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| Bamidele Ademola-Olateju |
Dateline 2015. I had an appointment to see Mr. Ovie (not real name) at Four Points By Sheraton, Oniru, Victoria Island. Mr. Ovie is a big fan who believes I am one of the best discoveries he's ever made. He wanted to know where the political wind is blowing and discuss matters Nigeriana with me, over lunch. We had our lunch and moved on to the open deck to have drinks, more talk and a whiff of the streetscape. Barely, 20minutes later; his daughter Onome called. He handed the phone over to me. After a few pleasantries and small talk, I offered to pick her up, to join us. She lives less than a mile away. Onome graduated Magna cum laude from Leeds. I volunteered to go bring her over, the evening just started. We could do with more talk, more laughter, more drinks.
At her apartment, the simplicity of her closet struck me yet again. It mirrored what I have seen among the children of the upper middle class. No frills, boring monochrome of blacks and pastels, one or two pumps, one or two ballet flats, and plenty of athleisure wear. "Auntie, can I wear jeans and a simple top?" Of course! I responded. We are only going to hangout. OK ma, she said. "But... Please ma, I have an outing next week, now that you are here, can you please help me decide what to wear? It is a night of Songs..." I picked one of her black gowns, an ear stud and a pearl necklace. I told her to wear a red shoe to jazz it up and a silver clutch for effect.
On our way, she told me about her job at ExxonMobil and boys. As we moved through the light traffic, she told me; "auntie, can you please help convince dad that all I need is a fairly used Toyota Corolla? He is planning to give me one of the Toyota Camry he used to own. That is an old man's car. My friends will taunt and ridicule me. Alternatively, I can manage and buy one in about six months. I don't need more than a Corolla at this point in my life."
Oh dear! That conversation has been replayed in my brain many times in the last one month. A borrowed pant is either too snug or too loose! Most rich kids many young Nigerians of little means seek to emulate do not go for big things. Many of them are bland. The girls wear natural hair, boring outfits and are driven to outperform their parents. They understand that the G-Wagon in Davido's video is part of entertainment. They don't seek to be Dangote overnight. They are not impressed by quick deals. Those that are well brought up by disciplined high achieving parents, have no reason to flaunt anything. These kids do not mix except with their type. They have good jobs. They are mostly educated abroad and are getting hired back here by McKinsey, Halliburton, Schlumberger etc for their education and work ethic.
That is the tragedy in all these. Lack of education, drugs, rituals are destroying the working class. This afternoon, I wondered if natural selection is not taking place. The poor are killing themselves. It is a tragedy.
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