The Problem I Have with Nigeria

When you have a hugely under-fed population, (I think) the long-term effect is, a people who’re almost never in the head space to think through, over-celebration of the muscles (tenacity) & gross misunderstanding of the term “grind” to mean brainless, mindless pathfinding (“all way na way, one day e go pay”).
As simple as it seems, if 50% of Nigerians are constantly well fed from childhood, you’d be shocked at what’ll become of Nigeria. I wish I had time to explain to my heart’s fill.
When you’re hungry, what you negotiate for (if care is not taken), is head-shake worthy: ask Esau, election voters (generally speaking) and street urchins, aka “area boys” (generally speaking). When you’ve been starved of some things (quality food, quality education, quality knowledge, quality friendships et al), what you call fulfilment if care is not taken, is head-shake worthy.
Seen it happen so many times.
Some feel like I demand so much from Nigeria and Nigerians, calling me an Ajebutter of sorts (Ajebutter — Nigerian slang for one born with a silver spoon) . . .
But you see, my parents were neither billionaires nor millionaires, but my mother fed us good (no, great) food while my dad surrounded us with books on typography, drawing, business, faith, engineering & works of literary juggernauts like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ola Rotimi, Shakespeare, Cyprian Ekwensi, Camara Laye et al.
At 10 or 12, I could finish a book by Rotimi or Soyinka in one take, one sitting & still played street soccer in the yard (though regulated).
By virtue of prudence & planning, my father sent me to a private university, and not by pot-bellied funds faffing around in some forgotten bank account. He had one or 2 cars at the most per time for years while his children were looking all upholstered, well fed and book smart. . .
Come to think of it, we lived in a community where, for every 50 or so steps you took, you’d see a beer parlor. The roads were hardly tarred, you’d see a number of girls with the unplanned job description “preggie”, right after high school. This was the environment I spent 10 years of my childhood in. But my parents made very sure to feed their children in different dimensions.
I didn’t know what “garage music” (secular music with vulgar lyrics) sounded like at home. This impacted my quality of play on the piano, in that I grew up on musical influences that paid attention to instrumentation — Earl Klugh, Tom Brooks, Abraham Laboriel, Justo Almario, Kirk Whalum, Jonathan Butler, Kitaro, Fred Hammond et al.
I didn’t even have a piano at home. I’d run quite a distance after school, to my pastor’s house to practice the piano. To this day, I don’t have one yet.
The point of all this gist is. . , when life came with its ugliness & beauty, there were certain things I could NEVER settle for. Why? Because my father & mother fed me in different dimensions.
Now that I think of it also, Art X Lagos (no grouse against them) is a premium, paid, privately held art fair / rich-people meetup (how I see it 😕😩😑) that happens in the crème de la crème part of Lagos, Nigeria. Let them try it in “Oke Ipele Wura”, somewhere in Kwara state, Nigeria. Their eyes will clear. . . Who’ll appreciate it there?
Is it not someone that has been “fed”, that can attend & appreciate Art X or some other rich-people wank fest? I have nothing against rich-people wank festivals. I’m an upcoming billionaire, so I know I‘ll get wank fest invites. I usually say, that it’s someone who has eaten, that now has time to buy a painting. When you’ve eaten and are full, your head “calms down”, and you seem to see (other) things clearly.
But the point being made is, as simple as it sounds, I like to think that majority of Nigerians are not yet well-fed (emotionally, biologically, parentally, maritally, academically et al). Look at the seeming nonsense we collectively settle for.
Someone buys a car, and it has to be “washed” (Nigerian way of saying it has to be celebrated). #sigh 😔😔😔 Like dude!!!! Some car manufacturer who’s probably not as intelligent & tenacious as an average Nigerian, is popping Champagne over entry into the African market . . . , & we’re here dancing “Soapy” over a Tokunboh (Nigerian slang for fairly-used) car? What if we were well-fed? Would we even allow 10-year old Tokunboh cars into Nigeria in the first place? Would we?
Random Thought: what if majority of Nigerians were well fed with good food & access to premium data analytics & insights (I have a grouse with TV / radio stations here)? Imagine a cab driver, who’s well fed, listening to actionable insights on hydroponics on radio, while driving. . . Imagine what he’ll go back to his farm to do, during farming season.
The grand plan should be to upgrade the quality of choices you make as you course through life. For every deficit in childhood that your parents didn’t or couldn’t give you, walk with God and the universe to do better for yourself, by yourself.
Then you can do better for your children.
My mother’s plan was, what she & my dad couldn’t give us in cash, she gave us in packaging. She taught me the different grades of “Katangowa” (fairly used clothes repackaged for sale) . . . If you don’t know, you don’t know. My dad’s plan was, what he could not give us in cash, he gave us in mind currency (studying, growing in intellect and the likes), so that we’d stand in the company of elitist kids & NEVER feel intimidated.
And I feel for these, I’ve lived a privileged childhood.
