By Kindness Udoh
My friend, in a short essay convincing a prospective employer on why he’s fit for the job, said, “Life is dynamic and filled with varied experiences that continue to shape us.”
And if you’re being honest as a Nigerian living in Nigeria, you’d admit that the country has shaped the citizens into unrecognizable figures. Hunched over and left at the hands of divine mercies and foreign angel investors.
You see, as a Nigerian, you are equipped with the full understanding of adaptive resilience from birth. This might sound positive for evolutionary development but in the Nigerian context, it is nothing to be proud of.
To paint a clearer picture of the suffering gymnastics Nigerians are currently engaged in, and just how bent over the people are, I’ll share with you the profound lyrics of a song I heard my adolescent neighbor singing one pleasant afternoon. It goes like this, “My sister show me the way, my father show me the way, my brother show me the way …”.
If there was a designated soundtrack for life in Nigeria presently, the lyrics to that song would be apt. Insecurity, high overhead inflation, high unemployment levels, extreme poverty levels, rising debt portfolio, huge talent migration, and this list is inexhaustive. Many of these things sound unintelligible to millions of Nigerians who are fighting daily for their survival; however, they are at the tough end of the stick.
If there’s one thing I’d credit the incumbent administration for, is its ability to ignite in me the desire to understand the Nigerian suffering. To understand why Nigerians suffer the way they suffer and who really chairs this committee.
Just in case you’re wondering, I’m still on my journey to enlightenment because to truly understand this country no easy. Which is why I’ll need you to help me figure this out.
But I digress...
Prior to this eureka moment, I, like many other Nigerians, did not give socio-economic issues or political debates enthusiastic attention because to me, and perhaps to many others, the government did what it wanted to do in the end. In fact, the words on my Twitter bio once read, “ex-Nigerian”. Before that it was something about being physically in the country while my spirit was in another saner environment.
Hope wasn’t lost, there just wasn’t any to begin with; but this view changed. I became a believer – despite the constant reminder by even more tired Nigerians that hope shouldn’t be an option when talking about this beloved entity.
This hope slowly took form, from its shapeless state to something more concrete. And this evolution was catalyzed by the 20-10-20 event that had, and still has, the country in a grip. And the corollary of it is my ardent interest in the 2023 elections because now there’s a hope to hold on to, no matter how muted.
That song (profound lyrics shared earlier) is reflective of the atmosphere obtainable across the country, as we don dey go where we no know. The economic situation is tightening its noose around the necks of Nigerians that they are seeking reprieve by whatever means. For those who cannot withstand it and are opportune to, they go to where the grass is greener, they find “the way”.
One of the trending topics that has taken front and center in the national discourse is the unavailability of the new naira notes. Nigerians are now struggling with the reality of having to exchange naira to get naira. This reality embodies the Twitter bio of a now-unavailable Twitter user which said, “This is Nigeria, anything you see, take it like that” (something along that line).
Fuel scarcity is also making another major appearance, sweeping Nigerians off their beds very early to queue at filling stations; cars and humans alike.
There’s more…
Regulatory bodies choking startups with overregulation, diverting investment opportunities into more business-friendly environments. Or should we talk about the arbitrariness of power by those in the higher ups who circumvent bureaucratic processes? One of such examples was the unfortunate tweet that cost Nigerians access to Twitter for months because someone’s daddy got pissed after being told that bad behaviors aren’t condoned beyond the confines of his power.
More people have been pushed into poverty than there were before the current power holders ascended to the throne. This makes you wonder, what happened or is happening to the “radical” approach that was promised to eliminating poverty?
Maybe there are technicalities that someone like me do not understand, but then again, that is what FourthGaze is trying to do, to understand the “why” and the “how” and the “who”. They say you cannot fall any further when you’ve hit rock bottom, but it seems for us, rock bottom is not enough, as we have our drilling tools to find what lies beyond it.
This does not discount all the little progresses we have made over the years, but then one needs to inquire how these progresses translate into the development of the standard of living in the country. Let’s not talk about Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) or its very depleted sovereign wealth.
The hope remains that we climb out of our current mess, but history shows that the political will to do so has been less than sufficient. The tides appear to be changing, voices steadily rising, fists defiantly punching the air, and hearts swelling with hope. For now, inflation has risen to 20.95 percent, and Nigeria still dey carry us go where we no know.
