‘Shege’ does not mean disappointment. It is to face and endure screeching frustration, seething anger, and teeth-gritting all-around letdown. When there is global topsy-turvy like the economic meltdown of 2008, the COVID’19 pandemic, and currently the needless and avoidable Russia/Ukraine war, the rest of the world, especially the developing ones, is forced to encounter a brutal kind of ‘shege’ that quadruples poverty and toughens the standard of living. To capture it more vividly, ‘shege’ is the mother of all rum punches.
Whether rich or poor, weak or strong, the global ‘shege’ has a way of touching every nook and cranny of the world with such mirthful abandon. It is utterly impossible to live in this world without facing some form of shege—personally, collectively, nationally, or globally. Not encountering ‘shege’ is as good as not living at all. While there are global ‘sheges’ that are exclusive of the rich and powerful nations and have ripple effects on the developing ones, there are also those that can be tamed by the governments of each nation. In a way, ‘shege’ becomes especially mind-numbing when a country’s national turmoil weds global chaos as you have in Sudan and other war-torn countries; the result, to mildly put it, is always beyond catastrophic, what we might aptly and conveniently describe as shege pro max!
For the most part, Nigeria is not a war-ravaged country like Syria or Yemen, yet millions of her people are facing a thick and soul-crushing kind of ‘shege’. From the ‘Okada’ man who could not contain his anger, disgust, disappointment, and frustration when he handed five hundred and fifty naira (#550) over to a petrol attendant for a liter of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) only to be told the price has judo-flipped to the cab driver who’s emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted about hiking the price of transport fare now and then to the parents who have now been told of the increase in their children’s school fees, the disappointment, aka ‘Shege, has spread like butter on a hotly baked bread to every household, especially those at the bottommost rung of the socio-economic ladder.
To be clear, Nigerians are not new to ‘Shege’. Much of what has turned some countries upside down in the past is seen as child’s play here. Is it the mind-boggling and monumental corruption or unemployment that seems to have jumped over the roof, or insecurity or a lack of basic infrastructure and social amenities, or what? To modestly put it, Nigerians are some of the most ‘shegelized’ people in the world. They provide rich data into the world of resilience, doggedness, and toughness. Interestingly, Nigerians are known to wear their resilience, doggedness, and toughness with pride. Unfortunately, all of these positive attributes have been exploited by her leaders. When life becomes harder, like it is now, Nigerians are left to wail and complain until they adapt and move on. Nigerians have been bent and broken, yet they continue to embrace the various contradictions and contractions that have become the hallmark of their country. ‘Shege’ is the reason young people are not growing. It is the reason the poor are poorer. When a young lad is passionate about becoming the next Aliko Dangote of this world through the back door and shortcut, ‘Shege’ is the reason behind it all. Hookups are rife because of ‘Shege’. I think Nigeria, apart from being the world capital city of poverty, can now be declared the global headquarters of ‘shege’.
Wherever you turn, there is a kind of frustration boiling in people. It is like most Nigerians are ticking time bomb waiting to explode at the slightest hint of provocation. Essentially, those who think their riches can bail them out of facing ‘shege’ have been dealt a huge, devastating blow. You might have the means to avoid road transport, but you can’t escape the wrath and disappointment of airline operators. And what’s more, having a private jet has become increasingly difficult to maintain.
I often ask some of my friends awkward and strange questions that make them feel uneasy. One of them is: How are you treating life instead of how is life treating me?” By that, I mean how are they responding to ‘shege? In their usual manner, many of them do feel a tinge of uneasiness and would try everything to dodge what seems to them like a stray bullet. Few always take the time to think things through and come up with some intelligible explanations. One quick way to avoid having to encounter ‘shege’ pro max is not to let life treat you. Because ultimately, when you allow life to treat you, it means you have handed over control of your life to happenstances, occurrences, and incidents. You don’t just want life to happen to you alone; you also want to happen to life; sort of doing something consequential and worthwhile with it. Another one I often ask whenever our discussion veers towards ‘shege’ is: How are you? Most of them answer rather casually: Fine. But I know their answer is not a true reflection of what and how they feel deep inside. When people are faced with ‘shege’, answering ‘I am Fine’ is the least expected.
Whether online or offline, I always ensure I wave away the ‘I am Fine’ answer without batting an eye. You might have been asked similar questions in the past about what life is throwing at you. And may not have been able to come out with insightful answers that leave your questioner speechless. In today’s socio-economic reality, only a few people are fine. The rest, running into millions, are not. With commodity prices jumping over the roof, the simple answer of being ‘fine’ offers no more than an escape from reality staring us in the face. Rather than providing a watery and muted answer to the question of ‘How you are’ in this period of national ‘shege, endeavor to offer clear answers that foster bonds and stimulate conversations. Partly because ‘Shege’ has been with us for as long as our country has been in existence. In fact, it is as old as humanity itself; meaning that regardless of what we think about the concept, it has come to stay and will remain for as long as humanity exists. But there is a way out. One is personal, and the other is collective.
Taking personal responsibility for your life might not come easily, but it remains one of the best ways to live a relatively peaceful and fulfilling life. Until we have a relatively sane country where governments across all tiers live up to their responsibilities, our collective ‘shege’ might be on the increase instead of being on the decline. Not taking personal responsibility has led to having people at the helm who only think of themselves and not the people. Surprisingly, taking personal responsibility does not take away the brutality of the ‘shege’ we are all going to face; instead, it helps to counteract the toxicity that will emanate from it. Enjoy each ‘shege’ while they last.
OYO101 is Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion about Issues affecting Oyo state, published on Saturdays. He can be reached via @TheGMAKing on Twitter, muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com and 09065176850
