Some days ago, I stumbled across an article on a blog. A particular phrase caught my attention: "a real Nigerian is a 'tale of two cities'" (apologies to Charles Dickens).
The average Nigerian tends to live in two worlds or 'cities' — the real world and, if I may, the fake or imagined world.
Take the Nigerian leader as an example. During election campaigns, he makes all the promises, doles out cash at rallies, does a little charity work. But he knows real well that his promises are empty and his plans are to recoup his campaign expenses and become a billionaire during his tenure — one man, two cities.
Take the Nigerian footballer — he starts out in Nigeria, gets a big break and heads to Europe. He plays well for his club side. Then he gets called up to the national team and it becomes a whole different story. This leaves us asking: is this the same player?
The Nigerian civil servant finishes school, prays hard while searching for a job. Finally he gets one and it becomes a different ball game. He comes to the office late, puts in little effort and leaves before closing time. Yet this same man clamours for increase in pay.
The Nigerian student cheats his way through secondary school, cheats in his JAMB examination and gets into university. He 'sorts' and cheats his way through and finally gets his degree. He begins to look for a good paying job while blaming the government for his problems. Yet this graduate cannot defend his degree.
The two cities problem
The average Nigerian never sits to think if he actually contributes to the problem of our nation. It is always someone else's fault. He never wants to agree that his negative actions contribute to the troubles Nigeria is facing.
For quite some time, Nigerian youths have been asking for change through the online media — Twitter, Facebook, blogs. However, it will not be surprising to find that most of these same youths calling for change are actively involved in holding Nigeria down.
They give bribes to police men when they commit traffic offences, yet call the police corrupt. They constantly litter the roads with dirt yet complain about how dirty our cities are. They vote corrupt and clueless leaders into power because they have been given some money, yet they complain about bad leadership.
We do all these and still call for change, revolution, and whatever name you wish to give it. Who will herald this change? Who will lead the revolution? Is it the Nigerian who is a 'tale of two cities'?