This 700k salary debate drives home again the sad reality of how Nigeria monetises life such that any money you can get in Nigeria is valuable and yet any money you have in Nigeria is still too small.
In the end, both sides of the debate are still saying the same thing.
Our reality as Nigerians is that we have to keep earning fresh income TILL WE DIE - if they want to live comfortably. This is because we have to keep paying hard cash for costly utilities every day. This is not normal in societies with proper credit systems and social welfare.
For the person earning 70k in Nigeria, 700k/monthly will go a long way in getting a reasonable residence, transporting more easily, eating enough in quantity.
For the person earning 700k, 1.7m will go a long way in ensuring security, avoiding traffic, eating enough in quality.
The problem is: it never stops. There's no point where you can say: 'Now I have earned enough, I can just relax and enjoy the fruits of my productivity'. No, it will never stop: you will need to keep earning that 1.7m or 17m till you die if you want to maintain your lifestyle.
Good public utilities means you don't have to spend much on water (or boreholes) and fuel and generator costs. Available technology means you don't have to travel far to shop or even work. Good roads means you can go anywhere in your country fast and cheaply if you need to.
You get the gist - in such a functional system 70k or 700k doesn't make much difference in day to day living because society is not monetised that way. A person earning 70k and a person earning 700k can both buy the same car if they wish - it's just a matter of instalments.
In fact, in that kind of society - the more money you earn, the more your problems increase. Large cars incur great insurance payments. Large houses get large taxes. Even being given an expensive gift can be a pain in the ass because you will pay taxes on the gift.
But, over there you will not need to earn the greatest income just to live well, to be generally safe, have good healthcare, or get good education - except you want fancy: private jets, private islands, Ivy League schools, etc.
And that's why 700k cannot be enough in the end.
Don't blame people who want 700k because yes, every income is a life and death level of valuable in Nigeria - which shouldn't be the case.
Don't blame people who will abandon 700k because, in the end, every income is too small to guarantee anything - which shouldn't be the case.
[Rough thread. I'm multitasking atm. Please forgive any typos or concord and syntax errors]
@Anaedo16 @omoyangaa It is the fear of the unknown and the fact that money is power in Nigeria that makes us want even more. Again, this is not how others do. People in SA tell me they didn't even know its ok to have a private house with decor like hotel until they started watching Nollywood movies.
We Yoruba people are now basically led by smugglers, drug lords, low-level politicians, and patronage entertainers.
Gone are the intellectual and industrial giants, the scientific innovators, and the ideological politicians who crafted critical essays to articulate their vision.
Our best are gone elsewhere, leading innovation abroad. Our worst are here winning elections with the support of our people just because they are Yoruba - people who, back in the day, would have been chased away with stones as thieves and brigands.
If we are not careful, this is going to be our defining identity for years to come. The reputation Yorubas had for decades as being the most educated etc was not just because we sent kids to schools but because our leadership reflected this.
Reminder that the the antidote to a civilian dictatorship/weak democracy is not a military coup.
The antidote is civil society pushing for strong institutions through critical opinion, protests, litigation, and electing candidates who are anti-elite interests.
Never soldiers.
When the military runs the govt, every soldier - from the private to the General - becomes an extension of government. The entire military becomes a political institution. While the Generals are fighting the West, the soldiers on the streets are dealing with everyday citizens.
The military owes no one accountability. It is accountable only to itself - not to the courts, not to the legislature, and not to the people.
The individual soldiers are accountable only to their superiors, who are in turn accountable only to their superiors. Power is top-down.
What @cchukudebelu said about politicians repeating the mistakes of the 1st and 2nd Republics is critical.
History is replaying not just at home but all around. Coups are on the rise again and are being welcomed by the masses. This is very alarming and our leaders are to blame.
When military interventions started deposing democracies of the 1960s, nobody was surprised except the politicians.
They were still jostling for appointments and sharing contracts while everyday people were fuming.
When the house came down, they did not see it coming.
And yet the signs of trouble were everywhere: growing agitations over social issues: declining confidence in the legitimacy of elections; the increasing use of the military to suppress civilian protests; and increasing wealth gap between the political elite and everyday people.
I had come to Abuja to facilitate a human rights meeting with several NGOs and my accommodation was also booked at the hotel where the meeting would be taking place. 🧵
Soon as I landed, I sent messages to my friends in Abuja confirming that I was around.
As always, whenever I am in Nigeria, my friends would come welcome me at my accommodation, share a drink or two and generally gist. This time was no different.
For now.
One of them promised to stop by on her way home from work, also in the area.
Of the people I texted, she was the first to get to my place. I had checked into the hotel around 6.20pm and she got there around 6.40pm. Barely 15 minutes later, three police officers came to my door.
This piece of history is often overlooked: Abeokuta had a separate treaty with Britain in 1893 and was not under the Southern protectorate but existed as a sovereign kingdom. In 1914, Lugard broke the treaty, sent troops into Abeokuta and forcibly annexed the kingdom to Nigeria.
The colonisation and amalgamation of Nigeria is often told as a linear narrative where the main actor is the British. But the different societies had their own stories of resistance and surrender. Some very compelling. Nigerian school curricula should focus more on these.
The battle for Lagos is one of those stories that should be common knowledge. In November 1851, there was fighting for three days between the Eko Kingdom and the British navy. The British shelled the city until they eventually surrendered.