An Ode to Nigeria (For Country, For You and For Me)

Photo by Tope A. Asokere from Pexels

By Ojonugwa Yahaya.

 

When you continually tell even the most beautiful creature... hmm, maybe even more beautiful than Agbani Darego 🤔... that she is ugly, in no time she may start believing it and even start looking ugly... that is how dynamic nature and human psychology work.

Learn to speak the right words to people, the environment you live in, and the nation you call home. 

 

I will not stop holding on to this ideology of mine… that as we continue to confess negatively about Nigeria without making much effort to salvage what is left and to transform it into the nation of our dreams, it will constantly remain what we do not desire. 

 

It is not Nigeria as a geographical area that is bad or corrupt: an empty territory cannot be considered corrupt or bad. It is the humans that live in said territory that define and determine the character of the territory. So, if Nigeria is corrupt or bad, or "not homely"…it is me, you, and the man next door that is corrupt and bad. 

 

Dubai isn't what it is today due to the geographical area: after all, I learnt that the territory is even a desert. It is the humans in Dubai that define Dubai that everyone – including you and I – see as a dream destination today.

 

Think about it. Let us have a conversation.

 

I am in love with great souls like Nike Okundaye. She is tirelessly holding and mending the broken artistic Nigerian heritage in an elegant and dynamic way. 

 

Nigeria has many heroes who do her great justice: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Kate Henshaw (an epitome of kind-heartedness and courage), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (the queen of literature), Wole Soyinka (writing life on pages as if he was born with ink), Innocent Ifediaso of Innoson Motors, Allen Onyema of Air Peace, Folorunso Alakija, Mike Adenuga (master storyteller! I mean…we learned to appreciate soap opera through 'super story'), and many more. Then there are those Nigerians – including young people – who are tirelessly working in the development, economic, health, education, maritime, energy, ICT, and advocacy sectors across the country. With their work, they are reaching out to the underserved and hard-to-reach communities with messages of hope and the provision of social amenities. Our nation has many unsung heroes! 

 

I think it is about right if we find a way to appreciate Nigeria. 

 

I know Nigeria isn't treating anyone right, but… the problem is more about the Nigerians than Nigeria as a geographical area. Yes…our reality is that we are overwhelmed and overshadowed with the many things that just aren’t working, but do we fail to notice the many aspects of the positives in Nigeria? We can make the necessary sacrifices to change the narratives about Nigeria. We have the capacity to build our nation for ourselves.

 

Let us build our country today!