Being a Nigerian is very tough, very problematic, and very unnerving. As a Nigerian, we (myself and every common person that doesn't hold a political office) have tried to make the best of our stay in our homeland, but to no avail.
I used to hear a very popular saying, "no place like home", and I keep wondering if this is actually home, or maybe I need a new home? I think that saying is true for "home" in its literal sense, no home in terms of hometown, home country or home nation - home is now basically where one finds comfort, and if it is outside your hometown, home country, or home continent, the question remains - do you feel at home? - If you do, we can all agree that there's no place like home.
But as a Nigerian living in Nigeria, I honestly do not feel at home. That's why I could relate very well to the wordings of this song I heard lately. This song was done by a popular Nigerian artiste known as Jude Abaga (MI - Mr Incredible, AKA The Guy). It was him decrying the deplorable situation of our home country which has made home feel nothing like it.
Plan B by MI Abaga
Lately, there has been a mass exodus of Nigerians to other well-to-do nations, especially the young population, and this song emphasizes the situation as all source of hope for young Nigerians is being shattered, be it from the political class, religious class, and more.
The song is was sung in Nigerian Pidgin, but it simply shared facts about the situation of the country, here are some comments from the video that emphasizes that:
Basically, you can hardly find anyone in Nigeria who doesn't share the sentiments from that song. It didn't go viral as I would have expected, but for the few of us who discovered it, it meant a lot. It was reassuring, and gave us hope that we're not alone in the mess we go through as a nation, and as people from and living in Nigeria.
One line that struck me better is when he added that being a Nigerian is not compulsory, or a compulsion. Basically, we are tired and tired of trying to make things work.
We can only hope for the best, but till then, we keep relying on the works of good artistes such as M.I Abaga and a numerous others to draw some comfort. Also, all hope is not lost, we still remain optimistic.
