LOOK AT WHAT THEY MADE YOU.

I woke up in the morning, on my habit of pressing the phone before I could say a short prayer, I turned on the data and a notification from my Phonix browser displayed the headlines "56 killed, 20 abducted as unknown gunmen invade Eko community." 

Another reads " 25 years old man sleeps with the corpse of mom for wealth". 

My mind dwelled on the first headline for a while, how terrible it must have been for anyone to woke up to such misfortune.

I yawned, and check my wall clock, it is past 10 am. it is time I should have been in the class listening to my lecturer narrate the story of his life, how difficult it will be for anyone who hasn't bought his three pages manual to pass his course before he could even draw a marker on the board. His frustration could be understood. Frequent strike actions have made them become like angry birds. 😠 

Truth is I don't know when ASUU was calling off the four months strike.

From the sitting room, a distant voice on the radio said "Account General arraigned for embezzling 80 billion naira." There I wonder how much will take for the lecturers to go back to the classrooms. 

The presenter added, "aspirants spend 100 billion naira on nomination and expression of interest forms across all political parties." 

She read another headline "Farmers in Edemutin community purchase 100 million naira presidential nomination form for Inuaiko", the presenter chuckled 😂 perhaps in disbelief of what she read.

Farmers that can't send their wards to school or contribute for ASUU to return to class but could save up to 100 million naira to purchase forms for someone who has looted the country dry. I couldn't hold myself as I burst into laughter. "What a joke!" 🤣 

I keep wondering why I was born into this kind of a country with so many jokes even at dead threatening situations. 

You graduated at the age of 27 due to endless strikes, served and returned at 28. 

Then you found a job vacancy that states that you must be a graduate at the age of 21 with 3 years of working experience. 

You hissed, and think of the harm the leadership of the country has done to your professional life and how you can't secure the already limited job due to age limits. 

You found another job vacancy with the age range between 21 and 25, you close your eyes, and applied. You just want to try your luck but opening the application portal you noticed that 100k applications have been submitted already. 

At that point, you wonder how many 21 years old and 25 years old must have applied already and your chances of getting the job that must have had internal consideration first before it was made public. 

Your mind never remembered that you were not eligible to apply but you only wanted to attempt.

You keep searching for jobs with your mind skipping when you recall tens of millions that are passing out of the youth service scheme every year into the "Labour Market"

Two of your older siblings are still without a job after 5 years of graduating from school. 

You wanted to be a career person. That was your initial intention, to be an expert in your chosen field but the country exterminates dreams and renders so many useless. 

Gordon, your friend who burned his candle to read Petroleum Engineering, 98 courses spread across ten semesters in school ends up as a Keke rider just to feed. 

At 35 years of age, nothing to show than a bank balance of 100k that can't pay the bride price but he wants to marry as age has caught up with him.

Another of your guy studied Mass Communication in school and returned from service to learn a trade. After years of learning no capital to start up his business. 

He keeps trying his hands on anything that comes his way. Next, he decided to end his misery by ending his life. Suicide! 

Edem, just to survive, went from the mechanical engineering he studied in school to a cashier in the bank, the goal is to survive while hoping. 

The pay is 70k, trans 12k per month, feeding 14k per month, and rent 80k for a year. 

Demands at home, coming thick and thin with expectations so high as he is now working in a reputable financial institution in the country. He is left depressed as the penny pay can't meet up with demands.

He keeps living from hand to mouth. He prays for survival.  

His career and dreams are all buried. 

Your paddy, Oto cued behind a politician, becomes a full-blown sycophant on the blue app with the hope of just surviving. The goal is that 5k stipends now and then. 

As the general elections approached, he drums support for his boss who sees virtually nothing good about him other than the occasional 10k for upkeep while he keeps him for sycophancy. 

He sleeps and wakes up at the gate of "Obongowo". 

"You don't have what to do with your life? The gateman once asked angrily. He must have been very tired of seeing him so useless. He didn't know that Oto did that just to survive. 

Oto is seen with a customised face cap of his principal's name boldly written "ADIKU". 

That's his tag to show that he is associated with the political aspiration of "Oga" with the hope of being a PA on social media sycophancy. 

The kids to his boss are studying at Oxford University with 20 million naira upkeep every month, Oga's nephews, nieces and cousins are commissioners, council chairmen, house members etc but Oto is dominating the social media space with insults to anything against the political moves of "Obongowo"

When are we going to learn? Lol! We've learnt but that is what they made us. 

Are we doomed? A question of debate.

~ Patrick Ekong ©️