I live in Nigeria

I live in Nigeria.

In a land blessed with an abundance of natural and human resources. A population of 200 million and plentiful mineral resources, including oil. A very diverse people with over 250 distinct ethnic groups. Very optimistic and happy people, leading the world’s happiness index. Very hardworking and resilient despite our myriad of challenges — insecurity, corruption, nepotism, poor infrastructural development, etc.

I live in Nigeria.

I haven’t had light (electricity supply from the power grid) in the past 3 days. I have been surviving on a combination of an independent petrol based electricity generator and an inverter. I am one of the lucky few who can afford them. Petrol has been extremely scarce for the past couple of weeks with people having to stay on petrol queues sometimes overnight and often longer just to fill up their car tanks. Even worse, to top up my generator, I previously used a jerry can to purchase fuel and empty into the tank of the generator. Now, hat has been outlawed and we have to take our generators to the filling stations for top ups.

I live in Nigeria.

Where there are always endless traffic queues, stand stills really, on the roads. This is caused by a number of factors: First, the roads are terrible, dotted with huge potholes all over, including on highways. The public transport system is pathetic, therefore, even people who can barely afford the base maintenance cost of owning a car have to purchase a, often fairly used, personal car which in turn, translates to an over population of cars on the roads which worsens the traffic situation. Finally, there are so many broken down and abandoned tankers and trailers along the roads effectively narrowing the motorable parts of the roads further.

I live in Nigeria.

The year is 2017 and we have been in a recession, depression even, since late 2014 (although the official message track claims otherwise). The Naira exchange rate vs the USD moved from N160 : $1 through N520 : $1 and now, N360 : $1. Prices of everything have, at least, doubled. Some items have increased as much as 10x. Salaries have, instead of increasing commensurately, declined while unemployment is on a steep, steady rise.

I live in Nigeria.

90% of Nigerian youths are entrepreneurs; not because of a burning passion for their businesses but because they are simply seeking to make ends meet. At least 3 people in my immediate network make or sell virtually everything imaginable, often on a very small scale. I can’t patronize them all simultaneously, who can? We work so hard, yet get so little for all our hard work.

I live in Nigeria.

Our president has probably spent more time on medical trips to the UK than performing his presidential duties in Nigeria yet, he is bidding for a 2nd term. The governor of Imo state spent millions, if not billions, of taxpayers money to erect humongous statues of people who have no history or affiliation whatsoever with the people of the state; yet, when questioned about it, his response was “My statues are very expensive”.

I live in Nigeria.

It’s not easy being any one of the 200 million of us.