Nigeria is hardly a nation of patriots. From the outside, you may be mistaken to believe Nigerians are prideful of their heritage. The way they fight over jollof rice, Afrobeats, and their vaunted claims of exceptionalism suggest a ferocious love of country. But the devil’s in the details. Whatever patriotism you see Nigerians express online does not survive scrutiny. But I get it; you don’t speak ill of your father’s house to outsiders, even if it is the devil’s lair.
This speak-no-ill-of-your-father’s-house sentiment has caused some interesting drama over the past few weeks. Let me begin with Davido, one of Nigeria’s biggest pop stars. A clip of him being interviewed by an American radio presenter circulated on social media recently. When asked his advice for African Americans who desire to return to Africa, he made no bones about the economic retrogression of Nigeria. The economy sucks, the country has bad leaders, and entertainment is one of the things that make Africa look good. That clip ruffled a lot of feathers, especially among supporters of the ruling party. Being one of Nigeria’s biggest names, Davido’s harsh statements would not help in attracting much-needed foreign investments, his attackers argued. Of special mention is a lady who went on a tirade against Davido on TVC. As a punishment for speaking ill of the country, it was rumoured that his shows in Nigeria would be cancelled. But he posted that he doesn’t have to perform in Nigeria anyway.
Kemi Badenoch, the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party in the UK has frequently ruffled feathers for her harsh but often factual statements about the dysfunctionality of the Nigerian system. She grew up partly in Nigeria before her family migrated to the UK. She has talked about the police stealing from her brother when they were in Nigeria, how poor Nigeria is, and how military dictatorships ruined the country with socialist policies. She once wrote that not all cultures are equally valid. This argument against cultural relativism was made against unchecked immigration to the UK, a position she’s campaigning on. Of course, a lot of Nigerians did not like any of that. Being of Nigerian descent, her rise in UK politics is something Nigerians would typically be proud of. But, as you know, there is a thin line between love and hate. Her unsavoury comments about Nigeria have earned her a lot of hate. It’s not so much about the facts of what she says; it’s about the optics of what she says. It’s not about how she feels about a country that traumatised her; it’s about how the people in that country feel.
The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, in a rather laughable response to Kemi Badenoch, said despite her denigrating comments, Nigeria is the greatest black nation on earth. I should add that his reasons border on Nigeria being the most populous black country in the world, not because Nigeria contributes any meaningful thing to the world in terms of science, trade, or anything of real importance. How can anyone rationalise that? How does that debunk her claims of Nigeria being poor, corrupt, and dysfunctional? Of what use is quoting that one out of every six black people in the world is Nigerian when they live in utter squalor and privation? I understand that as Vice President, it is his job to speak well of his country. But it was not smart of him to respond to her because the facts are on her side.
Tayo Aina is one of Nigeria’s biggest content creators. He makes travel and real estate videos. Some months ago, he made a video announcing the acquisition of citizenship by investment in Saint Kitts and Nevis, a country in the Caribbean. He talked about the ordeals of travelling with a Nigerian passport within and outside Africa. As a Nigerian, you get unceremoniously frisked by immigration officials. You frequently get denied a visa because you have the misfortune of coming from a country whose reputation for crime and fraud precedes it. With a Nigerian passport, automatically, you are suspect. I remember I once watched a video where he narrated how he was held up at Bole International Airport in Ethiopia for hours on suspicion that he was a criminal despite showing evidence he is just a travel content creator. So, after years of having to put up with all that, he purchased a new citizenship that cost him a whopping $150,000. Many took umbrage at that video. In fact, the video was more or less an advert for the legal firm he contracted to acquire his new citizenship. Instead of encouraging young Nigerians to be proud of their country, he should not make videos telling them how they can acquire a new citizenship, they argued.
Last week, he dropped another video where he announced why he relocated to Portugal. He talked about how Nigeria has made it very difficult for him to enjoy his work. From having to get fuel to power his generator to not being able to get direct flights from Nigeria to most places in the world, he increasingly became fatigued. Eventually, he applied for residency in Portugal and he was granted. Again, some people did not appreciate what they viewed as a betrayal against Nigeria.
What does it mean to be proud of being Nigerian? This is a question I’ve thought about for a while. As we live in the Japa zeitgeist, the country will continue to lose millions of talents to other territories. Despite how bleak the situation is, Nigerians are being told to persevere. Very frequently, you hear from politicians platitudes about not giving up on the country. Nigeria is still going to work, and all young people need to do is trust the government. Things may be hard today, but tomorrow they will be better. So, instead of wanting to Japa, stay because providence and patriotism demand it. But that’s all BS.
I’ve had my fair share of being a victim of my zip code. Back in August, I applied for the role of AI Tutor at Elon Musk’s XAI. I passed the tests and interviews. After months of anticipation for an official offer of employment, I was told they couldn’t proceed because of work authorisation restrictions. In other words, they could not move forward because of my location. Naturally, I was hurt and regretted being a Nigerian.
I’ve thought hard and long about what it means to be proud to be Nigerian. Nothing comes to mind. People often resort to sentiments when they wax patriotic about Nigeria. And that’s why you see us fight ferociously over jollof rice. The global success of Afrobeats is also something Nigerians weirdly derive patriotism from. Davido was spot on when he said entertainment is one of the things that make us look good. In fact, that’s not the first time he has said that. When people lack substance, they get drunk on sentiments. To be a patriot in Nigeria is to be sentimental about inconsequential successes like Afrobeats or CAF Awards.
The Overton window of the patriotism discourse in Nigeria does not include harsh honesty, especially if you are famous. If you say anything seemingly critical, you are seen as a betrayer. Yet, the people attacking you have no real arguments on why they are proudly Nigerian. It’s all just performative outrage because people always need a villain to attack so they can feel deluded about Nigeria.