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Dictionary definition of “mugu”

mugu

n. a fool; (hence) a person who falls for a scam. Subjects: , ,
Editorial Note: Outside of Nigeria, this term has become associated with the victims of the advance fee, 419, or money-cleaning scams. A similar term is magha.
Citations: 1996 [Ovo I. Dafe (oidafe@cca.rockwell.com)] Usenet: soc.culture.nigeria (Aug. 26) “Re: Commonwealth vs Nigeria”: Chai, dey neva see pepper…pompous, ignoramus, bombastic, and oteteristic (dat last one no dey for dictionary) mugus. 1998 [Samuel Chuks (SChuks@FAULKNER.CC.AL.US)] Usenet: soc.culture.nigeria (Jan. 15) “Re: Newly Discovered Rainbow”: Some stupid person/company will fall “mugu” to this latest proposition. 1998 Tempo (Lagos, Nigeria) (Dec. 16) “Warri’s Many Worries”: A popular slang in Warri is that In Warri you must follow who know road. If you no do am, you go de look like mugu. (You must identify with those who know how to make things happen easily. If you don’t do that you may remain a fool). 2000 Kelechi Obasi The News (Lagos, Nigeria) (May 17) “More Gullible Businessmen Fall For The Advanced Fee Fraud Scam”: Latest revelations have shown that, sometimes, even foreign nationals collude with Nigerians to rip-off unsuspecting partners, popularly called mugus. 2002 Paul Legall Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Can.) (Nov. 1) “E-mail from ‘princess’: She wants cash” p. A1: They’ll then press the dupe—or Mugu as he’s derisively known in Africa—for more money to buy chemicals that can be obtained only from the American treasury department to wash the rest of the money. 2004 Leonie Lamont Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (Nov. 9) “Internet con man gets five years’ jail”: His victims—or “mugus” as he called them in telephone intercepts with his African fellow scammers—included a Saudi Arabian sheik, a Malaysian property developer and ordinary Australians.
Reader comments:
Great site
by J.R. 16 Apr 07, 0946 GMT

GREAT SITE EASY TO USE
by BABARACUSS 20 Apr 07, 0829 GMT

No aid shoould flow to Africa
with all the scam monez
they collected so far
BY MUGU NO MORE

by John Roland 02 Jan 08, 1040 GMT

na u come b mugu! wetin u mean by make aid no flow come africa? dey tell u say we need am b4? no b d thif thif wen una thif us make us b as we b?

africa go develop. 1 day b 1 day.

by Nanna 15 Jul 08, 0913 GMT

una don dey kolo? wetin make una no signal ma post na? abi una dey shame?

make kwerrakotta no catch una for dere.na only naija dey do?all of ina no dey show una sef?

befor una throw away stone make una first wash the glass house wey una dey stay!

by Nanna 15 Jul 08, 0917 GMT

Nanna, we don’t make your people steal.  If they were good people, nobody could make them thieves.
by speedwell 03 Sep 08, 0908 GMT

Madoff….mmmhh… ;king of 419. His forefathers must gave been Nigerian. His victims, mugus.
by da vinci 28 Dec 08, 0356 GMT

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