Rising Above A Corrupt World (with emphasis on Nigeria)10 min read

In Life No matter how much you plan your life, it would still be distorted in more ways than you would wish to be conscious of because the world is corrupt, but there is a way out. and it involves your thinking about others first. this is a guide to rising above a corrupt world

I grew up in a relatively unknown and little town in Nigeria, in this little town death was a characteristic thing, we woke up each day to hear that at least two young men were killed in a gang clash, things were really that bad. This is my attempt to give anyone that reads this a reason to rise above the corrupt system.

As humans, we are always tempted to buy into the idea that we can control whatever happens in our lives, and even though it pays to take responsibility for the things going on in our lives, not everything goes according to plan, and some of these things are entirely out of our control.

Sometimes the only thing we can control is how we feel about those upsetting situations. Most times it is better to just appreciate what is going on in our lives

This article isn’t designed to make us feel relaxed and nihilistic when crazy people and bad situations try to uproot the meanings in our lives, it is rather about aiding us to deal with these crazy people and uncomfortable situations.

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When I was about 15 years old, I was attacked by an angry goat, in defense I took a long stick and tried to scare the goat which didn’t relent but dived headfirst, ramming its horns on the stick which recoiled in my hands to injure my belly. It was a flesh wound but left a scare that I had the leisure of touching as I wrote this line.

Although being attacked by an angry goat wasn’t really a pleasant experience, it is, however, one of those memories I would cherish till I die. This is because I have taken that scar as a symbol of an adventurous childhood, and it makes me smile every time I remember, to think that I actually shed tears the day this stubborn and angry goat was being slaughtered

A SHARED WORLD

Like my gone goat friend reminded me, life is very short and the things we do literally leaves a scar in the lives of everyone we encounter

That being said it is wise to bear in minds that we are as sentient as the next being, therefore we should avoid inflicting pain and suffering on others because we are all connected in more ways than we can phantom

The moment we offend a fellow human we instantly cut short the tendency of the individual to help, that’s if they don’t come after our neck

It is always crucial to remind ourselves of our place in the Universe

 one day, you and everyone you love will die. And beyond a small group of people for an extremely brief period of time, little of what you say or do will ever matter. This is the uncomfortable Truth of life. And everything you think or do is but an elaborate avoidance of it. We are inconsequential cosmic dust, bumping and milling about on a tiny blue speck. We imagine our own importance. We invent our purpose – we are nothing

Mark Manson

This mortality is the curse of humanity

And, it appears that this curse of mortality, which I would call cancer is what drives everyone to act in whatever way they decide to act, which can be constructive or destructive

And as much as we would love everyone to be sweet and nice, once in a while we encounter the bad eggs, these are the people we are to avoid.

This is because although life is invariably a game in some form, it is wise to use the short time allocated for this game to do things that we would be proud of on our death beds, and avoid those who would threaten that goal.

HOW CORRUPTION SPREADS

All parents want the best for their children, right?

Donald Trump once called Nigeria a “Shit hole country”, and it was for good reasons

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A few years ago, in my Hostel, a hostel commissioned by the president as of then (Goodluck Jonathan), a discussion erupted, it was about corrupt Nigerian Politicians who loot money as though it were their legal rights.

At the end of the discussion, one of the guys admitted that if he was in such a position, that he would, in fact, steal more than the current politicians. He wasn’t alone in this concessive confession, and at the end, they would be the future parents who just want a good life for themselves and their prodigies

The society receives countless feedback of success in doing the wrong things, so much emphasis has been placed on the importance of Money, Power, Sex, and fame that we are forced to believe that those are the definitions of success and whoever archived any of these, no matter the means, is indeed wise and deserves some accolades.

But this is misguided. it is misguided because it doesn’t create the optimum experience of life and that is how you get a society where people die every day from gang wars. it creates pain and breeds a generation that would only do worse

How do you explain to a child that stealing is not good when those who steal live large and grow fat while those who don’t starve and murmur? Every child is growing to become a tiger, ready to devour anything and anyone just to achieve the ideal dream of a successful individual.

