Nigerians: An Enemy to Self

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We were never promised the iroko strength always. This explains partly why sometimes we appear frail. Becoming a man is to compulsorily come face to face with troubles. Even though the act of Manning up is enough trouble, nature wouldn’t let us rest until death. In man’s irony of life, he wants more and even more. He is like a rat running a race. Laughingly, this is why the phone creators play us a huge joke by releasing same product in different versions.

Man is indeed in a race against self. Not ever satisfied, he considers his priorities superior to all others. Why do I think of man this way? Well, as life unravels itself before us, we must choose our battles.

Historically, we understand that our ancestors had to deal with the cruelty of colonization. Then came the need to create wealth via the resources we possess. On and on, we’ve always had a reason to choose our battles. Since nature is no bastard, it always leaves us with clues on how to solve each problem we are faced with.

In recent times, we’ve have become a people struck with towering challenges. Some of these challenges are not all alien. They are in real sense; a fruit of yesterday’s faulty decisions. For instance, insecurity is simply thriving because of unemployment. Unemployment springs it ugly head always because so many unpatriotic souls wouldn’t invest in Nigeria instead they prefer to stash up public funds in Swiss.

How do such souls find their way into governance? That is a tale for another time. However, I want to think of us as a fortunate people.

My Boss, Eng. Olutimayin told us a story about his days in New York city. One night, he and his roommate felt so hungry. So they searched for a place to get something to eat. It was a far distance anyway… but they found a place to buy  stakes. They spent their last to get that wonderful meal. harmed with nylon filled with stakes, he and his roommate  started the journey back home. However, his roommate was a rather playful fellow. He swung the stakes with reckless abandon. Unfortunately, a dog on the street quickly hijacked the parcel. The stakes were all gone. My boss felt angry but his roommate wasn’t. When asked why he wasn’t, he said “Let thank God we still have our appetite”.

That story reveals a lot. While we are allowed to complain about all that is wrong with our country, we must endeavor not to appear ungrateful. Despite the odds, we are an envy to the world. One day, our story will take on a new positive narrative.

However, we don’t get to write a new Nigeria by becoming an enemy to self. For if we abhor Nigeria, who will build her.

– Olayinka Kayode Kingsley
olayinkakayodekingsley@gmail.com


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