Question: How to talk about your country without going into a rage fit?
Answer: You don’t talk about your country, period.
This is going to be hard, but let’s see how to talk about this while being as calm as possible. What are the odds that I’ll crash out at some point in the middle of this? Stay tuned to find out.
Tell us one thing you wish could be different about any aspect of your country.
Not going to beat about the bush, so I’ll just get into it. One aspect of my country I do not like? The people. We are our own problem and it is saddening. Us, together with this optimism and resilience that has long moved from being our strength to being our weakness. For starters, we are just too corrupt as a people to deserve anything good, no offense.
For instance, fuel prices hike up from #300 to a #1000 per litre, and transport fare increases from #100 to #500 for a short distance. Even if, by some freak of nature, the fuel price slashes all the way down to #200, my countrymen will still leave it at #500 or maybe even increase it to #600. Corruption even at the lowest level makes me understand that there really is no hope, and even if the average man who has experienced all this suffering rises to power, he may just repeat what his predecessors did.
And then, our optimism and resilience. We can take anything and everything. We cry, we hurl insults, but that’s the end of that because best believe we would adapt to whatever situation, and try our best to thrive. Our survival skills have become our weakness because nothing fazes us, and even if it does, we would find a way to live through it. Maybe if my country people had softer spines, and weren’t so eager to prove how unbreakable we are, we would have since revolted from our oppressors. Long before it got this bad.
We are our own problems, and every day when I wake up so some new ridiculous policy, or even worse measures that reduces further our standard of living, and puts us back from civilization another ten years, a huge wave of sadness sweeps me. But, it’ll be alright, won’t it? After all, we are Nigerians, and that is enough.
To the next question...
When you feel like giving up or you’re unmotivated to continue, what keeps you going? Or who?
I’m a very prideful person when it comes to my achievements. I’m not too tolerant of my failures, cause it eats at me badly. I'd feel like everyone can tell that I failed at this, and they’re mocking me for it. That feeling of perceived humiliation in itself is enough to keep me going. And then, there’s my mind, who could be relentless and unforgiving.
I’ve been moving from one task to the other today. There’s been a lot to do, and there’s even more after I’m done with this. I didn’t want to write, but then I thought to myself. “So, if you are unable to provide for yourself, and end up having to seek assistance, how humiliated would you feel?” I’m a pretty laid back person, and not exactly the most driven when it comes to goals and ambitions, and I take it easy on myself, perhaps too much. So, once my mind begins to berate me, then I know it’s time to sit up, hence why I’m writing this currently. .
My dearest friend likes to say, “You will be fine, Tessa.” So, I guess that is all I can say to anyone reading this. I will be fine. Nigerians will be fine. We all will be fine.
P.S: I didn't crash out writing this, after all.
Images are mine.
