Where to love Nigeria - by Just

Right from our childhood we are taught patriotism; Loving our country dearly, staying loyal, No matter the cost.No matter the cost? Even our lives? Our joy? Our potential?We can’t keep offering sacrifices as citizens while the country we offer it to continually fails to produce result from those sacrifices.On the other hand, there is Nigeria, an unpolished diamond. A piece of raw gold waiting to be refined. A country overflowing with brilliance, cultural richness, resources and creativity; in the hands of people that hoard it for the title of ownership, of power, of wealth, rather than revealing its true value. Can we really blame Nigeria for her state? Should we abandon such potential because the refining process is demanding?But if we all chose to illuminate another man’s country, what will be left of our roots? If we all leave our land in the hands of those that made her suffer, what would be left of our beautiful home? This is the paradox of Japa. We want to leave because we want to live. We want to stay because we want Nigeria to live too.Patriotism was never meant to be at the expense of personal growth. Everyone deserves to shine. It is supposed to be igniting change where hope resides, acting in the hope of a better tomorrow, not to offer continuous blind sacrifices with no evidence that tomorrow will be better. We are asked to remember our roots on this day, to look at our victories. Though we carry green and white flags, we often see grey. We shout and celebrate freedom from colonialism in the streets but behind the scenes yell in the grief of being trapped between two decisions. We’ve been tortured by a system where average living equals survival. Living each day costs an average Nigerian family the essence, the joy that comes from basic beauty in life.Is leaving selfish? Maybe. But staying doesn’t automatically make us patriotic either.Patriotism isn’t blindly accepting suffering just to prove your love.It is contribution to the growth of Nigeria. That contribution could take place in Nigeria, it could happen from thousands of kilometers away.Leaving Nigeria doesn’t necessarily mean leaving Nigerians. I believe there is a way to balance both. We deserve to turn our education into development. A Nigerian could grow abroad to acquire knowledge, develop skills, build connections and eventually return with something Nigeria desperately needs. So perhaps we are asking the wrong question, whether to stay or to leave.The question isn’t simply: “Are we patriotic enough to stay?”But rather should be:“What are we being asked to stay for?”And if we leave:“What do we plan on bringing back?” I don’t want a Nigeria where people stay because they are too scared to leave. Ie also do not want a Nigeria where leaving is the only definition of success. The people deserve a genuine choice. To stay because they believe they can build here, or to leave because they want to see beyond the national borders.The true tragedy isn’t just brain drain, isn’t simply the emigration, but the feeling that they have to leave to be all they could’ve been, to live the life they could’ve lived. They start to blame Nigeria for not being what she could’ve been. Nigeria wouldn’t just lose a citizen; she would lose a spark that could have eventually burned with passion. She would lose a possibility; a possibility of change.If I were presented with the question,” Would you leave?” I would leave. I value personal fulfillment above many things. But I would not leave Nigeria, I would live each day knowing I am building myself for Nigeria, so I can come back and set things in order. I would acquire skills abroad and use them to build my home. And I would still remember where I came from. I believe every person should be presented with a choice. How do you intend to change Nigeria? Will you build yourself so you can serve as a block for our future? Or will you stay, and groom what’s left?A capable man who stays without vision, without prayer, without hope is foolish, he wastes his potential. A capable man who leaves with no intention of looking back, of giving back is selfish, he takes his potential and shuts the door behind him.Candidly speaking, Nigeria doesn’t need people who will blindly sacrifice their lives in uncertainty, nor does she need people that japa with no intention of looking back.She needs people that refine themselves for her, that retain hope for a better tomorrow. People that instead of blaming the offices and power, they develop themselves until they are capable of wielding that power and using it differently. She needs people that teach, That innovate,That instill hope in the youth, That guard the heart and soul of Nigeria.Nigeria at 66, let us not simply compare her with nations whose histories are not only different, but date many more years back. She is still unfinished, still growing. She has proven to be promising.Yes, it seems it is all going down.Yes, things are getting harder. Yes, we are an inch away from the edge.Yes, it stings to watch her struggle, while knowing there is very little we can do. But let us not forget, Nigeria is a land of survivors.Nigeria has survived before, through colonialism, pandemics, protests, famine, drought, inflation, disasters, and Nigerians have survived with her. We have proven over and over again, our resilience, that we are true survivors. But we aspire for a lot more than survival.This is why we must choose a path, one we would be more productive in. If you stay, build.If you leave, grow.What you learn, teach.Whatever wealth you gather, create opportunity.No matter what category we fall into, we must contribute to restoring what has been broken, and even build it beyond that.Japa if you must.You are free to travel, To see the world,To gather momentum for flight in another country, but you must remember why.Remember your roots.

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