The Nigerian dream is a reflection of a society in which corruption is tolerated and justice does not predominate.
What is the Nigerian dream?: Have you ever stopped to think about what the Nigerian dream actually entails? Many people in Nigeria hold the view that the “Nigerian dream” is to leave the country and start a new life somewhere else. Even though we have seen a consistent and massive migration of people from this country to other countries beginning in the 1980s, this is not the Nigerian dream.
Yes, there are a lot of young people in Nigeria who fantasize about leaving this country for better opportunities elsewhere. On the other hand, this is not a dream. It is impossible to ignore the fact that a significant number of Nigerians are currently working in low-paying jobs outside the country and subsisting from paycheck to paycheck.
A life of ease and security is not guaranteed for every Nigerian who leaves the country to start a new life elsewhere. A great number of people quickly realize that life on the other side is not the bed of roses that Hollywood led them to believe it would be. There are many people from Nigeria who wish they could return home, but they are unable to do so because they are embarrassed by the fact that they will be doing so empty-handed. This is not the Nigerian dream because many Nigerians are currently enduring their worst nightmares outside of the country. Now, let’s talk about the Nigerian dream, shall we? It is not complicated. The goal is to achieve success by any means available to you.
Consider the implications of that for a moment. “Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” is how one person described life in Nigeria. The average person in this area lives to be 53 years old. 67% of Nigerians are considered to be living in poverty. It is still a myth that there is a constant supply of electricity. There is an alarmingly high level of police brutality, with operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad routinely extorting, illegally detaining, and assaulting young people in Nigeria.
The Nigerian dream is a twisted aspiration, and it is buried deep within this pile of difficult circumstances that is called Naija. The phrase “to succeed against all odds, by any means necessary” encapsulates the essence of the Nigerian dream. And there are a great many possibilities. In addition to the problems that have already been mentioned, there is also the absence of a public health care system, a low level of education, and unemployment. The chances of the younger generation in Nigeria succeeding in life are extremely low.
The Nigerian people are determined and will prevail despite the challenges they face. In spite of the fact that we have our backs against the wall, we have consistently discovered a way not only to survive, but also to thrive. Permit me to explain the meaning of the word “succeed” in this setting using slang that you are already familiar with. Hammer or blow is the meaning of the word succeed in this context. When a Nigerian says “I wan blow,” they are expressing the aspirational goal of every Nigerian. On the song ‘Yahooze,’ Olu Maintain sang, “When I hammer, first thing na Hummer.” This is an example of the Nigerian dream being put into action.
The people in our country are simply unwilling to make do. Because they are aware that tomorrow cannot be guaranteed, their goals include achieving great success and amassing a substantial amount of wealth. People will participate in the rat race in a society that does not provide adequate social safety nets, such as dependable pension plans and quality medical care. The objective is to be able to make the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time as is humanly possible.
Because of this, Nigerians typically do not think in terms of the long term when making decisions. Your landlord is aware that you pay the rent on a monthly basis, but they still ask you for the full year’s rent up front. He demands that the rent be paid in full for an entire year because, who knows, you could get fired tomorrow with no prior warning or your employer could start to owe you months’ worth of salary. The image of a nice house with a picket fence, which is the symbol of the middle class in America, is the embodiment of the American dream. In Nigeria, the middle class is quite precarious, and all it takes is one mistake to fall into poverty.
The phrase “by any means necessary” indicates that we are willing to break the rules as well as bend them in order to become wealthy. A society that has lost its moral compass is characterized by a high level of corruption because its members are willing to break the rules in order to succeed in life. In a society in which there is little or no justice and safety nets, the citizens would do everything within their power to have a life that is at least somewhat respectable. And this is exactly what is taking place in Nigeria at the moment. Everyone in Nigeria, from politicians to average citizens, is working hard to amass as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time possible so that we can lead satisfying lives.
Because of this, there are dishonest people on the Internet. The desire to “hammer” and “blow” other people is what drives criminal activity in this country. In today’s society, where the odds are stacked against them, young men are willing to do anything it takes to make a fortune for themselves. Maybe we should stop referring to it as the Nigerian dream and start calling it the Nigerian nightmare instead. If you live in a place where life is a living hell, then the dreams you have can’t possibly be beautiful; rather, they are a perversion of what it means to have healthy ambition.
And this is the reason why the Nigerian society is so overly focused on material goods. The mentality of “crabs in a barrel” gives rise to the desire to demonstrate that one is superior to one’s neighbor. You want to make a show of yourself because you want to let everyone know that you have escaped the hellhole. You want to be able to boast that you did everything that was required of you in order to be successful.
This is the Nigerian dream, the intense yearning to achieve success despite any and all obstacles and by any means possible. If you take a look around, you will notice that the majority of successful people believe that this dream is possible.
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