The Real Nigerian Dream? Connections Without Consequences.

Crazy tings by Tems

There’s something nobody tells you about growing up in Nigeria.

You’re told to fear failure.

Study hard.
Respect elders.
Work hard.
Pray harder.
Be humble.
Keep your head down.
Your time will come.

But somewhere between school, government offices, job interviews, churches, workplaces, contracts, and adult life…

You realize something darker.

In Nigeria, many people do not fear failure.

They fear being powerless.

Because once you have power, money, influence, or the right connections…

Consequences can start feeling negotiable.

And that realization changes people.

You see it in government offices where merit can quietly lose to connections.

You see it in hiring processes where talent gets filtered out before a technical person even sees the CV.

You see it in workplaces where the loudest person gets promoted, not always the most competent.

You see it in public scandals where people don’t ask:

What happened?
What does due process say?

They ask:

Who is involved?
Who knows who?
Can anything actually happen to them?

That question alone tells you a lot about trust.

But maybe what hurts me most is how even some religious institutions can feed into this culture.

Not all. But enough to notice.

Places that should be teaching integrity sometimes end up teaching performance.

Teaching people how to look blessed instead of how to build character.

Teaching offerings without accountability.

Teaching obedience without questions.

Teaching prosperity without systems.

And in a country already struggling with weak institutions, that can become dangerous.

Because when people are tired, broke, desperate, unemployed, grieving, or trying to survive…

Hope becomes easy to monetize.

And in Nigeria, anything can become a business if people stop asking questions.

Politics.

Education.

Employment.

Even faith.

That’s the danger of anyhowness.

Not just that bad things happen.

But that people slowly stop expecting better.

They stop demanding systems.

They stop demanding accountability.

They stop demanding consequences.

And then one day, a country full of talented people starts behaving like survival is more important than principle.

And maybe that’s the real tragedy.

Not that Nigeria lacks talent.

Not that Nigeria lacks resources.

But that too many people have stopped believing fairness is supposed to be normal.

So no—I don’t think Nigeria only has an economic problem.

I think Nigeria has a consequence problem.

And until we start demanding accountability from everybody—politicians, CEOs, institutions, employers, even our own communities—

We will keep raising talented people…

Inside systems that quietly wear them down.

And if you truly want change?

Get your PVC. Ask harder questions. Stop worshipping power.

Because nations don’t collapse only when bad people win.

Sometimes they collapse when good people stop expecting better.