The foreign embassies in Nigeria are bracing up for a stampede. My countrymen are looking to escape and take refuge in another man’s country as the heat is building up in theirs. Our escapist tendencies have returned. Run, as far as you can and leave the challenges behind. I have been wondering what strategy the embassies have in place to contain us.
We are famous for creating magical stories about why we are seeking asylum and this can include lying that our parents are witches or declaring ourselves gay. Other stories are that the government is persecuting us for expressing ourselves (most of these people are unknown to government and have no activist value or even activity to their names) or that they are being forcibly converted or have been targeted by terrorists. The embassies are none the wiser. I am a great traveller and my people have made it difficult for genuine travellers to travel with ease out of the country. The visa sections of especially the more famous countries are replete with Nigerians begging to escape their country. Embassy staff have witnessed bizarre moments of people suddenly falling on their knees and speaking incomprehensible Nigerian languages to visa officers who speak nothing but English. The desperation is painful to watch.
We are currently going through some of our most difficult security challenges. But as I say to friends and family, it has been building a long time. Every successive set of leaders and citizens have contributed to this massive haze we see today. We did not just wake up to these challenges. If you step away from yourself, you will see how your little mess in your corner has snowballed into a national malaise.
Embassy staff have witnessed bizarre moments of people suddenly falling on their knees and speaking incomprehensible Nigerian languages to visa officers who speak nothing but English. The desperation is painful to watch
Last week I got a call from a friend who now lives abroad. She advised that I get out of the country. She was confident that there was nothing left of Nigeria. I have known her a long time. This friend had returned home some time back from America where she barely got by. Spent two years plundering Nigeria along with her friends in very high places. Bought houses and cars and was living large. I could not honestly tell you what she did. She fronted for everybody and became stinkingly rich. Today, she dares to tell me how there will be no Nigeria soon and how I should relocate. I asked her to write a book about how to survive outside your country with little cash and no friends. Then, I will move.
Nigeria is full of mealy-mouthed characters. People who were part of destroying their nation now have the nerve to shout, allocate, dislocate and point fingers. People with no moral high ground to speak at family meetings are now standing in towers shouting themselves hoarse. Oga/madam when you were in a position to help this overburdened nation, what did you do? The nation that gave your parents scholarships, gave you a job and gave you free education. Our fault lines are everywhere but Nigeria is our own creation aided of course by other forces whom we allowed to take us over. Young people say Nigeria has done nothing for them. I hear their pain and this is not to discountenance them. It is tough out there. Be that as it may, it did for our grandparents and for our parents and gave us an identity. If nothing else it gave us jollof rice, sold for 200-naira,100 naira or 50 naira in some places but sold for twenty pounds in Britain. Jollof Rice. That one your cousin, can cook in a New York minute.
Calling for war is not the answer. The life of a run-away Nigerian is not funny. The bills are excruciating, the taxes are crazy and the cost of living is unbelievable. Add that to racism and to the fact that your brother who already lives there will give you accommodation for only one week and throw you out. I have watched desperate journeys many times. Dying in the desert or drowning in the high seas is not the answer. We have to determine how to fix Nigeria. If the embassy staff says we are getting the Doctor to check if your rape story is true. Where will you run to especially when you know no one saw your pant?
I am in the vanguard of fix Nigeria limited one person at a time. We know what to do but we are lying to ourselves and this is not the way to go. Let’s do this!
