There Is Enough for Everyone: What Nigeria Has Taught Me About Abundance
I won’t lie, there was a time I genuinely believed life was a struggle for limited space. I used to think if someone else was making it, then my own chances had reduced. It felt like everything, jobs, money, opportunities, was scarce. You either got lucky, or you were left behind.
But living and hustling in Nigeria has a way of correcting that kind of thinking.
If you’ve ever really paid attention to everyday life here, you’ll notice something interesting. Step outside early in the morning and just observe. The woman roasting corn by the roadside, the young boy selling recharge cards, the man pushing a wheelbarrow full of fruits, the akara seller frying in hot oil while customers gather, everywhere is movement. Everywhere is activity. Everywhere is opportunity.
And somehow, people are still making money in the same space.
That’s when it started to click for me, maybe the problem isn’t that there isn’t enough. Maybe it’s that we don’t always see what is available to us.
Take something as common as food. Nigeria is blessed with land that can grow almost anything. From yams to rice, cassava to vegetables, there’s no real reason we should be talking about lack when it comes to food production. Yet, many of us ignore these opportunities because they don’t look “big” or “prestigious” enough.
I’ve been guilty of that mindset too.
I used to think success had to look a certain way, office job, clean shirt, steady salary. But reality taught me something different. I’ve seen people build solid lives from things others look down on. I’ve seen small businesses grow into something meaningful just because someone decided to start with what they had.
Even in something as simple as frying akara by the roadside, there’s a lesson. You might find three or four akara sellers on the same street, yet all of them have customers. Nobody is chasing anyone away. Nobody is saying, “There’s no space for you here.” People buy based on taste, relationship, consistency, even something as small as who greets them better in the morning.
That’s abundance in action.
What changed for me was realizing that life is not a single lane where we’re all fighting to pass at once. It’s more like a wide field. You don’t have to push someone out to stand. There’s space, you just have to find your own footing.
Another thing I’ve learned is that when someone around me succeeds, it doesn’t reduce me, it actually expands what I believe is possible. Instead of feeling threatened, I’ve started asking questions: What are they doing right? What can I learn? Because the truth is, people’s needs are endless. As long as problems exist, opportunities will too.
Nigeria may not always make things easy, but it definitely doesn’t lack potential. What we often lack is the mindset to recognize and use what’s already around us.
These days, I try to look at things differently. Instead of focusing on what I don’t have, I pay attention to what I can use. Instead of waiting for the “perfect” opportunity, I ask myself, What can I start now, even if it’s small?
Because I’ve come to understand something simple but powerful: there is enough on this earth for everyone to do well.
Not everyone will do the same thing. Not everyone will take the same path. But there is space for each of us to grow, earn, and live with dignity.
So no, I don’t believe in that old mindset anymore, the one that says success is scarce. I’ve seen too much, learned too much, and lived enough to know better.
There is abundance. Real, everyday abundance.
The only question now is whether I’m willing to see it, and do something with it.
