A Paean to Mammon: Nigeria’s Dance with the god of Money
“In the mind’s eye, a fractal is a way of seeing infinity.”- James Gleick
In the labyrinth of the Nigerian psyche, there exists a fractal pattern, a recurring motif that like a leitmotif in a piece of music, dictates the rhythm, the ebb, and flow of our collective actions. This fractal, unlike the benign geometric patterns of nature, is one steeped in avarice and an unhealthy obsession. It is the unabashed, all-consuming love of money. An unseen deity holds sway over Nigeria, and it is neither of the Christian nor the Islamic persuasion. A closer guess might be Mammon, that ancient deity of wealth, painted in grand, awe-inspiring strokes across the canvas of our national ethos. Yet, the actual deity worshiped here, in the streets and palaces of Nigeria, in the bazaars and marketplaces, in the politics and academia, is something far more banal, and at the same time, far more insidious: money. A morbid obsession with wealth that eclipses all else in its wake.
With the shameful title of the “poverty capital of the world” and an overbearing unemployment rate hovering at 37%, the spectre of paucity casts a long shadow over the nation. It is a shadow that instigates a morose festival of solicitation and supplication at the airports, in our homes, and on the streets. From the unpretentious gateman to the hallowed politician, all are participants in this pantomime of financial desperation.
But let us not deceive ourselves; this is not merely about an obsession with wealth. It is about a psychologically ingrained belief that the value of a human being is directly proportional to the size of their pocket. This is where our problem lies; this is the malignant tumor upon our national psyche.
Understand this: “Yahoo yahoo”, our self-serving politicians — these are all symptoms of this deeper ailment. Symptoms of a society so seduced by the glimmer of wealth that it has forgotten the worth of integrity, dignity, and authenticity. Our collective obsession with wealth has rendered us almost blind to the importance of merit. Our once revered institutions of learning have become little more than puppets dancing to the tune of the highest bidder. Professors are now election riggers, and academic prowess counts for nothing if it does not translate into tangible wealth. And thus, we cheapen the very ideals that once held us together, tarnishing them with the corrosive lust for money.
It is disturbing, if not downright disheartening, to see the rise of the ‘dorime’ culture where the flaunting of wealth has become the order of the day. Who can enjoy a simple night out in Lagos without the lurking fear of breaking one’s bank? The cost of basic necessities, especially food, is exorbitantly inflated, leaving the average citizen in a perpetual state of dread.
In Nigeria, we now live in an era where even an accent carries an assumption of wealth, leading to better treatment. We’ve permitted our obsession with wealth to devalue and marginalize those who do not possess it, leading to a deeply entrenched socio-economic disparity that threatens to rip us apart.
There is a deeply disturbing culture of ostentation that glorifies wealth without ever questioning its source. The social media is littered with self-made millionaires, who can suddenly afford mansions and luxury cars. Their sources of income are rarely questioned, and the few who dare to probe are labelled ‘haters’. We have become a society that celebrates the ends, with no regard for the means.
Catchphrases like “Omooo there’s money in this Lagos” or “God I don’t want to be a mechanic, I want to be a baller” permeate our discourse, revealing a society in thrall to the seductive allure of wealth. They betray an obsession with financial success that borders on the religious, and a fear of poverty that seems almost pathological.
However, it is high time we confronted the reality that our love for money has done us more harm than good. Fraud has become rampant, integrity is on the brink of extinction, and we have lost our sense of direction as a people. In Nigeria today, to be without money is to be without respect, without dignity, without worth. It is, however, a hollow dance with a pitiless god. This relentless pursuit of wealth, especially when unaccompanied by a comparable commitment to hard work and honesty, has merely perpetuated a cycle of poverty and unemployment, while enriching a select few.
This is not to decry the pursuit of wealth in itself, but rather the unhealthy obsession with it to the detriment of our societal values. It is a tragic irony that in our haste to escape poverty, we have lost sight of the values that make wealth meaningful — the diligence, integrity, and perseverance that make for genuine success. This troubling obsession with money is not the fault of the individual alone. Our government too, has a role to play. By failing to provide jobs, credit for hard work, and access to basic amenities, it has inadvertently created an environment where the allure of ill-gotten wealth is simply too strong to resist.
And so, the cycle continues, the dance with Mammon goes on, and the obsession with wealth deepens. But all is not lost. As a people, we can rekindle the values that once defined us. We can instill in our children a love for hard work, integrity, and contentment. We can strive for wealth, not as an end in itself, but as a means to enrich our society and make it a better place.
If we are to progress as a nation, it is incumbent upon us to reassess our relationship with money. We must lift ourselves above the worship of wealth, and instead invest in education, infrastructure, and industry. Nothing, I daresay, will ever change in Nigeria until the average citizen overcomes their infatuation with money. For this is the root of the majority of our problems. This is the unspoken, often unacknowledged, yet ever-present deity that we must exorcise from our national consciousness. Only then can we truly hope to rid ourselves of the maladies that currently plague us.
We must understand that wealth, like all else, is fleeting. Our fixation on it, to the exclusion of all else, is ultimately self-defeating. It has led us down a path of corruption, dishonesty, and injustice. It is time we changed our course, and sought a more balanced, equitable and just society, where the value of a human being is not measured by the size of their pocket, but by the content of their character.
This, I believe, is the Nigeria of our dreams — a Nigeria where every citizen, regardless of their financial status, is valued and respected; where hard work and integrity are rewarded, and where money serves the people, and not the other way around. Only then, can we truly say, we have broken the chains of our obsession with money and embraced a new dawn of progress and prosperity.
