In my undergrad days, a lecturer of mine that I
would best describe as a nonconformist, had a statement attributed to an
American author and humorist Mark twain plastered on his office wall that reads:
“if you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper,
you’re misinformed”
.
Didn’t put much thought to it back then cause I had
more important things to worry about as a student like: how to apply cold water
starch on my shirt without the dreaded starchy seed effect; perfecting the art
of attending 7am classes; how to tell your parents that if they don’t send you
money before the weekend, you would die; how to stop doing assignment for
ladies for free etc (don’t judge me)
Now am all grown, earning some level above the
minimum wage and therefore worthy to talk about all things state of the nation
(forgive my warped syllogism)
I have followed political and social events from
traditional news outlets to the amplified social media platforms but the
problem is that watching happenings especially political ones in Nigerian can
leave you utterly disillusioned.
It felt
really cool at one point feeding on news items because you realise that your
cartoon network state of mind has finally been shed away; but at what cost?
With Nigerian news inundating your mind, one is
constantly feeling like a partner in an abusive relationship: the lies, battering
and constant emotional pain. You try to maintain a normalcy bias that “all is
well” but nothing feels more hurtful than someone that constantly disappoints
you.
You hear how leaders take turns to sink their hands
into the hamper basket of our collective treasure. Dasukigate, EFCCgate, Abachafloodgate, Nimasadoor, DSSwindow; every
single news smeared with some billions in them.
Leaders come, go; change party, change
manifestoes; change regalia, change mantra but in the end: “same shit,
different toilet”
Nothing surprises me anymore and when I stumble upon
a depressing news item or see one in my timeline, I just smile, take the remote
and turn to Nickelodeon because the life expectancy in Nigeria is way too low
and anti-depressant pill is way too expensive to be a Nigerian news enthusiast.
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