From Wonderland To Naijaland (Alice In Naijaland)
Hello there, I am Alice. I have never been to Wonderland, but I do live in a country where wandering around, you will be left wondering about why, how, and why again things are the way they are.
Nigeria. Naija. 9ja. Naijaland. A country so unique, we combine heavenly and hellish virtues, just to ensure no one else is like us.
From derelict roads, to physically crumbling school buildings, to systematically crumbling institutions, to nonexistent science sector, to hospitals with no syringes, to traffic snarls that last for hours and when you crawl out of it, you can’t find a cause for it, to irresponsible, insensitive and incorrigible government that seem to only be interested in enriching themselves and their cronies, planting stooges to take over from them and robbing the Nation blind.
Not to be misunderstood, I love Nigeria. Not just me, but the majority of Nigerians love Nigeria.
This could make it sound more complicated, not that we love Nigeria, but we love the concept of “Nigeria”, not the reality of Nigeria. That is the easiest explanation for why the modern Nigerian, the millennial generation of Nigerians will refer to Nigeria as Naija a hundred times before referring to it as Nigeria.
Naija is our Wonderland. An idea of what can be rather than what is. An envisioning of what our resources and potential can birth rather than what our history and mistakes has killed.
Just as a certain Alice portrayed her journey through a Wonderland, I will be sharing my experience, opinion and aspirations for Naijaland.
This is Alice in Naijaland.
Wilson Joshua is a Video Editor, Content Creator and Creative Writer.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. @IJoswil
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