I was listening to real authentic Fela put on by my driver on the way back home from the office in the evening. Beast of No Nation, Yellow Fever (you dey bleach oh you dey bleach) and other songs. It brought back memories of my earlier University days in Lagos when I had no clue how to chat up ladies and life was simple (apart from learning the right way to chat up ladies) but it also made me wonder whether things have changed since then. Fela was complaining that there was no light, no water, no food and some 20 years later (goodness, that long?) have things really changed?
Lagos, (I can’t speak for Nigeria but I can definitely speak for Lagos) is a two tier system. Look out of the window as you drive past; the vulcanizer, the fruit seller, the petrol pump attendant, the guy selling MTN top up cards, the guys walking with their plastic bags of food and jerry cans of water to the building site. I’m not sure if things have changed for them over the past 20 years.
It’s others like me in their air-conditioned cars, driving past on the way from their air conditioned offices to their air-conditioned mansions, blasting out diesel fumes from our generators, buying TM Llewyn shirts at the air conditioned shopping centres, maybe things have changed for the better for us.. But again, perhaps things have not changed. Nigeria has always been a two tier society. I have just moved to the other side of the divide. Hopefully there are more opportunities for more people that will make crossing to the other side of the divide less onerous than it was in the past. But still, from what I have seen, the rich still get richer but maybe the poor also have a bit more of a chance.
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3 comments:
so i guess u r a very rich man since u r in the other divid right
True, how litte has changed. i too was listening to Fela the other day and it was a bit freaky to hear the song about Obasanjo and YarAdua messing everything up back then.......same story just a different Yaradua now......very sad that the song is relevant 20years on...shows had bad Nigeria is at moving forward and dropping the people who have been screwig it over for years and years.
..bit more of a chance.. i sincerely doubt that the poor will 'have a bit more a chance'. Imagine, your a shop owner a welder or something similiar. How on earth do you think your child would get an education, you wont be a ble to afford a private primary school, state run schools are rubbish. you wont be able to get your child into university cos you wont be able to afford the bribes, not to mention the school fees. Your child wont get a good job as YOU wont have any contacts (if you did then you'd be in the money). So really Niger is a two tier society and will always be a two tier society. How many Modern day RAGS to riches stories have you heard coming out of Nigeria compared to other countries. Two tier it is and Two tier it will always be....
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