story, to be featured on our platform.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"870\" data-end=\"955\">Let\u2019s challenge the systems that keep us small\u2014and reclaim the power of our identity.<\/p>\r\n<p data-start=\"870\" data-end=\"955\"><a href=\"https:\/\/feelnubia.org.uk\/index.php\/2025\/blog-misc-and-opinions\/civil-service-and-the-nigerian-spirit-of-enterprise\/\">More stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Welcome Massa!&#8221; \u2014 A Glimpse Into Nigeria&#8217;s Lingering Colonial Complex As the gates flung open and the gateman barked \u201cWelcome Massa!\u201d to the approaching white expatriate\u2019s car, I felt as though I had time-traveled to colonial-era Nigeria\u2014a time I hadn\u2019t lived through, yet here it was unfolding before my eyes in the year 2010. A [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[127,771,129,772,341,310,313,128,311,409],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-misc-and-opinions","tag-africa","tag-colourism","tag-culture","tag-discrimination","tag-euro","tag-feel","tag-feelnubia","tag-intelligentsia","tag-nubia","tag-racism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&quot;We Don Close&quot;: Gatekeeping, and the Skin Color Advantage - Feelnubia - Home of Africa&#039;s Intelligentsia- Be Africa!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/feelnubiatest.com\/index.php\/2023\/blog-misc-and-opinions\/we-don-close-eurocentrism-in-corporate-nigeria\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;We Don Close&quot;: Gatekeeping, and the Skin Color Advantage - Feelnubia - Home of Africa&#039;s Intelligentsia- Be Africa!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;Welcome Massa!&#8221; \u2014 A Glimpse Into Nigeria&#8217;s Lingering Colonial Complex As the gates flung open and the gateman barked \u201cWelcome Massa!\u201d to the approaching white expatriate\u2019s car, I felt as though I had time-traveled to colonial-era Nigeria\u2014a time I hadn\u2019t lived through, yet here it was unfolding before my eyes in the year 2010. 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