E go better: The Mantra That Keeps Nigerians Going
E go better: If you are a Nigerian with fair knowledge of the Pidgin English,chances are you must have used this phrase in one form or another. A phrase which has been the fuel that inspires Nigerians to succeed while also being the fuel that keeps Nigerians in a perpetual state of hope despite the numerous challenges it is faced with. How does such a simple phrase which simply means ‘It shall be well’ inspire Nigerians and also stop Nigeria as a country from achieving her full potential?
Firstly, the current state of Nigeria as a nation leaves much to be desired, a country without stable electricity and dysfunctional government would have led citizens to protest and demand for change. That will not happen, because…E go better. Lecturers have been on strike for more than a year in the past 2years but the students have not openly expressed their frustrations, written a letter to the Education Ministry nor sent a cartoon drawing to their President. Why disturb yourself when we all know that sooner or later…E go better.
Subsequently, the false hope that things will be better, the strong belief in ‘E go betterism’ have subjected Nigerians to a level of expecting nothing from their leaders. A Director in a Federal agency pretended to have fainted on national TV, Nigerians laughed and created memes from the abysmal incidence and that was the end of that corruption induced drama.
E go better is what makes us overlook the mediocrity of our government officials and hope for the best even when such hope is nothing but denial of reality. Have the government been owing you pension and gratuity for years now? Don’t worry, E go better. Did your local government chairman embezzle the funds meant for rural electrification in your community? Don’t worry, E go better. Did NEPA ‘take light’ in your neighborhood, just take a deep breath and say E go better.
Lastly, there is a good side of ‘E go betterism’, this is what drives Nigerians to thrive for excellence in their respective fields despite obvious government failures. E go better is what makes a young man whose parents were killed in a religious riot riot to migrate to the UK and become one of the best footballers in the English Premier League. E go better is what drives a teenage boxer that was rejected by the Nigerian Boxing Federation to represent his country because he could not pay to go ahead and become the HeavyWeight Champion of the World. Hope in things unseen, hope in difficulties, the audacity of hope is what drives most Nigerians to excel no matter where they might find themselves. E go better is no longer just a phrase that keeps Nigeria in a steady circle of mediocrity, it is now a phrase that summons up the never say die spirit of Nigerians to achieve beyond expectation.
Are you having it hard right now, continuously questioning yourself, wondering if you will make it in life, dejected because 2020 was a shitty year. I have something to tell you…E go better. Never stop believing, keep moving and we will celebrate you also. It shall be well with you all.
