NIGERIANS & MEMES - by Muhammad Mercurial

We Nigerians...We can turn anything into a meme.Anything. Breakup?Meme. Heartbreak?Meme. No money?Meme. NEPA takes light?Meme. Fuel price increases?Meme. Government does something crazy?Meme. Your girlfriend cheats on you?Brother, wait first...Take picture.Add caption. Post am.😂 We laugh at almost everything.And honestly?Sometimes, that is how we survive.Because if you don't laugh in Nigeria,you might actually cry. But...I think we have taken this thing too far.Because sometimes,we don't use memes to laugh anymore.We use them to hide. Someone corrects you,and instead of asking,“Wait...Maybe this person has a point,”you go online looking for a memethat says, “Don't let anybody talk down on you.” Post.Boom.You've won. Someone tells you,“You treated that person badly.”Instead of saying,“Maybe I was wrong,”you find a meme saying,“People will always hate you when you start setting boundaries.” Post. Suddenly,you are not accountable anymore.You are “protecting your peace.” 😂 Someone tells you,“You need to change this behaviour.”You reply with a meme:“Don't allow anybody make you feel bad for being yourself.” My sister...What if yourself needs correction? What if...the version of you that you are defendingis the exact version of youthat needs to grow? Not every correction is hate.Not every person who tells you the truthis jealous of you. Not everybody trying to correct youis trying to control you. Sometimes...they are simply telling youwhat you cannot see about yourself.But we don't want to hear that. We want a meme.Give me a meme that agrees with me.Give me a quote that supports me.Give me something I can post so I don't have to think about what you just said.And that's where it gets dangerous. Because you can find a memeto justify almost anything. You cheat?“Everybody deserves happiness.” You lie?“Protect your peace.” You disrespect people?“I'm just being real.” You refuse advice?“Nobody can tell me how to live my life.” You hurt somebody?“They will survive.” Ah!!! We have memes for everything.But...Do we have room for accountability? Do we have room for,“Maybe I was wrong”? Do we have room for,“I'm sorry”? Do we have room for,“Thank you for correcting me”? Because growth is not always comfortable.Sometimes growth sounds like someone saying, “Bro...you are the problem.”And instead of looking for a meme,you should probably sit downand ask yourself,“Am I?” Sometimes the person irritating youis actually showing you something about yourself. Sometimes the advice you don't want to hearis the advice you desperately need.And sometimes,the person you call a hateris the person who loves you enoughto tell you the truth. But Nigerians...We can turn pain into comedy too. Someone is suffering,and instead of saying,“Are you okay?” We say,“Abeg,drop meme make I laugh.”😂 Someone is going through heartbreak,they post,“I'm fine.” Then another person comments,“Na lie.Omo,we move.” And we laugh.Because that's our culture.We use humour to survive. We laugh when we are broke.We laugh when we are stressed.We laugh when life is beating us left,right,and centre.And there is beauty in that. But sometimes...we need to stop laughing long enoughto heal. Stop joking long enoughto learn. Stop posting long enoughto listen. Because...Are we really a joke to ourselves?Or have we simply become so good at laughingthat we no longer know when something is serious? Maybe the problem isn't memes.Maybe the problem is what we use them for. Use memes to laugh.Use memes to entertain.Use memes to survive another crazy Nigerian day. But don't use memesto run away from yourself.Because you can posta thousand memes defending your behaviour...and still be wrong. You can gathera hundred quotes supporting your decision...and still need correction. You can convince the whole internetthat you are right...and still know,deep down,that you are not. So the next time somebody corrects you,don't immediately reach for your phone.Don't search for that perfect meme.Don't start typing,“Una too dey talk.” Pause.Listen.Think. Maybe...just maybe...the correction you are trying to laugh awayis the very thingthat could make you better. And sometimes...growth isn't funny. Sometimes,it doesn't have a meme. Sometimes,it simply looks like admitting,“I was wrong.”And becoming better.

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