Prejudice, discrimination... The Nigerian story

Perception is everything, in a clime where the society decides for people, where what you wear is a subject of public debate, where what a teenager opts to choose as a career path is the decision of people who in reality don’t matter or won’t matter to the lad when consequences knock, a society where you’re judged from the dirty lenses of myopic observers, for strange reasons, even intellectuals now depend on societal validations, to stay woke, in vogue and relevant, you ask, what really defines us? People’s opinions?

Michael is 30, a multilevel marketer, forex business genius, flashy with appearance which by all standards is his choice, drives a 2016 Honda Accord and lives in a serviced apartment on the island, he’s fun loving, you won’t blame him, when you work so hard and so smart, you should live a good life; then there’s a force, a team of restless trigger happy blood thirsty and devastatingly empowered set of humans who go about victimizing everyone who seems to be doing good, they call them the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS. One hazy evening, Michael opts to drive round town, to shed some pressure from the madness of the fluctuating online money market, at the Lekki phase one roundabout, he was stopped by a red golf with armed men in official uniforms flagging him frantically, he slows down, winds down and sticks his neck out to find out how he could be of help, fast forward five minutes later and there’s already a massive traffic, why? Indiscretion of the empowered lots who refused to allow the young man park appropriately before carrying out what they would, in their eyes, you can’t be that flashy and be legitimate, he was in their custody for days before his lawyers got him out simply because he didn’t shift ground on their tip demands, remember the famous #EndSars movement? This remains one of the many reasons.

A peek into the story above; how many people like Michael have been killed by these men of the force without justice? While we must agree that there exists cyber crime in our society, but is every youth in town involved in it? Where is it written that your appearance is a product or function of what you do? Then where is the principle of exception to the rule? The society is killing free will, creativity and natural self expression with prejudice, discrimination and uninformed judgments, people now think twice before picking clothes to wear because the woman down the street will question something, people now become deaf and dumb at public forums because of fear of being quoted, social media platforms aren’t what it used to be anymore because of the many cases of verbal attacks and dissection, especially with faceless people talking down on noble hustles simply because it isn’t one with a multinational or a highly revered blue chip outfit... Story of the world we live in.

...To be continued