Nigeria: A Nation of Contrasts — The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

Regardless of how amazing or terrible a nation is, it'll definitely have its other side; the same goes for people, and that's why when you see someone's praises being sung by almost everyone, you'll see an individual who'll have reservations about that, so it's entirely normal. And so in the light of that, I'll be exploring what my beloved country Nigeria is known for, both on the positive note and the negative aspect, and I'll further go on to explore how these affect the nation and her people in all works of life. My country is a wonderful nation, although we've got our downside, but above all, I won't trade it for another because it's a vibe on its own.  Nigeria has lots of good things it's known for around the world despite the fact that we also have a massive bad picture painted of us to the outside world. One of those good sides is regarding entertainment. Nigeria isn't a dull place at all, and that's why we're known as the happy people. Nigeria has lots of challenges they're facing, but amidst that, you'll be amazed to see us finding something to smile about amidst the chaos we're facing. So I'm guessing that's why we stand out in areas of entertainment; be it music, movies, or other entertainment hub industries, we're always among the top, and it's one of those things that has made us popular to the outside world. Surprisingly, this didn't start today; it's been going on for decades, and that's why when you visit other African nations, especially, you'll be amazed to realize they know most of our musicians and their songs. The same is the case with our movies. Take for instance I once had a conversation with someone from South Africa, and he couldn't believe Mr. Ibu, Samu Loko, Aki, Pawpaw, and the likes are not from his country, because the same way they graced our childhood with their talents and comics is how they did in other countries, so for this reason I'm saying these aspects of life are what we're well known for around the world, alongside our resilience and ability to look for positivity amidst life's chaos.  Talking about the bad thing my dear country is known for to the outside world, I'll say without any doubt it's scam and corruption. The level of corruption in my country, Nigeria, is so high that almost everyone who has a little power above others tends to misuse it for their personal gain; this has painted the country bad to not just the people but to the outside world as well. Almost everyone is corrupt in their own way from the bottom to the top, in government, in factories, in business, in school, and even in hospitals. This is a terrible thing to be known for and can bring about other countries distancing themselves from us out of fear of being scammed. Just like corruption, we're also known for scams. Many people have painted us in bad lights to the world, and you'll hear people often talk about Nigerian scammers and email fraud, including the Nigerian prince strategy they often utilized in the past to cart away with people's money. While this isn't a good thing, we're known for these to the world, and many even look at it from the positive side to say Nigerians are smart individuals, because at the end of the day you've got to be smart to cook up such a thing and deprive people of their hard-earned money. I'd just prefer if that smartness had been used towards a noble course.  All of these, both the good and the bad, are actually facts that one can't deny, and they've had both good and positive and bad impacts on our nation and the people therein. For instance, the corruption and scams have made other nations and people skeptical of us, and these have deprived people of opportunities that are open to others, while on the entertainment aspect, it has helped put us in the limelight and make people learn our culture, way of life, and language and even want to feel among us. *** All photos are taken and edited on canva. ***