Bayo and Femi have been friends since secondary school days in Ibadan. Both of them left Nigeria for Canada few years ago. The made arrangement to meet in Quetico Provincial Park for their children to play, their wives to gist and for them as old friends in diaspora to catch some fun. The conversation goes thus:

Bayo: You end up buying this RAV4.

Femi: Yes o, Carbon (Bayo's nickname as his skin colour nearly matches with RAV4 tyre)

Bayo: Have you taken it to church for thanksgiving, prayers and anointing?
Have you bought Pepsi for your neighbours, colleagues?

(Both laugh softly)

Femi: Naija way

Bayo: Something as common as buying a car is a great achievement which calls celebration o.

Femi: Abi

Bayo: What don't we celebrate, or tag wishes to in Nigeria?
Happy New year,
Happy New month,
Happy Weekend.

Femi:
Happy Sunday.
Happy Raining day.
Happy twinkling star.

Bayo:
Happy this.
Happy that.

Femi: Nigerians are happy people even as the ingredients of happiness are beyond our reach.

Bayo: We are happy people

Femi: we will make you happy

Bayo: We are H A P P Y

Femi: P E O P L E

Bayo: We 've not heard from that guy for a while now

Femi: Ayuba?

Bayo: I enjoy his voice like there is no tomorrow.

Femi: His dancing steps trip me more.

Bayo: Olamide, Davido, Wizkid, Falz.... have taken over the street now.

Femi: No wonder 9ice said it's turn by turn.

Bayo: Even the turn is gradually skipping 9ice himself now.

Femi: It is skipping or it has skipped him?

Bayo: Will 9ice agree with anyone his turn is passing?

Femi: He won't o

Bayo: Even Eedris will tell you he still very relevant in the music industry.

Femi: Happy Turn Passage.

Both laughed

Femi: It reminds me, Tomorrow is another October 1st.

Bayo: It won't be happy new month alone.

Femi: Happy Independence go follow.

Bayo: Our people will soon be awake and flood facebook, twitter, Instagram with pictures in green attire, green cake, green map, green......

Femi: Green Moon, green Lagos, Green Abuja.

Bayo: Green Buhari (giggled)

Both: laugh.

Bayo: But, let's ask ourselves, what are we celebrating?

Femi: That's JAMB question, Carbon. (Ironically) We are celebrating how our economy has grown to be enviable by the world at large.

Bayo: It’s so painful more than 90% of Nigerians have not experienced a working governance before.

Femi: That makes it an arduous task for them to identify a failed and failing one.

Bayo: Painfully, most them will never experience it in their lifetime.

Femi: Nigeria has done little for anyone born after 1983.
Based on my observations and chronological analysis of the deterioration of our system, Nigeria started failing permanently around that time till date.

Bayo: You mean Nigeria has done nothing for both of us.
What about the Loyola College that we attended for free?
I paid next to nothing in my years in University of Ibadan.
Was your tuition fee up to $1000 in total within your 5years in the University of Ilorin?

Femi: clean your ears, baba. Some carbon is blocking the side close to me. I said LITTLE not NOTHING.

Bayo: Your mouth is still acidic as usual.
LITTLE, hmm, you are very right.

We can’t compare the standard of the Loyola College we both attended to that of the schools out kids are attending for free here.

We left Uni almost a decade ago. Some of our classmates have not gotten any reasonable job till now.

Femi: That's correct, and a lot of them are more academically sound than us. Time and chance.

Bayo: Yes now, do you think that Nigerian Robotic Engineer guy who is the highest paid in the world would have attained that level if he remains in Nigeria?

Femi: Capital NO

Bayo: Imagine, someone of our age, over 30 still living under his parent's roof asking his mum for #200 to take cab to job interview venue tomorrow.

Femi: depending on his parents for #300 for haircut

Bayo: some of them will post HAPPY INDEPENDENCE message on social media in few hours’ time.

Femi: Ignorance of the highest order.

Bayo : Celebration of a failing system

Femi: Nigeria works for no-one.

Bayo: That's not true

Femi: How?

Bayo: Nigeria works for those who failed her.

Femi: Truth,
Sadly enough, one them came out few weeks back to brag that he's richer than a State.

Bayo: By the way of magic, he still got what he wanted from the same State.

Femi: A senator earn an average of N30million a month.

Bayo: That's why that man has reasons to be dancing all around like a bee.

Femi: And the Harvard pseudo-graduate releases song tracks every now and then.

Bayo: The failed sytem works for them

Femi: It does, Carbon.

