Is The Grass Really Greener on the Other Side?
I moved back to Nigeria abruptly in 2017, due to circumstances beyond my control (you can read about that story here). After my big move, people started with the question, what next? It was as if every phone call or message I received in that season was about what I was going to do with the lemons life had dealt me.
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There were many suggestions: apply and go back to school, do your NYSC, look for an internship, get married, have you thought about Canada? That was the biggest one. Well-meaning people didn’t want me to deal with some of the hardship that came with living in a 3rd world country, and their solution was for me to relocate. Before coming back to Nigeria, I had lived abroad for 12 years. So people feared that I wouldn’t be able to make the necessary adjustments to carry on with life here in Naija. I frowned at the idea; the thought of starting over, looking for people who looked like me, finding a job, being lonely once again in a foreign land wasn’t appealing to me.
What if that wasn’t God’s plan for my life? In the wake of me coming back home, the relocation of Nigerians to Canada, was at an all-time high. Every Chinedu, Chike, and Nkechi, were getting the invitation for a better opportunity in a foreign land. A friend of mine was in the process and got her invitation a couple of months later. It seems like this Canada thing is working oh, I thought to myself, but I knew deep down that it wasn’t the life for me.
Related Story: Loss Every day when I drive past the VFS (Visa Facilitations Services) office, there are often droves of people, lining up, hoping for a better life. I don’t have anything against relocating to any country of your choice; after all, I lived most of my adult life, away from my country. But the question here is if the grass is really greener on the other side. There people who just want to up and leave, because they are tired of the challenges that they are faced with. I feel some of it too. What if we decided to seek God more, than the help of another government? Some people move, and work menial jobs for years; jobs they wouldn’t even be associated with, in Nigeria. Just for the hopes of a better future. Is it God’s will for you to go? What if there is better here for you, which is just waiting to be discovered? I get it; the roads, the light inconsistency, the traffic, the stress, we all feel it. But what if you were the answer? People say Nigeria is bad, and there are all sorts of complaints, that come from the citizens’ every day. Believe it or not, we are better off than other countries. There are countries that are still under a dictatorship rule; there are some plagued with terrorist’s attacks daily, while there are some people who are not free to express themselves. People have fled from their home countries in Africa, because of wars that took place, which they are still trying to recover from. But we don’t have to deal with all of that here. I’m not ignorant to the sufferings of some in the northern part of Nigeria, but if we keep fleeing, who will remain in Nigeria to make it a better place? Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. Before you jump on the next bandwagon, smoking to your destination of choice, if you are a Christian, make sure it is God’s plan for your life. Because God will give you the grace to thrive when you are in His will.
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About The Author: Evi Idoghor is a Christian, writer, and content creator on Letstalknationblog.com. She is a chemical engineering graduate from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Consumed by her love for writing and desire to effect change, she launched her online platform––Let’s Talk Nation––to tap into her creativity and start meaningful conversations that would make a difference around the world.
Most of her writing has been influenced by her time spent in America, where she lived for about 11 years. Also, she lived in Nigeria and South Korea and currently loves traveling the world while learning about other fascinating cultures. You can find her on all social media platforms with @eviidoghor.