Being a Bachelor (19)
The Real World is Real
Okay, I agree to my naivety.
I’ve always been told about the real world outside the walls of school, and hardly has anyone ever painted a good picture of this real world. It has always been talked about as one hellish place; no justice and nobody cares about you. More like you’re a Daniel inside a den of untamed Lions.
While I had all the reasons to be fearful and pessimistic like most of my colleagues and seniors, somehow I remained blind. At the time, I consider myself quite exposed and if I can’t see life the way these people see it, then something is wrong with them, not me.
Case in point, I had heard people talk about the increasing rate of smokers and I’m like “there are not so many smokers like that.” I mean, I haven’t seen so many. It took me to be a graduate to understand why cigarette manufacturers will advise that smokers are liable to die young. Gosh! That number is fearful. A lot of young people out there smoking, doing what I dare not consider when I was that age.
Also, after graduation, I realized the extent of rape, assault, abuse and how deep these things have eaten into the fabric of the society. These things didn’t make sense to me. People in my circle spoke less about these things. We weren’t engaged in them and if anyone was going through any of these things, it was just 1 out of 10. So, it wasn’t normal. The prevalence of these things don’t even make sense.
In my naivety, it was easy for me to dream and aspire a seamless future, a bed of roses kind of life. Graduates have come to tell us how difficult it is to secure a job and; in my naivety, I steady denounced that reality. Somewhere in my mind, I’d say Nigeria is not that difficult.
This naivety further formed my opinion on popular subject matters till now, it makes me easily disregard some conversations in the media space. I see them as distractions and a lot of times, I expect common sense to be the judge to most of the issues on the trend table. But, like always most humans are not sane these days, spewing foolish takes and you begin to wonder if there’s a different breed of humanity you aren’t plugged into yet. Sadly, the ideals of humanity are gradually fading away.
Why would anybody think beating his wife is a means to secure his title as the head of the house? Stupid! Why would a girl remain in a relationship with a guy that beats her? Foolishness. Why will yahoo yahoo boys be praised as the messiah in their homes? Very very stupid.
My naivety handed me a different lens to view my society, it made me see privileges, explore them and got praised and highly respected for them. I was/am an optimist to the core.
I remember at my first post NYSC job interview, I met this guy who was so angry with Nigeria. He said there’s no future in Nigeria and nobody can ever make it here; he gave so many sound reasons but there I was, arguing tooth and nail that he was wrong. I told him I will make it and make it big. It was one of those arguments you engaged in but remember striking lines that would have made you won when you get home.
As an undergrad too, I was too Nigerian that I told myself I’ll never travel out of here, I was so sure to blow in this same Nigeria. Anyway, I know this travelling is happening soonest!
For all the things I believe I could do with the ignorance of the 1million limitations that wouldn’t make it work, I did them, did them well and advised people to be like me.
I think there’s a bliss in that naivety. My eyes were shut for me to see the world clearly to my benefit. For most Nigerians however, I know it’s too late to shut your mind against these anomalies we’re steady experiencing, but a good help is finding like-minded communities.
It was community that helped me; I am highly faith-based and my optimism level is something else, it pains me when people don’t see the possibilities I see. More reason why my greatest turn off is sluggishness.
These days, I have realized that those senior colleagues were right. The Nigerian debate guy too is right, but you know what’s right too? That I’m still going to make it big in this same Nigeria that doesn’t seem to be working.
It’s okay to be a Blind Nigerian.
