Summary

The author reflects on the harsh realities of life in Nigeria and the misconceptions about Europe as a land of opportunity, emphasizing that personal growth and skills are crucial for success, regardless of location.

Abstract

The author shares a deeply personal account of their journey from Nigeria to Europe, driven by a series of personal tragedies and a society plagued by economic hardship, corruption, and crime. Despite the high hopes for a better life in Europe, the author learned that changing one's environment does not automatically lead to personal transformation or success. The key lessons from their six-year experience abroad highlight the importance of self-improvement, acquiring marketable skills, financial knowledge, continuous learning, and effective communication, rather than relying on a change of scenery to improve one's circumstances.

Opinions

The author believes that the societal issues in Nigeria, such as poverty, corruption, and high crime rates, including cybercrime, push many citizens towards illegal activities.
There is a critical view of the Nigerian education system, where graduates often end up in menial jobs, while the uneducated but criminally wealthy are glorified.
The author suggests that the allure of Europe is based on a false narrative that happiness and prosperity are easily attainable there, which is not the case.
The author emphasizes personal responsibility in achieving success, arguing that one's mindset and continuous self-improvement are more impactful than geographical change.
The author advocates for the importance of value creation, stating that talent and innovation are celebrated and rewarded even in challenging economic environments.

If You Take a Pig To America, It’s Still a Pig

My biggest lesson from rafting to Europe six years ago

“All I need is just to get there — everything will be fine.”

This is the thinking of millions of Africans, as we dream of life, in Europe.

Six years ago I caved in, to life. Up to that point, I’ve been brutally whooped – broken with nothing to live for. In the span of ten years, I’ve lost my father, dropped out of school, lost a brother, and lost a six years relationship. Finally, I lost myself and sank into a deep depression for the whole of 2014 up till early 2015.

It’s hard to have faith in tomorrow when you live in a society where everything is broken. The government are dumb as f*ck. The economy steadily declines. The poverty line continues to go up. A country where over 40% of the population lives in poverty. Now if that is not f*cked up beyond crazy, I don't know what is.

It’s not a surprise that the country is notorious for its high rate of crime and insecurity. When people are hungry, they'll do anything to get fed. Throw the steady rise of unemployment into the mix, you get yourself a place with the highest rate of cybercrime the world has ever seen.

Not quite long ago, the FBI arrested a notorious fraudster nicknamed “Hushpuppi.” I wonder why it took the FBI that long to realise this kid was a criminal. As Nigerians, we already knew a long time ago. Because we know for a fact that our society is filled with fraudsters like Hushpuppi who go about flaunting wealth they can’t define its source.

This single act of flaunting wealth has driven the majority of the country’s young citizens into various online and offline crimes. No one is interested in going to school anymore. Why go to school, if all it leads to is driving a taxi or a motorcycle as a graduate? Whilst living among young boys in their teens and early twenties with no formal education, yet buy themselves mansions and cars worth millions of dollars.

It’s these things that have forced many Nigerians into crime. On the one hand, there is the genuine necessity to survive. On the other hand, the need to belong — call it social pressure if you may. But there are a few people who have chosen to take a different path, like myself. Rather than go into crimes, we chose to find hope in a faraway country. And thus the pursuit of a dream was born.

In the summer of May, six years ago, when I got on a raft to sail across the Mediterranean to Italy, I and over a hundred other people had high hopes. There was the terror of the sea claiming our lives. But beneath that dread was a silent hope, visible on everyone's face — that if only we make it, it’ll all be worth it. That stepping on the soil of Europe will somehow, bring our dreams to life.

Six years after, I have more lessons than blessings. What about those dreams? Well, let's say we’d have to wait a bit longer. But here’s the big lesson after six years away from home;

“Changing a place doesn't change you.”

Why is that?

As individuals, we are simply recreating our realities through the stories we tell ourselves. There’s a rhetoric, imprinted in our minds, (from our experiences) — and our outworld life is simply a reflection of these rhetorics.

When I left Nigeria to pursue the dream in Europe, I did so because of the shape of things. But little did I know that there was more than the bad economy and bad government at play. There were also stuffs from my own self at play — majorly, ignorance. Like lack of skills, lack of ideas, lack of the right knowledge, lack of discipline, lack of connections… you name them.

If these past six years has taught me anything significant is that; “attention goes where value is gotten.” No matter how degraded the economy is, it still respects and will pay for value anywhere it is found.

In fact, in a place as bad as my country, this statement is even truer because we celebrate the talented. We worship the gifted. We’re ever ready to trade our money for what we perceive to be valuable. Yet, it’s taking me six years and having to risk my life across the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean to learn this lesson.

Back home we have a saying that; “who nor go, nor know.” In other words, “if you’ve never been there, you’ll never know.” The prosperity and happiness we seek, doesn’t come by changing location, but by changing how we think.

I’m not trying to shit on the prospect Europe holds. But I think it’s complete ignorance to believe it’s easy to make money and live happily. It’s not.

In nutshell, what am trying to say is this;

If you lack marketable skills, regardless of where you live, you’ll be broke and unhappy. If you lack sound financial knowledge, you’ll struggle to manage your money. If you don’t read books to expand your mind, you’ll continue in the same loop of privation while blaming everyone and everything else but yourself. If you lack good communication, you’ll blow every opportunity you have with people —regardless of where you live.

So the aphorism; “if you take a pig to America, it's still a pig,” is not an insult. But a reminder that in order for things to change around you, first become a changed person. And that’s the biggest lesson I've learned six years after my journey to Europe.