Social Darwinism perfectly describes our current situation in Nigeria. This term was coined in the late 19th century to describe “the idea that humans, like animals and plants, compete in a struggle for existence in which natural selection results in “survival of the fittest.”
I see a replica of this nuance not only on social media but in our daily social interactions as Nigerians. IT IS THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. Nigerians are a special breed; we wallow in mediocrity and political opportunism. The poor is gagged while the rich is elevated and celebrated. Corruption is idolized while incorruptible mind is resented and hated with passion. Our society has replaced meritocracy with mediocrity. We celebrate mediocre and the political gangsters. Ali Baba and the 40 thieves are awarded national honors and religious blessings from religious leaders, while the Nigerian professionals are commonly starved like church rats. It’s a society of social and political Darwinism; it is also a society with Tsunami of self-distrust and self-destruction.
Meanwhile, It will honestly take the grace of God for a sound mind to flourish and survive in a society where abnormality is seen as a social norm. Traditional values are relegated to extinction while we dwell in corruption, antisocial and criminal values. Nigeria needs self-redemption to breakaway from the generic sins of the past in order to attain a true nationhood. Honestly, Anything short of this is an expedition on a famished road or an exercise in futility.
Nigerians are known for encyclopedic knowledge of politics yet we are unable to find common ground to solving our socio-economic and political problems. Ignorance with overconfidence are our double tragedy. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer to a closed minded ignorance.
The true reality is coming home to roost where LEADERSHIP and FOLLOWERSHIP are not mutually exclusive. I hope my social comrades and other Nigerians can decode this evolving innocent submission as we wander in our sociopolitical wilderness.
