With democracy day drawing nearer, the current president is about to be sworn in for his second term and take us on another four year ride. Ever since he began driving the county four years ago, Nigeria has regressed and with it whatever dream our founding fathers laid when we sought to be an independent nation. Maybe their dream has been long forgotten after our rugged history of incompetent leaders, and the result has been for the people of the nation to create a “Nigerian Dream” for themselves.
Of recent, I found myself listening to Efe Oraka’s Nigerian Dream and for the first time I realized how she accurately depicted the “dream” that a multitude of Nigerians share. From the first verse, Efe is able to depict the dream of owning mansions in the expensive areas of the country, and the greed for those owners to own even more houses in those areas, just so they can gloat to their friends about the success that they strived so hard to achieve. When people try to look down on them they can finally say that magical phrase that makes one who hasn’t attained such wealth and success to cower in their boots “do you know who I am?” As I write thisI repeat the phrase in my head and I’m not going to lie it truly is powerful. I feel on top of the world but I also feel disgusted saying it. It sounds hollow. It’s almost like I really haven’t achieved anything yet.
Efe sings of fathers who use their wealth not in building their homes but splashing their wealth on “big city” girls and they return home to their wives who they beat up once they find the constant nagging unbearable; because of religious reasons or not to be looked down on by their peers and family the wives remain in their abusive marriages.
Since Nigerians were crowned the happiest people in the world, we have been hiding behind that crown, afraid to take it off for a moment and reveal to the world, our families, our friends as well as ourselves the truth that lies beneath the crown of happiness which is a buttload of pain. People would rather swallow their sufferings and smile to appear strong when they’re really breaking in pieces on the inside.
“From this Nigerian Dream, I hope we wake up…” Efe pleads as the song comes to an end. One could say she’s trying to pull us out of the matrix by offering us the red pill with her song. I think we should all have the red pill and leave the illusion of the dream we’ve created behind. We cannot depend on our leaders to give us a new dream. Nor can we rely on the illusions we have created. Efe has revealed the truth behind our illusions and it is causing us more pain as a nation. Nigeria is about to be taken on a ride, one which we are uncertain of the direction. Most predict we will continue to fall others say we will rise stronger and better. We need to look within, beyond our selfish needs and desires to discover our Nigerian Dream to heal decades of pain and truly strive together as a nation.
