‘Supporting Naija from Afar?’ – Our thoughts

Why the Commotion?

In my last article titled, ‘Supporting Naija from Afar?’ we touched a little bit on Kola’s video post yesterday and promised to give our perspective as to why we believe her video received such backlash from the Nigerian community.

Let’s get to the nitty-gritty and be transparent with ourselves here. Kola’s points were that ‘Why should she not leave a country with grown men marrying girls as young as the age of 7?  Why should she not leave a country that claims to be ‘religious’  but with corruption under the surface?” The hard truth is that most of Kola’s points are valid. A lot of her points relate to chronic issues concerning the present Nigeria. So, why did her video cause outrage amongst other Nigerians? was it that people did not appreciate good old honesty anymore? or was it something else?

Well, I’ll try to break down 3 reasons as to why I feel others were stirred up by her words:

1. Within the first 60 seconds of her video, Kola stated that she is often congratulated on her ‘good English‘ by Americans, and that this is because she ‘works really hard to speak English with a minimal Nigerian accent.’ It could be argued her response suggests a sense of dislike for her own country. 
2.  Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe it is one thing to point out negativity and another to completely thrash your place of origin so openly to the World Wide Web. The attitude and approach at which her views were expressed could have been better. On one hand, there was a sense detest of Nigeria in Kola’s words.On the other hand, the passion behind Kola’s negativity left me wondering if beneath the facade she secretly yearns for a change in Nigeria or whether she just wanted to rant about a country she wants no part in. Which is which? As there seems to be the absence of empathy in her words it is easy to assume the latter, however she maintained she does care for the betterment of Nigeria.
3. Some statements she made in her video seemed to come from an ignorant perspective. She had touched on the issue of child marriage in Nigeria without realising the vast number of different states, tribes and cultures that make up our country. Is this is a problem rife in Nigeria as a whole, or particular states? As she rightly pointed out, an effective judicial system (which we do not have) is paramount in such scenarios. It is something that would need to be carefully dealt with. Having condemned Nigeria to being a corrupt country, incapable of change, it would have been great to mention the hardworking citizens that are innocent in all this! Corruption is a learned behavior that is bound to occur when justice is not served to perpetrators and where unemployment is rife. Unfortunately, Nigeria fits the bill.

Overall, Kola made some interesting and truthful points about Nigeria. However, a more balanced view would have shown her audience that this wasn’t just a ‘rant’ but a credible and well thought out video. There are Nigerians everywhere both young and old, striving to make a difference and impacting their environments for the better. Yes, many Nigerians are tired with the current state of affairs in our country and do see the truth in Kola’s perspective. However, it’s important to try to keep positive whilst actively playing a positive role wherever you find yourself. After all, each human has the ability to inspire others in a positive or negative manner, the choice is ours. We all make up our country.

What are your thoughts? leave your comments below!