Reality or Not…
The lure of a foreign land has always been a sub-conscious desire for many Nigerians, Africans and many nationals of other less privileged countries who have always thought that advanced countries were paved with gold and one could so easily pick up hard currencies on the streets.
In Nigeria, this craving or “craze” dates back to at least a couple decades; right after the “oil boom” era of our economic growth, when Nigeria plunged into an “oil doom” phase. Since that era, the country has struggled to keep at pace with its neighbors all around the world and with this, Nigerians have continuously sought succor abroad as a way out.
I recently had a flashback of an uncle of mine coming back for a first time visit to Nigeria after a 15 year sojourn in the USA and I remember how eager everyone was to see him. We looked forward to his visit with such enthusiasm and we went out of our way to cook and clean in anticipation.
This was in the early 1990s when only a few people were privileged to travel outside the shores of Nigeria and have the chance of a life time to experience what is so aptly called the “western culture”.
I never thought or imagined that the day would come when I would be on the other side. After all, I did not think I had any reason to believe that I needed to escape from the economic crisis that was fast becoming our lot as a nation. A nation where its graduates stayed home for at least 5 years in search of a job with little hope for the future.
The whole situation looked gloomy and hopeless from my perspective although I never showed that aspect. I went about like many other patriotic Nigerian who had a dream that someday soon, things would turn around for the better.
I was a home buddy for sure and never looked for any opportunity to run abroad like many people did. I always thought it was “naija for life”. Besides, no one I knew thought I had the silent desire like the rest of my people to go “pluck” foreign currency from the streets of a foreign land.
I always knew it would happen except I did not have any clue how? I remember telling people that I would never do an “all-nighter” at the American embassy or any other embassy, ever. I never quite understood why Nigerians would choose to show their desperation in such a manner. The chaos that unfolded in the morning with people fighting for a place in line to go in for their scheduled interview was just insane.
We had dropped off my aunt one evening because she had an interview the next morning and I remember shaking my head in absolute dismay because I just couldn’t comprehend why anyone would want to put themselves through any of that; first the mosquitoes from the canal, then the area boys, the sleepless night; to me that just did not make sense.
I remember vowing to my aunt right there that I would never put myself through this just to travel to America…..NEVER… and I never did. When the time came for me to join everyone else abroad I never did an “all-nighter”. I guess that was the power of positive thinking, faith or my sub-conscious way of calling on the universe and visualizing something and bringing it to existence except without the popular “vision board” associated with all that.
When the time came, it was magical; the way everything just fell into place was like a miracle unfolding right before my eyes. That made me a believer in “fate” or “destiny” or even “chance” whatever you choose to call it. It felt like perhaps those evil people shut their eyes for one minute and I quickly escaped or at least that was how I felt while boarding that plane.
I remember walking down the tarmac and feeling like that was it for me and I do not want to ever come back to Nigeria. The truth was I was done with 9ja for real but I guess one can only make their plans and God’s plan supersedes everything else. I did not ever think that NOSTALGIA would set in a few months after, especially as I began to miss all my popular Nigerian food like “mama put”, “suya”, roasted plantain ‘boli”, “ewa agayin”, “gbegiri” and “ewedu” with “amala”, “edi kaikong” and “afang soup”; oh boy! It was tough. I went through the craving and withdrawal, I mean the whole 9 YARDS, am sure you get the drift.
The isolation also drove me nuts since I have always loved socializing; working hard all week and partying hard all weekend. The problem with Yankee is that everyone is too busy working, working and working some more because unlike the life in Nigeria, they actually have a long list of bills to pay and are held responsible and accountable for default.
Besides their notorious “credit system” does not make it any easy for immigrants who are not used to paying their bills on time. There is no “come back today” or “come back tomorrow”.
The entire system is wired to rotate along the axis of the notion that “we trust you to make wise judgments and live up to your responsibilities” and unfortunately, the more money you make, the more you pay in bills and utilities. This system is so unlike that in Nigeria where it is “pay as you earn” – PAYE, except in this case, PAYE means one did not have to pay anything if they did not earn anything which further translated to “no income, no payment” – which was the case most of the time.
A person can “hang” with some friends or family members and leech off them until whenever; no one complained. People managed to survive against all odds and the more people, the merrier. You know the saying “misery loves company”; hardship can bind people together and make them a common denominator against suffering.
This is not the case in the USA; there is no leeching in fact it is very typical to see a family member throw out another in the cold for flimsy reasons. The threshold for tolerance is highly limited and people have a sense of independence. No one has the patience to tolerate a jobless relative because it was a simple case of numbers and the more people you have in your house, the more you pay in bills every month.
I am always amazed at the condition that we all live in and the insurmountable odds that we fight against to survive abroad yet so many would not trade it for returning back to Nigeria. It is insane and I know a lot of people are finding it very tough to survive and you dare not suggest they return back home.
I have had people tell me that they cannot trade their safety for anything especially in the wake of armed robbers, area boys, “one chance” and the likes. No one wants to give up their 24hr electricity for the unreliability of the Nigerian Electric Power Authority - NEPA; their transformer story or repetitive fuel scarcity.
The reality is that with the current economic situation abroad, many people are actually considering the option of relocating back home if the opportunity presented itself. I guess on the long run, it is all about the money and where it is. Perhaps the streets of Nigeria are now pave with gold and trees of cash that one can easily pluck.
There is yet hope for a brighter tomorrow for Nigeria and hopefully we can consider bringing back all the talents that we have left the shores of our country for an adventure abroad. It is probably time to flock back home and prove our patriotism. What can I say; necessity has always been the mother of invention.
Until next edition, I hope every one of our readers will stay safe so they can continue to support this magazine. We do work very hard to give you the best and know that you do appreciate it because we appreciate y’all.
Marion Amanambu-UKWU
No comments:
Post a Comment