staying rooted

Sometimes, it gets really tough on some days. Even though it's what I have known all my life here, it still baffles me how certain things are still problems where I am from. The past week, for example, was truly something. While I started something new and exciting, there were surprisingly many odds against progressing. I must have whispered to myself at some point, "I need to leave this country."

However, deep within myself, I don't want to leave this country. Some of us probably scare you about being in Nigeria because we talk about our issues, but for some reasons, I'd rather be here. I only hope the calm comes quickly enough in this storm.

Truth is, I love being in my country. The culture, traditions, food, the people and their resilience, unity in diversity (even though it's not apparent at first), music, traditions, and language. There are many interesting things about being here that we have somehow overlooked because of what we go through.

It's a little bit tough on some days. Sometimes, I just want to be somewhere else—another country that doesn't have the issues we have here. Here's the catch, however: All countries have their own problems.

I don't exactly know what it's like for other people, wherever they are on the globe, but I imagine that no one has it perfect. No nation is perfect. While some developing countries are dealing with their battles, developed countries have their own problems.

Some people who have "fled" my country in search of greener pastures in supposedly better countries say things like, "It's also not easy out here, actually." I understand that some people do make it out there, but it's non-negligible that some other people may very well jump from frypan to fire instead.

While it may seem really tough for most people here, there are surely people that are doing well and fine, and they're breathing the same oxygen as every other person, as well as spending the same naira.

Surely, I'd rather be somewhere where the inflation rate isn't 33% and counting. Of course, I don't want to have to think of solutions for my electricity problems. Yes, I don't want to have to eat meat and tomatoes occasionally because they are now so expensive, among other costly commodities, thanks to the economy. At the same time, I don't even know if the grass is truly greener on the other side or even if there's grass at all.

Who nose 🐽? Maybe my grass is even greener to some other people. Okay. I'm not sure about that. But then, other than these issues, what if I actually have it better than the neighbour next door, the one I wanted to swap lives with?

While it's tough, I embrace that life in itself can be tough, and that's perfectly okay. It is in these tough times that we find strength we never thought we had. So whether the grass is greener on the other side or not, I have my own to do with whatever I want. I could spend more time making them as green as I want them to be by designing my life rather than speculating.

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