Imagine having a job of N5m every month as salary. It sounds unheard of in Nigeria, but it can be heard in the United States. In fact, my friend Henry just jumped ship and landed a sweet job in South Africa.
Another buddy of mine recently took the plunge and decided he’s had enough, too – and relocated to the sandy enclave of Dubai. He sends me emails often about enjoying a quality lifestyle which is beyond his wildest imagination.
They’re not alone, though. This year, a large number of Nigerians are set to not only escape Nigeria, but also to renounce their citizenship.
A friend of mine, Victor, lives in Sweden and says he always feels like living in a Utopian society. It’s INCREDIBLE! he screams on the phone each time we talk. He tells me of all the statistics of the Nordic countries. The way he talks is like describing only the candle on a chocolate cake. Wait until you taste it. Living in Nigeria is like eating ‘kpako’ biscuit and saying “that is good enough” when the cake is just across the table to dig in....
Why are they struggling to leave? Did you just ask that question?
For the first time in many years, we are recording a huge number of skilled and educated young and older Nigerians and industries heading for the exits.
Hint: It has nothing to do with being unpatriotic.
You see, it’s not the sudden heat all over the country that is driving people away… it’s the idea of being tied to what Nigeria has become.
Growing up, I was part of a patriotic family. I worshipped Nigeria almost to the point of idolatry. I was happy when the soldiers came back from Liberia. My catechism teacher lost her son in the war, and we did our best to console her.
Now I wonder… are we ever going to be that nation of plenty again, or have we already taken our “first step into a thousand years of darkness with the second coming of our lord and saviour, Buhari?
With the current hardship in the country, it is already looking like Goodluck Jonathan was elected President in a distant era, many years ago. Nigeria has changed so much since then.
It is also looking like whatever change the second coming of Buhari could have brought about will forever remain a mystery.
Isn’t it time for us to seriously start thinking of changing the change?
The most important “change” we should consider right now is changing President Buhari.
We all can perhaps recall vividly one of the promises of the President, “I will pay all Nigerian jobless youth N5,000 every month.” But denouncing the promise now with a first-rate accent now seems stupid and uncalculated. It was a beautiful song to all Nigerian youths amidst the gargantuan level of hardship in the country. It was lauded as “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at the sunset.”
We need to find someone as soon as possible with the intelligence to save Nigeria from impending disaster. We need to take a stand now. We cannot continue to give the country away to misfit politicians. We need a leader who will rally us to once again embrace the unique Nigerian values of honesty, hard work, and the love of God, which led to our success in the 70s.
I don’t know if I should advise you to start running to the border or stay and fight, because I still feel there is some hope left to turn Nigeria back and restore what has been taken from us by those misfits in Abuja. It is going to take men and women of courage to speak up against this destructive force that is ripping the heart out of our country. I must sincerely admit a fondness for a previous time when “change” hadn’t yet come to Nigeria.
