27 People Share Their Least Favorite Part About Being A Nigerian
Being a Nigerian comes with its fun and joys as well as its problems. The country these days is all about ‘catching cruise’ and who can blame them? From negligent leaders to kidnapping, to lack of good electricity supply system to the recent ban on Twitter, in fact, Nigerians have had their fair share of miseries dished out to them these past few months. Let’s not even talk about the upcoming protest on June 12th which is tomorrow.
So to lighten up the mood a bit, on this week’s episode of Afrogist, we have 27 people share their least favourite part of being a Nigerian. You can see if anyone’s thought resonates with yours, lol.
“The identity alone Nigerian scares me!”
Mr. T (M)
Benin City
“Insecurity. Not knowing if you’ll see tomorrow if you by mistake and leave your house.”
Patty (F)
Delta State
“Inferiority complex. If you venture to go outside, I mean leave the country, and you hear people talking so confidently, not looking down to speak, you’ll know that Nigeria’s idea of “respect/culture” is just timidity and self-imbibed ‘no-confidence’.”
Ella (F)
Lagos
“The fact that our dreams die an unnatural death because of the situation of this country!”
AngryNigerian
Nigeria
“Knowing that a basket of garri is now almost 1000NGN”
Babe (F)
Nigeria
“I don’t have enough money to get out of here fast enough. Aghh”
Seyi
Nigeria
“Everyone thinks we are criminals. The world doesn’t trust us. We don’t trust ourselves.”
C (M)
Nigeria
“Queer people get shamed all the time.”
Elo (F)
Nigeria
“Nigerians mind their business when they shouldn’t and forget to mind it when they should. Clowns!”
Senior (M)
Nigeria
“Somebody cannot be sexy for a whole day in peace. If the sun does not drain the makeup, rain will help you to wash it away. If none of those happen, one weyrey will just come and splash mud water on your fine dress. Abeg wahala too plenty 😫”
Feisty (F)
Lagos, Nigeria
“We have dictators. But we call them government officials here.”
Debora (F)
Nigeria
“The fact that we have and have always had bad leadership.”
K (M)
Lagos, Nigeria
“The part that we have dumbasses for leaders ☺️”
KO (M)
Benin, Nigeria
“That a lot of Nigerians are scared to come together to oppose bad government, while the rest are indifferent to the terrible happenings in the country.”
Carl (M)
Benin City, Nigeria
“Waking up in Nigeria.”
Joy
“Not being able to boast about my origin wherever I go. People just automatically see you as a fraud or a crook or dubious or a liar….you get the idea. Anything bad is automatically associated with you. It’s a lil but traumatized tbh”
Lucius (M)
Naija
“Insecurity and lack of social amenities. This country takes the least important things seriously and leaves the most important things as casual….Nigerians be cruising on everything like they don’t know they’re cruising to their death. I hate our callousness and indifference to everything!……it’s probably why we’re still where we are. Nigerians better awaken from your useless slumber!”
Toluwani (F)
Texas, New York
“I would like to talk about the bad roads in our environment..journeys that ought to take a short while become too long and boring before arrival at the destination. It’s exhaustive and extraordinarily tiring. Because of this, there’s an increase in the number of road accidents. God go punish NEPA. The power supply is so poor, and those who even manage to pay their bills through their noses still don’t get the value for their money. The subtle extortion from banks and network providers is becoming super exorbitant! Why would I be billed for every N5 transaction? Very soon, this Buhari administration would still ask us to pay to breathe.”
Esther (F)
Benin City, Nigeria
“Mine is very short and simple: Buhari. That man and the dilapidated cost of living he’s thrown Nigerian in. It’s disgustingly cringe-worthy.”
Esosa (F)
Lagos, Nigeria
“There’s a lot, but for the purpose of this, I’ll keep it simple. I hate being a Nigerian the most when I’m faced with the many impossibilities of the system in the country. The way nothing works, and the degeneration of the economy, day in and day out. I hate how it’s becoming okay to be passive and pass up on your basic human rights like that’s the new normal. I hate the restriction of our basic right to speech and freedom of expression. I love Nigeria, but I hate it more—at least, presently in this Buhari’s administration.”
Multipontentialist. (F)
Reporting live from UAR
—the country we did not choose.
“I hate that I’m gonna graduate as an average student only because I am Nigerian, and I was less privileged to have been born into a system that does not and would never work for the have-nots. I hate being Nigerian anytime I’m out in a position with my foreign counterparts, and realize that there’s so much I should and would have been if not for these limitations.”
Bangirl (M)
“I hate the educational system, especially at the university level. I hate our self-centered and ill-absorbed lecturers who see themselves as the ultimate after God the Father. I hate our leaders who parade themselves as clowns on national TV without a sign of shame or remorse.”
Teeteee (F)
Somewhere on earth
“I hate that people who have money have it bastardly, and those that don’t, have it like church rats. It is disgusting and it’s one of the reasons why this life is not balanced. Sapa, nice one. I’m coming for this money y’all so that when I walk into a room, you all would respect me. Nigerians are all mad!!”
Brorising (M)
“The rising tide of insecurity and tribal/cultural clash is indeed alarming. I hate it when Nigerians see themselves as an Igbo or Yoruba man first before seeing themselves as Nigerians. It is disgusting to see how a people of such high intellect would be this basic and sentimental in the face of tribal prejudice.”
The real intellect (F)
Tokyo
“I hate being called short and fat by Nigerians. They see it often as a reflection of good living without realizing that such uncouth words only hurt my general self esteem. The country does not help matters, either. The schools that should provide standard education now parade itself as a hunting ground for predators, cultists, and uncouth money-grubbing lecturers.”
I can’t say (F)
“I’ve got none…. The fact that I am ruled by someone who doesn’t care about my future breaks me daily. Can’t I just choose what nationality I want after 18yrs????”
Gee (M)
Lagos (VPN: Canada)
“The fact that we can’t tour our country due to insecurities. There are some beautiful places I would like to go to but fear of the road and fear that the people there want to exploit strangers in their lane. Another one is that we Nigerians aren’t trustworthy, our integrity is shaking.”
De Queen (F)
Delta
So, there you have it. I guess even at the present state of things, there are still a few who are proud of being Nigerians. Personally, I feel Nigeria is a beautiful place that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. That is, not regarding the bad roads and rising insecurity issues of course. The people also are; for lack of a better word, a vibe. That means extremely fun to be around. Therefore, as Nigeria celebrates democracy tomorrow, I wish them a Happy Democracy Day.
Hope you enjoyed this week’s episode.
- Stories collected are shared only with the writer’s permission.
- Names may or may not be real to ensure anonymity.
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