In Nigeria, it is quite common that if you fire someone for gross misconduct, that person will turn up days later in the company of his or her grey-haired, widowed mother and maybe an aged uncle and a pregnant wife.Together, they kneel at your doorstep and beg you to forgive, promising that the recalcitrant person will act differently if re-employed.Sometimes, the sacked person will phone you two months later to say that he or she has been offered employment elsewhere, then beg for a positive reference, while reminding you that the same people you meet on your way up, you shall surely meet on your way down.More likely than not, the repentant former employees are given a second chance.
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"My Nigerian-American friend is horrified by this Nigerian culture of wiping clean people's track records" line Nigerians are usually willing to give others the opportunity to prove that they have transformed, no matter how grave their previous errors. One of the most recent, high-profile beneficiaries of this second-chance culture is Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria's new president.Back in 1983, he brought the country's then fledgling democracy to an abrupt end via a military coup, and his
