mayikeora

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

SO HOW DO WE GET THERE?

I still believe in Nigeria.

Perhaps patriotism isn’t pretending everything is fine.

Maybe loving your country means believing it is capable of better…

and refusing to lower the standard because dysfunction has become familiar.

Government must do better.

Institutions must do better.

Businesses must do better.

And yes…

we must do better too.

Because Nigeria shouldn’t keep happening to Nigerians.

Nigeria should start working for Nigerians. 🇳🇬

What would make you believe in Nigeria again?

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

THIS CANNOT BE OUR STORY

I don’t want our Nigerian story to permanently be:

despite Nigeria.

Successful despite the system.

Thriving despite the infrastructure.

Building despite the institutions.

Surviving despite everything.

Imagine what Nigerians could become if our country stopped being an obstacle we constantly had to overcome.

This should not be our story.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

I REFUSE CYNICISM

Because there is another danger.

When Nigeria happens to you often enough,

you can become cynical.

You stop expecting better.

You learn the shortcuts.

Eventually, instead of fighting the dysfunction…

you learn how to benefit from it.

And perhaps that is how broken systems survive.

Not because everybody likes them.

But because enough of us learn how to navigate them.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

THAT CHANGES THE CONVERSATION

So perhaps patriotism isn’t merely waving a flag.

Or defending Nigeria when foreigners criticise us.

Sometimes patriotism is much less glamorous.

Doing your job properly.

Paying people properly.

Refusing the shortcut when you have enough influence to take it.

Building something that works.

Leaving an institution better than you met it.

Making Nigeria work in the small corner entrusted to you.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

BUT GOVERNMENT ISN’T NIGERIA

And here is the uncomfortable part.

Nigeria is not only Abuja.

Nigeria is also us.

The official demanding “something.”

The employer refusing to pay salaries.

The business selling fake products.

The person jumping the queue.

The contractor cutting corners.

The powerful person calling somebody to bypass the same rules they complain don’t work.

Sometimes…

we are the Nigeria that happens to somebody else.

👀

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

PATRIOTISM NEEDS RECIPROCITY

Give people institutions they can trust.

Give entrepreneurs systems that don’t punish enterprise.

Give young people a reason to believe effort can actually lead somewhere.

Let rules apply whether somebody knows somebody or not.

Let public service actually feel like service.

Then watch how fiercely people defend the country that works for them.

Patriotism grows where trust lives.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

THEN WE ASK FOR PATRIOTISM

And this is where I struggle.

We tell Nigerians:

Love your country.

Believe in Nigeria.

Invest at home.

Come back home.

Stop talking Nigeria down.

Be patriotic.

Fair enough.

But patriotism cannot only be something citizens owe their country.

A country owes its citizens something too.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

WE HAVE NORMALISED TOO MUCH

Perhaps the frightening part is not even dysfunction anymore.

It is how normal it has become.

“No light.”

“Network is down.”

“System is not working.”

“Come back tomorrow.”

“Do you know anybody there?”

We say these things so casually.

As though functioning systems are an unreasonable expectation.

They are not.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

YOU KNOW THE FEELING

If you are Nigerian, you probably know exactly what I mean.

Something that should take one day takes three weeks.

Something that should be straightforward suddenly requires “somebody.”

A right begins to feel like a favour.

A process becomes a negotiation.

You arrive hopeful.

You leave exhausted.

And sometimes you even laugh because…

what else can you do? 😂

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

I actually love Nigeria.

Not theoretically.

I chose to come home.

I build businesses here.

I employ people here.

I invest here.

I raise my family here.

I still believe there is something extraordinary about this country.

But then…

Nigeria happens to you.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

MY NIGERIAN STORY

When Nigeria happens to you.

We say we want Nigerians to be patriotic.

But sometimes I wonder…

have we made Nigeria easy to love?

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

I would love to hear your perspective.

Do you think the biggest challenge facing Nigerian businesses today is weak systems, weak accountability, or a combination of both?

[Ahunna Eziakonwa @ahunnaeziakonwa]

Inspired by today’s staff engagement with the amazing @UNDPNigeria team. Thank you for your passion, innovation and commitment to transforming lives across Nigeria and Africa.

My takeaway: “Africa’s time on Africa’s terms!”

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

@Chidire @NigeriaStories Very important!

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

@obyezeks @NatashaAkpoti I agree ... This is an opportunity to stand for women in politics. I really hope that women realize that this is now beyond Senator Natasha. Let’s not allow this system set a precedent that might take us backwards in our quest for inclusion.

[mayikeora @mayikeora]

@SirLeoBDasilva Some people think their phone not ringing means they are good 😜. Anyone’s phone ringing out these day and age is alien. Men are the real culprit here, some women are just getting into the men’s game and that’s making men mad. Just respect one another. Peridot