The Pasture Is Not Always Greener On The Other Side
What happens when you hold on to your dreams for so long? It becomes real; it develops wings and fly like a bird set free after being incarcerated for so long. The stories of the pigeons in good old Trafalgar’s square may have some additions or subtractions that many of us don’t even know. What about the famous London Bridge? Did you feel like you would see it with your own eyes someday? We all seek greener pasture because we want to improve our lives. We want to rule our world (apologies to glo), send money back home to those we grew up with; those who still live in slump and feed fat from slum.
A walk down various sections of the MMIA will shock you to the marrow; Nigerians boarding giant birds and fleeing in their thousands. Fleeing to ‘safety’ I suppose; running away from an ailing economy, massive unemployment ratio, massive insecurity, kidnapping, etc. Nonetheless, did anyone tell them that the grass is not always greener on the other side of life?
Beautiful streets, 24 hours uninterrupted power supply, buoyant economy, stable political system, just name it; all these things are what attract us to the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Germany, and many others. Nonetheless, they are not enough to make us forget the freedom and fun back home even with constant generator noise reminding us that we are a nation badly bruised by men and women with corrupt mindset.
Oh the London roads are lovely! They are so well designed and constructed that what we seen on TVs are not even as beautiful as what they are in reality. Their supermarkets, railway system, hospitals, and stadiums are of the highest quality. See it to believe it; you just need to be there to see things for yourself. Car owners are respectful, traffic lights and indicators are not regarded as fancy lights or toys because they are highly regarded.
Do you know what the problem is? Home will always be home! Home for me is where I am welcome. It is a place where no one threatens me because I am black or Hispanic or African. Home is not where someone pulls the trigger just because he feels I can’t go to the same restaurant he goes to. I don’t know about you, but home is not where someone calls the cop just because I scolded my child for being disrespectful. Home is not where someone calls the cop just because I openly slaughter a goat to make barbeque with my friends.
No jobs in Nigeria quite alright, but there are prospects; at least no one views me as a scammer because I am an African. In the UK, we work our ass out trying to make ends meet. No one respects nor values our hard-earned certificates because we have a reputation for endless ASUU and NASU strikes. It doesn’t matter whose son you are; you have to work to earn a living in the UK. Of course, there are rich kids whose parents send in money from home; but the hawks (clubs and liquor) are waiting on the wings to pounce.
There are guys who spend more time in prison than they change their clothes. There are guys who just won’t go back home because there is nothing to show for the years they have spent searching for greener pastures. The thing is, you can’t always eat your cake and have it; you have got to sit up or hit the road back to Nigeria.
It’s alright if you don’t want to come back home because that is not what I am saying. It’s just that I want you to know that things are not always what they seem to be.
