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The Nigeria I Never Knew - Literature - Nairaland

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The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 10:28pm On Aug 15, 2012
I have never ceased to wonder if there was not a time in the history of this country when the present-day senior citizens convened to fabricate fantasies with which the present-day Nigerian youths are constantly tantalized. What if they aren’t just fantasies? What if they actually happened? What if a back-travel in time is the way forward?

I can’t imagine the streams of congratulatory messages that’ll be sent to the presidency, if by some government policy, a Nigerian Naira grows as tall as the American Cent (If $1 = 100 naira), yet I’ve been severally regaled with tales of Once Upon A Time the US Dollar was not Worth the Head of Herbert Macaulay ($1 < 1 naira); can you imagine that? I can’t.

How many times has it been said and proven incontrovertibly that unlike the container-loads of inapplicable craps I was fed with for 11 years in school (6 years at the secondary school and 5 years at the university), timeless values were taught in schools in the old system. How else could anyone explain where Farouk learned to pull the “Hat Trick” that made him $600,000 richer? The most plausible deduction is that he applied what he was taught in school to the present day. How else could anyone explain Alamieyeseigha’s transformation into Agbani Darego in order to jump bail from the UK? (Some male UK prison wardens probably made passes at him on his Prison Break Episode: a beautiful man)-he also applied what he was taught in school. Didn’t General AbdulKareem Adisa’s (Of Notorious Memory) sissy show before Abacha (Of More Notorious Memory) pay him off?

All we are told in schools now is that we are the “Leaders of Tomorrow”, without being told that life only gives you Today: you will have to decide when to christen your Today as Tomorrow for yourself. Now I smile wryly when a senior citizen looks at me and says “The standard of education has fallen”- our professors know some things they aren’t telling us in schools.

Didn’t I also hear that in days of yore, there were no tribal seams in the relationships existing between Nigerians from different ethnic groups? Well, I was told that all that’s needed to initiate a bromance with an Igbo man was a little knowledge of his language, and yes! The Hausa man was very honest and affable (Babangida must be an Haitian or a product of Hausa Genetic Mutation), of course, the Yoruba man just lived a-day-at-a-time and never pored over schemes that’d make him amass superfluous wealth at the expense of neighbours (Sufficient proof that Obasanjo should be deported to Bangladesh where he hails from.). What happened to those meritorious virtues? I can’t find them around here now. Can you?

Are these graduates that can’t find gainful employments after years of graduation really culpable? Is the government that appropriate the national cake and screams back at the aggrieved populace that they “don’t give a damn” really a victim of a disrespectful population?
Whenever I am engrossed in the thoughts of how? where? when? the Utopia that Nigeria used to be became the Hell I have comfortably adapted to, I take solace in Swanand Kikire’s GIVE ME SOME SUNSHINE: this song synopsizes the life of the Nigerian Youth, although it’s majorly sung in the hindi language.
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 8:26am On Aug 17, 2012
Lol. Love this.
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Ishilove: 9:52am On Aug 17, 2012
Hilarious,but tragic
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 10:03am On Aug 17, 2012
Ishilove: Hilarious,but tragic

Yeah, I know, right? I just love his ability with the writing style. Can't for the life of me remember what it's called again.

I talk about Nigeria's problems when I have intelligent discussants to brainstorm and produce possible solutions with. I don't dig Naija bashing at all. But I respect an intelligent representation of the real problems as against foolish, emotional complaints that head nowhere.

I guess that's one reason I like the op. There's been a lot of "good old days" stories that leave me wondering where the bad current days came from. Did they, perchance, fall out of the sky? Like some of our prophets of a better Nigeria expect the great tomorrows to do too, for that matter.

1 Like

Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 7:37pm On Aug 17, 2012
I finally remembered what the writing style's called. Yayyyy!!! It's called Satire. A humorous criticism of a given thing. His use of it is quite good.

2 Likes

Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 9:01pm On Aug 17, 2012
Ihedinobi: Lol. Love this.
Ishilove: Hilarious,but tragic.

Thanks to y'all. I just decided it's time I started to grace the Literature/Writing section with some of my own pieces.
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 9:35pm On Aug 17, 2012
1supremo:


Thanks to y'all. I just decided it's time I started to grace the Literature/Writing section with some of my own pieces.

Well, here's one dude looking forward to more "gracing" grin
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Ishilove: 8:18am On Aug 18, 2012
And this sis too is also looking forward to more from you, 1supremo
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by mkmyers45(m): 9:07am On Aug 18, 2012
Good twisting..
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by firestar(f): 2:49pm On Aug 19, 2012
[size=18pt]Now you're talking...
Music to ma ears. Let's sing a duet... [/size]cheesy
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 6:45pm On Aug 24, 2012
Ishilove: And this sis too is also looking forward to more from you, 1supremo

Here's my latest composition for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy it.
https://www.nairaland.com/1027849/insightful-view-nigerian-psyche
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by sino(m): 1:10am On Aug 25, 2012
So you've been doing this for a while abi?
I like your style, its refreshingly different...
Good job cool
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 1:16am On Aug 25, 2012
sino: So you've been doing this for a while abi?
I like your style, its refreshingly different...
Good job cool

This is my first.
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by sino(m): 1:35am On Aug 25, 2012
^^^ shocked you don't say!
Impressive man, very very impressive.
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Ishilove: 3:27am On Aug 25, 2012
1supremo:

This is my first.
Your first?? Wow, you are good!!shocked Keep it up because the more you write the better you will become
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by Nobody: 9:21am On Aug 25, 2012
1supremo:

This is my first.

Now you done gone and made me jealous sad grin
Re: The Nigeria I Never Knew by avicky(f): 10:23pm On Aug 27, 2012
*speechless*
@OP ...More power to ur elbow.

1 Like

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