by Adebola Emmanuel
A man called , pouring his mind towards a topic discussed on radio – precisely on Cool FM: ” Mannie nothing is working. No money , no light, nothing – nothing. There is no even change! A bag of rice is now more than my salary or is that the change ?” These were his exact words. If you had heard him that morning, at about 6 am, you would tell the height of his frustration.
House rent, feeding , clothing , and other financial burdens were probably the demons that didn’t make him have a happy night rest. After his call, more calls came in, and it was vents upon vents. In my own case, my unfruitful attempts to gain admission to the university has not just made me frustrated, but it has also made me a murderer. Three times I wrote JAMB, three times I was denied admission. Of one thing I am convinced that I have a university brain. Yet, even after scaling through the required mark, I still get denied of an admission. So anytime I see nonchalant students in high schools, my heart throb. Ladies in particular who go about on skimpy dresses ,sleeping with lecturers instead of their books is what grieves me most. Meanwhile, I think such ladies are plagued with low or no self esteem.
In one unusual moment, this time on my street – a suburb area in Lagos. I told a beautiful young lady on tight blouse that the dress she had on was ” bursting”. I’m sure she didn’t understand me, because she smiled back , instead of looking forlorn. So she said ” thank you”. Getting on a bike , few hours later , the dress tore in a ” bursting ” manner … Like I knew it would happen, but this is the way many young people make costly mistakes. As for the ladies , they get poisoned by sperm and later on become “baby mamas “.So at the end of the day, they never get to become graduates. I like you , let’s have sex – are usually the two deceptive words that precedes their bulgy stomach. So these ladies carry a child with an anonymous father. They drop out of school, waste all the university experience have always crave for, and the guy who got them pregnant continues with his own education.
Our entertainment industry is certainly responsible for this social vile. Nollywood gives us false impression about love, while music videos teaches guys how to get girls pregnant. This two aspect of entertainment is fast becoming a social venom. This subtle craze of entertainment is an imitation from the whites. Still , am amazed that we are yet to imitate the political proficiency of the whites in government.
In a blessed country like Nigeria with vast resources, we are all bread winners. Unfortunately, we are in a country where there is hardly a bread to win. The reason is obvious : Corruption. No doubt, politicians are inundated with corruption. An outrageous $15 Million scandal of a former President’s wife is the most current. This whooping scandal is enough wealth to re-build our already dead academic sector that is as tattered as my books, recently torn into shambles by some rats. These rats ate my books the same way our politicians eat our money. Already ,have shed the blood of six rats. My textbooks are in shambles as our economy ,and something urgent needs to be done!
This entry was submitted as part of the Nigerian Voices competition organized by YNaija.com.
We publish, un-edited, Nigerians telling the stories of their everyday lives. Read all the narratives daily on the Nigerian Voices vertical. You can also contribute your own story titled ‘Nigerian Voices’ to [email protected].
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