PURPOSE: ABOVE OUR STRUGGLES

The truth is many of us have not lived past our struggles and those who get past that hurdle struggle to define who they are in the now.

-Nonsowrites

I have known what it means to lack things for most of my life--very basic things like food and shelter. It is sort of ironic given that I have never fully experienced poverty in its entirety.

I can't say I have been poor. I have always lived in a decent house (well, until my family moved into our building about four years ago), I have attended some of the best schools in my sphere and the likes. But there have been bad times and I have hit rock bottom a couple of times, so I understand what it means not to have at all and that has scared and motivated me for most of my life.

I was having a conversation with my friends about a day ago about how poverty breeds materialism. Nigerians are said to be highly materialistic. We find pleasure and fulfillment in having things--material things. I don't think this is exclusive to our culture alone, however, in the case of Nigeria, I will say poverty plays a huge part in developing this culture of materialism.

For the most part, people define themselves by what they have and the same goes for how we evaluate other people. People never take you seriously until you are loaded with money. Many people go about faking it just so they can be accepted by society.

It doesn't matter what you have but what you can do with it. Also, I must point out here that being rich doesn't equate to generosity. I know people who have more than they need but they are unwilling to give, even themselves.

In this part of the world, people would rather use what they have to oppress other people. There must be a physical display of wealth to validate one's existence. No one cares about building anything tangible and this is why growth and development are difficult to achieve.

"Money will only solve the money problem." Money wouldn't fix your faulty relationship with your loved ones, nor will it give you good health, which is fundamental to a good life. Money has its limitations and as we move up in life we tend to see this as well, and for most people, this poses a huge identity problem.

Until we get past our mundane struggles, we never realize how much there is to life other than having things. I am at the point in my life where sharing, giving and creating are the yardsticks I measure the quality of my life, and I believe there is so much we can do as a people when we begin to redirect our thoughts towards productivity rather than consumerism and materialism.

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