abrahamKim
Writing about a failed friend can be hard. Writing about a failed parent can be harder. Writing about a failed and failing country can be soul-crushing.
That's why I find it hard to write about Nigeria. The country is over 60 years from independence, yet we have no stable electricity. Awful roads. In Nigeria, you're your government - you provide your water, road (if your community is smart and cooperative), healthcare etc.
It's more painful because every Nigerian knows that Nigeria is not a poor country. We made so much money from Crude Oil yet nothing to show for it. We can't even refine our oil to capacity. We get our oil from the ground, export it in the crude state, we then repurchase it refined at a greater cost. Isn't that stupidly interesting. We also earn a lot from Foreign Direct Investments, yet very little to show for it.
Let me not talk about insecurity. Our very annoying electoral process.
Thinking about all of these just builds up angst and depression and the "japa" mentality. The idea of wanting to travel out at all cost. Avoiding it has been helpful. I'm not under pressure to move abroad, I'm still hopeful we can get it right. I believe I can remain in Nigeria and lead a decent life and raise a well-cultured family. People are doing it, so it's possible.
I know I have to do better than avoid the issues. Thus these days, I'm trying to understand why things are the way they are. Such an approach has triggered some disturbing questions like "is a politics a game?".
Can we actually call politics a game? Given the number of lives, the recklessness or otherwise of politicians affects? However, do we have proof of anyone who won a seat in government and yet didn't approach politics like it's a game?
I honestly don't have all the answers. I consider myself a slow learner, so I'll take my time till I understand the issues before writing theses about Nigeria.
You mention that this topic can be hard to write about and actually those are the topics that are most useful to write about because I think it helps you explore your feelings and ideas more.
In the long run I've often learned that topics that were easy to read/write-about in the short-run happen to be less impactful in the long run. Easy come easy go. But the topics that were skeletons in my closet for a long time were the ones that I needed to engage with.
Also it's interesting how you stack the difficulty of writing about failure. First it's friend. Then it's parent. Then nation. I guess for me as an American I don't feel so soul crushed about my country's failings. I wonder why?
Haha, the writing difficulty stack wasn't deliberate, perhaps I'd have noticed if I edited. In comparison to Nigeria, America hasn't failed. That's why many folks here still wanna go there at any cost. Because at least basic human amenities are guaranteed (or can be fought/worked for).