“What happened to all the local bumbum out there?” Phage asks with urgency, bemoaning news that Nigerian clubs import dancers from the USA to strip for them. The reality of having factors we do not interact with in meaningful ways, affecting our day to day activities– and holding so much sway on our quality of life drives home the powerlessness of the average citizen. Even the neighborhood vulcaniser uses the phrase “Dollar ti won” translated to ‘Dollar is now expensive’ to justify raising prices. There are cracks in whatever we can prop up within the country, as the definitive Nigerian dream.
What is the Nigerian Dream? What is any country’s dream really? The ‘insert-country’ dream phrase is culled from post World War 2 America when battle hardened returnees were encouraged to return to the industries. The American Dream was simple: “If you work hard, you can support a family” and was branded into minds during the golden age of capitalism. This has since fallen apart as corporations have grown into bottlenecks and the people are considered a means to an end.
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