MY NAIJA...MY PRIDE!!!

I’m sure when you see this title, you might be like my Naija my Pride? Really? Is there

anything to be proud about?

I woke up this morning, there was no light, but before I get depressed

about that, I quickly remember there has been no light for so long

now, getting depressed won’t change that

So I choose to be happy….

My sister called me to complain about the water in her area,

“there’s no water” she said, and when the taps decide to run,

the water is too dirty! My dear, I’m, just tired!

I felt her pain, I was going to complain, but I remember what her

compound looks like

Everybody has “jejely” bought their drums…they pay the

“Meruwas” to fill it up. At least there’s a temporary

solution…

So I choose to be happy….

A group of people were out in the cool evening, talking about

different issues, then I heard them say people are going about scared,

they have intensified their prayers, they now watch their backs as

they move around. But why is this so? One man yelled at me “see this

one oh, u no know say 2016 don reach? Everybody wants to make it this year so be careful make dem no kidnap you or worse still use you for rituals”

I should have been scared, I should have been angry in my spirit, why

should money making in my country be diabolical instead of intellectual?

But we are still alive and they say once there’s life, there’s

hope

So I choose to be happy…

Amidst all the wrong things we see going on in our country, I still

wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s given us hope, hope so strong

that even in our daily challenges as humans, Naijarians (i.e. the

proper naija people, not the ajebo ones) have a way of staying happy through the storm

We have a way of igniting the hope within us and keeping that fire of

hope burning so strong that people start to wonder why we are not yet

beat down

Fela sang “suffering and smiling” back in his days, the truth is,

the suffering hasn’t seized but the smiles are even bigger

Someone once asked me why we make a joke of serious issues, I told the

person, those aren’t mere jokes, in those jokes lie our strength,

our faith, our re-assurance that we will keep smiling and that our

great Naija will rise again to proudly take back its title as the

Giant of Africa.

No matter the country I’ll get the opportunity to travel to, I’m

sure I’ll still crave for my Egusi soup and Garri, my Amala and

Abula, going to a wedding and seeing our colourful ankara everywhere

with gele skentele that looks like a highrise building, so many things that will bring me back home.

I would have said, I’ll miss the naija spirit, but that is always

inside of us, wherever we go, keeping us ever confident and smiling

through the hardships.

So don’t forget, when people ask you again how you do it, what

exactly makes you so confident, just tell them it comes with being a

proper Naijarian. So there is something to be proud about.  Your Naija spirit.

You can hit your chest and say My Naija…My Pride!