With each evil jugged wrongly as “success”, comes an addiction to do wrong in order to taste “success”

How do you stand against evil, when there is no ground for good?

in a way, every time succeed by hurting others we created a cancer that feeds off our greed and multiplies itself in our children. in the end, we are hurting ourselves, because when you hurt someone you instantly make the world a little harder for yourself

THIS IS NIGERIA – A honest review

The bitter truth is that a corrupt country breeds a generation of liars, cheats, criminals, and people who feel entitled…, just to mention a few

Guess why falz the Bahd Guy said “everybody b Criminal” in his cover song “This is Nigeria”. Guess again why the government got enraged.

People only relate to insults if it relates to them. Calling me a “Hobbit” won’t get to me because I’m at least 6’2 ft tall.

They got mad because Nigeria is indeed full of criminals. even David Cameron (UK’s Prime Minister) said Nigeria was “fantastically corrupt”, I don’t think he was learning nursery rhymes

The country indeed needs help. Every single soul in it, including the Clergymen who claim to hear from the Maker of the Universe.

Honestly, I’m afraid, I’m afraid I am equally corrupt

It is impossible to know, I can’t judge myself, not with all the subconscious bias I’ve been fed with since childhood.

OVERVIEW OF A NIGERIAN’S CHILDHOOD – the plague begins too soon

As a child in Nigeria, you get to learn early that

• Security is a joke
• Education is a joke
• Love is a joke
• Health care is a joke
• Justice is a joke
• And the list goes as far as your imagination can hold

These days, sex is gotten by the best players, money is not a direct function of value but of ability to con, education is about how much you can pay those in power, and healthcare is gotten outside the country, let’s not even get started with security.

In such an environment, what kind of mindsets would grow and fester? People openly encourage others to deceive and take money, Ponzi scheme riddle our societies and while all these are happening, the best of the best, those who manage to stay pure or at least didn’t let the corruption get the best of them, always manage to find themselves outside the country after which they never return. Thus, the little good is leaving, and the bad is brooding

This is more than a feedback loop, this is an infestation

THE WAY OUT – how to live above corruption

As stated at the beginning of this post, it’s all a game that began before any of us were born, and it is something we do not have control over.

No matter how much you plan your life, it would still be distorted in more ways than you would wish to be conscious of.

However, like my angry Goat experience, life is pretty the same everywhere. It is all about how you take it. like my angry goat encounter, we must learn not to desire to pay back the evil done to us but to respond with care and love

Hey! “this is America” was sung before “this is Nigeria”.

Everyone is complaining of one thing or the other. But the trick like I said at the beginning of this article is to learn how to accept all the uncomfortable truths and still live a good life. To live like we shear the world because we do.

Considering how your actions affect others because it ultimately affects us.

Security has never existed anywhere before, people who play it safe die as often as those who are reckless, it’s all just a matter of time and chance.

You must learn to be tolerant. Having in front of your mind that you are not in this world all by yourself, you are in fact sharing the planet simultaneously with over 7 billion people, who are also living their lives in pursuit of happiness.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it

Sir Edmond Burke

It is time we realize that living like hungry wolfs won’t help anyone, it is destructive, no matter how you look at it. It is better to look at history and learn the noble way of living. Living a life full of compassion  and empathy

Your Game has started. Every other player is just like you – ready to play, what would it be? a co-op or a duel

Within your short time on earth, what score would you reach in this game called life?

HEY! If you didn’t get the point of this Long Article

 I’m sorry you would have to go through it again until you do

REFERENCES

The Uncomfortable Truth: https://markmanson.net/the-uncomfortable-truth

The Shit Hole countries: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/briannasacks/trump-nigeria-shithole 

Falz – This is Nigeria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Nigeria

Donald Glover – This is America:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_America_(song)

Fantastically corrupt country:https://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/nigeria-is-fantastically-corrupt-uks-prime-minister-david-cameron/