One life - by Nimmat

“Give this country four to five years. It will get worse and worse.”My Economics teacher told me that before he left Nigeria.I laughed it off.He was my favourite teacher. At some point, I even considered him my best friend. We talked a lot. I trusted him. So when I eventually found out that he had travelled abroad without telling me, I cried. I confronted him on WhatsApp because I genuinely could not understand why someone I was so close to would leave without saying goodbye.I was younger then. I didn't understand what he meant. I thought Nigeria would somehow sort itself out. I thought things could not possibly get much worse than they already were.Now I am older, and I keep remembering those words.The same man who warned me about what Nigeria could become eventually left Nigeria.Maybe he wasn't running away from Nigeria. He simply looked at his life, looked at this country, and realised he had only one.That is why I have a problem with the way we talk about Nigerians who leave.We call it Japa. We joke about it. We complain about brain drain. We say the brightest people are leaving. We tell doctors, engineers, teachers, scientists and young graduates that they have a responsibility to stay and build Nigeria.But build what?Food is expensive. Rent is expensive. Transport is expensive. Electricity is expensive. The World Bank reported that food inflation reached 20.3% in July 2026 and estimated that 50.8% of Nigerians were living in extreme poverty in 2025.So when a young Nigerian looks at all of this and says, “I want to leave,” why are we so quick to call that betrayal?What exactly are they betraying?<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/IMG_7926.jpeg"/> We cannot keep asking people to sacrifice their lives for a country while acting as if the conditions forcing them to make that choice are not real.But before we put everything on the government, Nigerians also need to be honest about our own part in this.We complain about corruption and then pay a bribe when it helps us. We complain about politicians buying votes and still collect the money because, “At least make i chop my own.” We complain about bad leadership and defend politicians because they are from our tribe. We complain about nepotism until our own person gets the position.Oh please, don't tell me we are going to fix Nigeria when we are still comfortable with the parts of the system that favour us.A country where citizens demand accountability until accountability reaches their own side?And then we tell young people to stay and build it.And what happens when you actually try to change things?In August 2024, Nigerians protested economic hardship and bad governance. Amnesty International documented at least 24 protesters killed and more than 1,200 people detained. More than 146 people, including minors, were arraigned and charged with treasonable felony.<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/IMG_7927.jpeg"/> There is a real price attached to fighting.Ken Saro-Wiwa knew that price. He campaigned for the rights of the Ogoni people and against environmental destruction in Ogoniland. In 1995, Nigeria's military government executed him and eight other Ogoni activists.We remember the patriotism.We forget the price.<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/IMG_7929.jpeg"/> And the cost of staying is not only about protests.People are being killed by armed groups too. In July 2026, at least 30 people, including eight children, were killed in an attack on Naridon village in Kaduna State, according to residents quoted by Reuters.Eight children.<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/IMG_7928.jpeg"/> Imagine telling a parent whose child was killed by bandits that they should stay and build Nigeria because leaving would be unpatriotic.People are tired. I am tired too.I don't want to spend my entire life being told that watching my opportunities disappear is the price of loving my country. I don't want to graduate and spend years looking for opportunities while being told that leaving would make me selfish. I don't want to be afraid of getting sick because healthcare can become a financial disaster. I don't want to have to calculate whether a journey is safe before I make it.Wanting those things does not make me less Nigerian.The Nigerian abroad is often still paying somebody's school fees here, sending money to parents, supporting siblings, investing in businesses or helping their families survive. In 2025, personal remittances received by Nigeria were equivalent to 7.8% of GDP, according to World Bank data.So patriotism cannot simply be measured by where your body is located.A Nigerian in Lagos is not automatically more patriotic than a Nigerian in London.One stayed.One left.That is all we know from their location.We don't know who sacrifices more. We don't know who gives more. We don't know who loves Nigeria more.I love Nigeria.I will miss Nigerian food. I will miss my people. I will complain about Nigeria from wherever I am. I might even come back.But I refuse to believe that loving Nigeria means sacrificing my entire future to prove it.If Nigeria wants young people to stay, guilt will not do it.Give them something worth staying for.Make it possible to build a life here. Make public hospitals work. Make electricity reliable. Make people safe. Make education worth something. Make honest work capable of providing a decent life.Because it is difficult to ask someone to stay and build a country when that same person is watching people who cut corners move ahead of them.And Nigeria owes its people something too.Safety. Functioning institutions. Opportunities. A reason to believe that their future can be better here.I am not going to pretend I know what the right choice is for every Nigerian. Some people will stay. Some will leave. Some will leave and return. Some will build from abroad. Some will build from here.But I know what I would do.And yes, if I get the opportunity to leave, I will leave.I am not going to sit here and pretend otherwise just because it sounds more patriotic.Not because I hate Nigeria.Because I have one life.<img src="/media/inline_insight_image/IMG_7931.jpeg"/>

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