I woke up today still in the dysphoria of losing a dear friend when I was notified of a LinkedIn update from one of my mentors. The post goes thus:

"Do a quick survey of the #youth between 30 - 18 years in Nigeria, with focus on their personal development and #career #growth, and you would take a deep dive into a maelstrom of Fantasia and mind boggling aspirations, with no clear definition or even understanding of how to build a career.
The #culture of career definition is somewhat uninteresting to most young people as the lure of fast - money, cars, babes and dudes, houses, et al, is a strong perception they fixate upon. Take a survey of the age demographic aforementioned and you would find out that less than 10% understand or are remotely interested in having a career, not to talk of building one. The idea that money is king is the garrison of illusory bliss they are held in."

Sounds familiar? If you're conversant with commentaries in the Nigerian digital space, you most likely would have come across opinions such as this. To put succinctly, the post reiterates the popular rhetoric that the younger generation in Nigeria lacks the focus and discipline required to attain sustainable success in careers. In other words, the majority of the youths within the 18-30 age bracket are fixated on making quick, easy money. As cliché as the opinion may seem, one must be deeply entrenched in incurable denialism to disagree with the post. But really, is that all to it? Is the Nigerian younger population that licentious? Do they simply do it out of sheer ignorance? Permit me the undeserved privilege to share my rookie perspective on the topic. By the way, forgive my harsh words in advance!

First, contrary to stereotypes that opinions such as my mentor's may suggest, Nigerian youths are intelligent go-getters, perhaps with few equals worldwide. Yes, statistical studies may put Nigerians among the worst nationalities in terms of IQ, but IQ tests aren't necessarily sound measures of real Intelligence. Moreover, as a country, Nigeria is too diverse to lump the different parts together and assign a single value as a measure of its people's IQ. In reality, the average Nigerian youth is an intelligent go-getter – resilient one at that, as evident in a lot of instances. Hardly is there a single industry around the world where the ingenuity of Nigerian youths isn't highlighted. Whether it's Sports, Finance, Aviation, Media, Entertainment, Technology, or Academics, Nigerian youths aren't only well-represented but also trailblazers. From Wendy Okolo, Wizkid, Anthony Joshua, Victor Osihmen, Burna Boy, Lawrence Aderemi, Seun Osewa, Shola Akinlade, Ime Archibong, Nmachi Jidenma, John Boyega, Morin Oluwole, Ekene Ashinze, Yemisi Adegoke, Zain Asher, to Tomi Adeyemi and several others, the list is endless. In fact, according to a Census conducted by Rice University, Nigerian Immigrants have the highest levels of education in the United States of America. Another data from the Census Bureau puts Nigerian Immigrants of ages 16 and older in 10th place in the ranking of Immigrants with jobs. Given the vast diversity of a nation like America, these are no ordinary feats and, perhaps, a sound pointer to the go-getting nature of the Nigerian youths. So how come Nigerian youths are often subjects of bashing back at home (PMB some time ago tagged us lazy)?

Well, to be honest, the vast majority of Nigerian youths are uninspiring, undisciplined, and incurable money-mongers. Fast money, fast cars seems to be the mantra, and sadly, it doesn't seem to be getting any better. But then, man is, by nature, a social animal. Be it young or old, a Nigerian only does as much as the Nigerian society permits him or her to do. Over time, Nigeria has made materialism (money, fame, power) a societal standard. You're practically a nobody if you do not satisfy at least one of those material standards. In fact, your "Nigerianess” only goes as far as the extent to which you satisfy each of those material standards. As a young Nigerian with the inherent ambition of attaining full incorporation into the society, your options are clear — achieve money, power, or fame, or risk being ostracized. Rough, smooth, or windy, slow, fast — the society cares not about the process you take. Succeed and get in. Fail and get out. The race is yours and only yours to run. The society’s own is to either revere or despise you, according to your achievements. No guideline, no time frame, no support.
For even the most discerning of young Nigerians, this could mean either of these two options:
• Taking the honorable but windy path of pursuing excellence with less likelihood of achieving the more-acclaimed societal approval.
• Taking the unethical, dishonorable yet “statistically more assuring” route of pursuing materialism.

While idealists like my mentor will easily recommend choosing the first option, the Nigerian society's day-to-day reality is in sharp contrast to such recommendation. By idealistic standards, you go to school, graduate with a first-class or second class upper, apply for jobs that will likely pay you crappy yet irregular salaries (< #50, 000 on the average), be diligent at work even in the face of poor working conditions, pursue certifications or get more skills with the crumbs you save from your salary, apply for better jobs that may never come, stay committed to the rat-race and pray for fate to someday shine on you so you may enjoy the sub-standard privileges of the Nigerian middle class.
Graduate secondary school teachers still get paid #15,000 in my town — they are at times owed for months. An uneducated bike man earns that same amount within seven days in the same town.

On the flip side, you can simply be realistic and join the smart group by choosing option B. Join the street immediately after graduating, network with more experienced “hustlers” to learn the “hustles” that are currently paying, “hammer and cash out,” give what’s Caesar’s to Caesar (smh), invest the proceeds of your hustles, enter the political arena to grab power and give your children access to premium privileges both at home and abroad. Sounds like the story of most Nigerian elites, right?

The scenarios illustrated above typifies the nightmare that confusing thoughts that go through the average young person's mind every day.
Do I satisfy my conscience or satisfy the wants of the society? Do I stay righteous and perhaps stay broke amidst wanton corruption in public places and capitalist greed in private establishments or simply take the bull by the horn and make money whichever way it comes? The agony of choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea! Who really envies the Nigerian youth?

To complicate the puzzle further, workers are either in the news for poor working conditions or industrial strike actions for unpaid salaries and allowances. On the other hand, the Hushpuppies, Momphas, Bobriskies of the society are either in the news for purchasing exotic cars and properties or wining and dining with the who-is-who in the society in top locations around the globe. Criminals, right? Well, they are the toasts of the Nigerian society. There is also the long, endless list of “Honorable Minister off your mic” political office holders who have continually sworn to embezzle the nation’s commonwealth with reckless abandon. Guess what? Those ones are usually celebrated by millions and are rarely prosecuted. Perhaps they deserve more greases to their elbows!

Rather than offering apologies for passing on a failed society to the younger generation, we have a hypocritical older generation that is hell-bent on institutionalizing the culture of shaming youths for choosing to follow the steps they, directly and indirectly, projected to them as the Nigerian way of becoming the toast of the society. Well, my apologies, sirs and mas, you can't preach apples while offering bananas. You have failed the younger ones by your actions and inactions. Choosing to accuse the Nigerian youths of laziness and indiscipline would never take the lid off your failures. Rather than blaming them, they deserve your pity and commendation for still clownishly believing in your abilities to lead them right. Perhaps your constant accusations and denigrations may finally force them to stand up, see how badly you've ruined and continue to ruin their potentials, and snatch back their country from your selfish, inept, hypocritical generation. Who knows how soon?

https://link.medium.com/Sf7GecgTr9