Whoever said ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ was obviously referring to a Nigerian.
I once read a post that said, “If Antarctica somehow became habitable, a Nigerian would be the first to live there”, and I wholeheartedly agree. I mean, where’s the lie? It’s almost like Nigerians will go anywhere, they always try to ‘Japa’ but still say “Ajo ole daabi ile(no place like home)”.
Give them a yard and they’ll run miles. Give them a runway and they’ll fly farther than the mind can imagine. Nigerians can survive anything and anywhere, and it’s not without cause.
Shaped by a lifetime of hardship and a series of wonky governance, the average Nigerian has many coping mechanisms to manage life. First on that list, is the ability to turn any serious situation into a joke, whether it’s the kidnapping of students, the insensitivity of the government, police extortion, the spike in fuel price, or even the death of innocent people; I’ve never met a situation that Nigerians can’t laugh at, except ENDSARS of course. They understand that humour is much cheaper than therapy. Nigerians aren’t masochists, don’t get me wrong, Dangote’s recent IPO proves that. No, it’s just what happens when a person has very little in life to laugh about, but still chooses to laugh all the same. Somehow they choose to defy every odd stacked against them. I think it’s one of the things I admire most about them. Everyone should be a Nigerian.
Do you think I’m exaggerating? Nigerians travel abroad for school and graduate top of their class. Nigerians have proved time and time again that they can beat the odds and rise above their challenges. From the likes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who is a world-renowned author and one of the most prominent, influential cultural voices in contemporary global literature, to Dr. Cosmas Maduka, who outgrew his poor background and is now the CEO of a multibillion-naira conglomerate, and even Tunde Onakoya, who beat his own record and currently holds (as at the time of writing this article) the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon ever played. Many examples and variations of similar success stories exist, all from a country that people refer to as “poverty capital”.
I believe you have heard the Nigerian parody of Newton’s law of motion. If you haven’t it states that, ‘a moving man will eventually meet his luck’. Keep moving and you will eventually find success.
This brings me to the second coping mechanism -the hustle culture. Outrun your pain and depression fast enough, and it will not catch up to you, or so many believe anyway. Beyond survival, Nigerians use work to avoid harsh realities they don’t want to confront in their own lives. Be it a heartbreak or the death of a loved one. Work hard enough, and the mind has no time to indulge itself with flimsy matters like mental health. As if you can outrun a hard life.
It’s not strange to find someone who’s a digital marketer, ads manager, social media manager and content creator all at the same time. It’s also not strange to find an engineering graduate working a POS at the market. The average Nigerian youth/graduate is a polymath, not out of passion, but of survival. One source of income became a myth a long time ago and bills will bury you before sand ever gets a chance to. Everyone should be a Nigerian.
Third on that list, is their ability to party. Nigerians know how to live each day like it’s their last (because it very well might be) and thus, will throw all caution to the wind when they gather together to celebrate. I think a special award should be given to the Yorubas for this, and not just because every proper party is now an ‘Owambe’ but they no dey ever carry last’. Nigerians know how to come together to celebrate a national win, they have your back for inteNATIONAL reasons; take Hilda Baci’s cook-a-thon for example. And when someone else from another country attempted to beat that record the following year, Nigerians did not spare her.
Nigerians have mastered the art of ‘it is well’, we move, God dey, omo, e go be and other popular Nigerian slangs, just so they do not go insane. Because every day brings a new series of problems and some people have started adding, ‘let Nigeria not happen to me’, in their prayer points. Because you can have all the money in the world, but if there’s no ambulance to rush your bleeding pregnant wife to the hospital, you will lose her and a baby you never had a chance to meet. Because if there’s an ambulance, but no free lane in that terrible Lagos traffic, you will lose them. Because if you somehow miraculously got to the hospital in time, there might not be light, or the hospital may not be well-equipped to handle the situation. Because you can not outgrow a broken system. You cannot outrun it, either. So, if you consume all the wealth in the country sitting in a position of power but turn a blind eye towards making the systems great, then Nigeria might as well happen to you.
Nigerians receive suffering like an old friend. End a toxic relationship and people will judge you for not being tolerant or patient enough. Resign from a toxic workspace and people will tell you you’re lazy. As if hardship is some badge to be proudly worn on the chest. You can hardly blame them, though; they are already in a toxic relationship with the government.
I could have talked about other things, like how Nigerians are so nuanced with their insults, and esoteric too. One person said to another on X, “if they put your brain in a bird, it will fly backwards”, and I was cackling in my seat, wondering how the person even came up with that and other typical comments that only a Nigerian could possess. I could have talked about the sarcastic responses they give to silly questions or how they always invent a new vocabulary and despite the 250 ethnics group birthing different languages, they have a popular lingua Franca, but I chose to talk about their resilience, because it deserves to be acknowledged. It deserves recognition. Everybody should be Nigerian.
People talk about resilience in Nigeria like it’s a gift. No, it is a skill we learned because systems failed. It’s the civil servant waking up at four to beat traffic, after moving fast out of the house only to come and ‘Go Slow’. The truth is, if you can survive in Lagos, you can survive anywhere else in the world. It’s the father taking odd jobs so he can meet up with school fees; it’s the undergraduate learning a side hustle because ASUU has gone on strike; it’s the overworked graduate trying to meet up with rent; it’s the numerous people shouting “Up NEPA!!” but still saving up for inverters and generators because darkness is more common than light. It is laughing at the same country that makes you cry, because if you don’t cry, you will collapse.
I believe Nigeria has always been great, not someday but today because of our resilient mindset, many others believe that too. But more greatness will come when we individually decide to change, when we’ve individually decided that we’ve had enough. To every Nigerian struggling out there, wondering whether any of this is worth it at all. You are seen and you are loved.
This article is specially dedicated to you.
For our mindset is the reason every Nigerian has made it, for our resilience and hustle culture. That in itself is a national trophy, we may not brag of total independence for financial or political-economy reasons but of resilience we brag. That for sure we bagged on the first day of October, 1960. 1st of October is the past and it is still the future.
Happy Independence, my dear country.
Happy 66th Birthday, my dear fatherland!
Writers: Olatudun Oluwatunmininu & Goodness Felix-Adebayo
Editor: Goodness Felix-Adebayo
“Everyone should become a Nigerian”
~GFA