A Tribe Without A Purpose - by Tomi Walker

I think a lot about Nigeria. I talk a lot about Nigeria. I write a lot about Nigeria. As someone who was born in the 80’s, moved away from Nigeria in my mid-teens and moved back in my mid-twenties, I lived experienced many versions of Nigerian life.I’ve lived the struggling doctors kid version of Nigeria, I’ve experienced the Babangida SAP Nigeria, I’ve experienced the Abacha 90’s, I’ve experienced the Nigerian diplomat’s kid in the African diaspora, I’ve experienced the Nigerian student life in the US. I’ve experienced not being able to wait to leave Nigeria, then actually leaving, then somewhere along the line, realizing that my life’s mission was tied to this country.I’ve been living in Nigeria now for about 14 years since returning and I keep being asked when I haven’t left. For me it all comes back to having a very strong sense of my life’s purpose. The thing about living a purpose filled life is that it transcends any temporary struggles, trials, setbacks you may experience. It’s about having a clearly defined goal and living your life in subservience to that goal. Purpose is the key to sustaining any long-term goal, because as sure as the sun rises in the morning, trials will come. But it is the goal, the mission, and purpose that keeps one focused on the prize.Recently, I saw a tweet that sparked a very profound thought. It was something to the effect of ‘How does this end for Nigerians? Are we going to spend the rest of our lives moving from country to country, moving to anywhere the visa policies are favorable, before dying?’ The tweet conjured in my mind images of a headless chicken running around with no direction. And it made me realize something; Nigeria and Nigerians are a nation and people without a purpose. We have no end goal, no mission, no destination we are striving for. As a nation, we are living day-to-day, drifting aimlessly, and subject to wherever the geopolitical winds of the moment blow.Nigeria has no unifying values, little sense of justice, no well-defined economic goals, no image of what a better life for its citizens looks like. Neither the federal government, or state governments, or private sector, or cultural leaders can define what life should look like, what our stature on the continent and world affairs should be. We are a nation of 200 million people living to improve our individual lives but clueless as to where we are going as a collective.It’s a sobering realization. But it explains why as a nation and as a people we do the things we do. It explains why policiticians stash their families in the west, why states still depend on the federal government for monthly allowances, why celebrities mingle with and promote the same politicians ruining the country. We have no destination and no roadmap.Zeroing in specifically on my favorite demographic; the professional and intellectual class, we are the weak link in Nigeria. A tribe blessed with skills, networks, resources but also without a purpose and without a mission. We have a grit and no resilience when it comes to nation building. And because I believe nations rise and fall by the quality of their intellectual class, the only conclusion is that until Nigeria’s intellectual class develops a strong, unwavering sense of mission and purpose, Nigeria will continue to drift aimlessly. Where will a sense of purpose come from? I don’t know that we will ever get a national sense of purpose. It might be national, it might come from the regions, it might be state or city led. But I believe Nigerians are hungry for leadership that restores their hope. A sense of purpose won’t come from the political class, or celebrities or even religious leaders. I believe that very soon a small group of people with the right values, right skills, right networks and resources will create a movement that gives people hope. It might start small and seem insignificant at first, but it will show Nigerians what is possible when we work as a collective towards a goal. I see an increasing understanding from younger Nigerians that ‘organizing’ is the work of our generation and that we will need new national narratives to inspire the next generation to continue to build. Hopefully these new narratives create a national sense of purpose that takes us off the drifting path and puts us on the path to the promised land.

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