The Nigeria Dream is to Kill Dreams

You remembered when you wanted to be a Medical doctor before you switched to microbiology either by choice or force Or when you dreamt of being a top footballer, now you have comfortably accepted your fate as mall security. That’s the story of an average Nigerian whose dream was cut short by either the state, institution or agents of the state.

It is always common to hear seasoned motivational speakers talk about the American dream or how a group of boys from Lisbon went on to become top football stars. You never hear them speak about the Nigerian dream, WHY? It is because the Nigerian dream may not fit into the inspire to aspire mantra or it approves the giving up and flee which isn’t part of the anthem.

The big question is, is there anything like the Nigerian Dream? The big answer is YES. The Nigerian dream is simple and it includes;

1. Graduate from college or finish a business apprenticeship and leave the country upon completion
2. Nigeria killing your dreams

The ultimate Nigeria dream is for Nigeria to kill your dream, few may be lucky while the unlucky majority are presently living in that dream. In many cases, few flew out of the country when it was obvious to them that the dream of Nigeria killing their dream is becoming a reality.

There are many groups that have successfully killed the dreams of many Nigerians, some are mainly trying to protect while the others are just selfish and don’t care what happens to your dreams. Some of the groups include;

1. Law Enforcement Agencies: Top of the list is the Police, they have over the years cut short the dreams of many Nigerian youths. Ranked the worst in the world but that seems not to be a problem to them as they have always constantly given Nigerians reasons to hate them. It is no longer a secret that in one of their various killing spree, they gunned down a Young a computer science graduate that returned after graduating from Indian University. A young brilliant Nigerian who just completed his undergraduate programme was killed in cold blood and till date, the police have shown no sign of repentance or bringing to book the erring officers.
2. Jamb/Universities: The Nigerian university is truly an agent of change and can either make lose your dream or roll with the new dream they have awarded you. The recent is the sudden change of course to many newly admitted students of the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Shocked? Never, this is Nigeria and it is part of the system to frustrate you so you just give up in your dreams. Are we going to forget how a 15-year-old Franklin Ekele who was highest in the Jamb exam was denied admission into UNILAG because according to them, he is underage? There are thousands like him who will be denied admission because of their age but were not denied purchasing and online filling of the jamb form.
3. Parents: Shocked? I don’t expect you to be if you are a Nigerian. A country like Nigeria, every parent want their children to study either medicine, Engineering or Law. If you are doing anything that is not included in the above, you will need to show them proof of successful people from that particular field. You won’t blame them, they have been so long in the country to know that your passion may not put food on your table.
4. MDAs: This is like the corruption den in Nigeria. This is where all the ‘Nigerians are corrupt’ emanate from. In their fight to lead the pack of people that will kill your dream in Nigeria, they use every tactic including nepotism, corruption and unethical practice. There are many examples of Nigerians that have been denied their dreams because of WHO DO YOU KNOW HERE?. There are many cases of footballers dropped before a football tournament because someone made a call, what happens to the dropped talent? Many Nigerians have been abandoned in their worst by the same agency they represented, many Nigerians have lost scholarship opportunities because of whoo do you know the behaviour of our civil servants.

Nigeria is a jungle where a lot of people are fighting without gloves to survive, a slack will lead to Nigeria happening to you and you may end up becoming one of the affected majority whose dream has been affected by the Nigeria dream.