Bayo: N30million per month. That's well over $100,000 here. I don't earn that in a year with all my certification upon certifications.

Femi: Same here. But we are better than them because we have good names.

Bayo: They get another N13mil per quarter, they call it running cost. Around N200million per quarter to develop their districts.

Femi: District allocation or what do they call that?

Bayo: From which one of them commissioned 2 electric poles and people are telling him “Thank you Sir”

Femi: other allowances follows.

Bayo: For sitting down and arguing on issues that have brought less fortune on the country

Femi: Some of them go the National Assembly to sleep. Haven't you seen pictures?

Bayo: Why won’t they sleep? They have little idea about what is being discussed.

Femi: What do we expect of people who find it hard to pass WAEC?

Bayo: What knowledge of governance and government system do they have?

Femi: If Nigeria is working, what are we doing here in the cold?

Bayo: We should be here on vacation alone and go back to our country therefater.

Femi: Atimes, I see people like us as cowards.

Bayo: how?

Femi: We ran away from our problems back home. We are here enjoying the system some people’s fore-fathers put in place.

Bayo: you are right.

Femi: Will posterity forgive us for this decision?

Bayo: I will book your flight back to Lagos next week, if you don’t mind my courageous friend.

Femi: Book yours first, let the children live their lives here, please. They don't claim to courageous like you. hahahahahaha!!!

Bayo: Go and chase the ghost, Go and build Nigeria, Go and build something on Nothing....

Femi: Nigeria will get it right one day. Our Independence was just 58years ago.

Bayo: Singapore is 53years in Independence, check their economic development indices.

Femi: I heard Sowore saying their passport is now the strongest in the world.

Bayo: Sowore, saharareporters?

Femi: Yes

Bayo: If only we can at large support that guy and see what he has to offer. We know what he stands for.

Femi: What he stands for. Hmm!!!

We all know what Mugabe stood for, he later became a tyrant.

Niger Delta militant started by fighting for their communities before they became what we are seeing today.

Bayo: A part of me trusts him and Moghalu than all those oppressors put together.

Femi: Let me test drive your new baby self.

Bayo: Oya now.

They hopped into the SUV. As Femi drove slowly around the park,

Bayo: A sweet car you ve gotten.
" Elo lo ba de?" (how much did you buy this?)

Femi: $18,500.

Bayo: Good buy at 42,000miles. Maybe wifey will like it. She has been on SUV case for some time now.

Femi: you 've never own a SUV

Bayo: Nope, I am sedan lover and german brand loyalist.

Femi: And you said if Toyin ( Bayo's wife) likes this RAV4, you will buy one for her.

Bayo: That will be her car not mine

Femi: You are not serious.

Bayo: Merc Benz, BMW, Audi are my choice. I won’t go below a Volkswagen for anything.

Femi: Big man. Recent Kia and Hyundai vehicles are relatively good o.

Bayo: It’s better you said " ralatively". I won't be caught dead in them

Femi: Carbon, who will now buy Innoson cars when you are against even Korean cars?

Bayo: Innoson? people who buying it now will keep buying. You will be buying your japmobile, while I will keep buying what I like to drive.

Femi: Case closed.

Bayo: smiled (as Femi parked the RAV4).

Femi: Happpy Rav4

Bayo: Happy independence.

Femi: Happy Celebration of Failure.

Bayo: Happy Celebration of Mediocrity.

Femi: Happy Celebration of Ignorance.

They started some other more important discussions.

.....................................................................................

Your likes and comments will encourage me to keep writing.

Thanks.

Great write-up, brother.

Nice writeup. I admire the courage of those who still celebrate independence day I don't know if they are truly happy or just public stunt, years ago students will gather at national stadium for fun activities both the rich and the poor but now they hardly care, in primary school then we will march and scream in 1960 Nigeria begot independence with so much joy and life but today nobody cares nah who chop belleful get power to shout. God help Nigeria.

greenstonecomp:
Great write-up, brother.

Thank you.

maxnedu11:
Nice writeup. I admire the courage of those who still celebrate independence day I don't know if they are truly happy or just public stunt, years ago students will gather at national stadium for fun activities both the rich and the poor but now they hardly care, in primary school then we will march and scream in 1960 Nigeria begot independence with so much joy and life but today nobody cares nah who chop belleful get power to shout. God help Nigeria.

Amen

I enjoyed this piece. Nice writeup, Nice message

bighorlus:
I enjoyed this piece. Nice writeup, Nice message

Thanks