The Harsh Truth: Why Nigeria’s Youth Are Giving Up on Hard Work

It’s midnight in Lagos. The streets hum with the sound of okadas zipping past, their riders weaving through potholes like ghosts. Somewhere in a dimly lit one-room apartment, an undergraduate stares at his phone, scrolling through Instagram.

He sees the life he wants—Dubai vacations, designer clothes, flashy cars. A life that mocks his reality.

He sighs. He looks at his account balance. ?750.

Tomorrow, he’ll wake up to the same thing:

• A mother who prays but hasn’t eaten all day.
• A father whose eyes hold the weight of broken dreams.
• A country that doesn’t care if he exists.

He turns off his phone, but one thought lingers in his mind:

“Omo, I no fit die poor.”

The Nigerian Dream That Became a Nightmare

Once upon a time, Nigerians believed in hard work.

Your parents told you to get good grades. Your lecturers promised a degree would change your life. The government said things would get better.

But reality hit different.

The roadside mechanic has been fixing cars for 15 years, yet he still begs customers for "something for the boys."

The graduate wears his best suit to interviews, only to hear: “We’re looking for someone with five years of experience.”

The trader at Balogun Market hustles under the sun, yet every month, her profit disappears into bribes—area boys, police officers, customs officials.

Meanwhile, the boy who used to wear bathroom slippers—the one who barely passed his WAEC—just bought a Benz.

And suddenly, people start asking themselves the same question:

“Maybe I’m the fool for doing it the right way?”

The Men Who Don’t Exist

For the struggling, hardworking guy—the one earning ?50K a month, saving, investing, dreaming of a better life—society has one word for him: broke.

Women ignore him. Friends mock him. His parents call him a disappointment.

Because in Nigeria, "you never blow" means you don’t matter.

He sees it every day.

A girl he likes tells him, “I can’t date a man that doesn’t drive.”

A random babe on Twitter tweets, “If he’s not spending, he’s not serious.”

His crush is in Zanzibar with a 26-year-old “businessman” who doesn’t have an office.

The message is clear: A man without money is invisible.

So he looks around. He watches the world. He sees the truth.

The guy making an honest ?100K is laughed at. The guy scamming dollars is worshipped.

And suddenly, morality starts to look like a luxury he can’t afford.

When the System Fails, Morality Dies

If Nigeria worked, nobody would wish to be a fraudster.

If jobs paid well, if police didn’t harass you for looking fresh, if hard work actually paid—nobody would envy Yahoo boys. But here we are.

Why?

Because the man who steals billions in government funds is given a chieftaincy title.

Because the politician who rigs elections is celebrated in church.

Because the police officer who should protect you demands 'passage fee' just to let you go to work.

And because, after all this suffering, the government still tells you: Tighten your belt.

But somehow, the boy who scams white men in another country is the only one called a criminal.

The Corruption That Feeds the Dream

Ask any Nigerian what they want. They’ll say: “I just want to make it.”

But making it isn’t about working hard—it’s about beating the system.

You see it every day:

• The lecturer who demands ?50K to pass a student.
• The soldier who turns checkpoints into toll gates.
• The civil servant who won’t sign your documents until you "drop something."

This is why nobody believes in honesty anymore.

Because the truth is, in Nigeria, if you’re not scamming, you’re being scammed.

What Happens Next?

We can keep pretending. We can keep condemning Yahoo boys while ignoring the system that creates them. We can keep watching our brightest minds waste away, forced to choose between survival and integrity.

But let’s be clear—fraud is not the answer.

Yahoo culture ultimately destroys more than it builds. It doesn't just scam foreigners; it damages Nigeria’s global reputation.

It makes it harder for honest Nigerians to find opportunities, access banking services, or get trusted in international business.

It doesn’t fix the system; it deepens the rot.

If we truly want change, we must attack the root of the problem.

• The government must stop rewarding corruption and start holding criminals accountable—no matter their status.
• The police must end extortion and actually protect citizens, not prey on them.
• Employers must stop demanding five years of experience for entry-level jobs and actually pay fair wages.
• Schools must teach practical skills so graduates don’t leave university only to become jobless.
• Nigerians must stop glorifying fast money and start respecting those who build wealth the right way.

The Road Less Traveled

Yet, despite all this Wahala, some Nigerians refuse to bow to the system. They fight against the tide, proving that while the odds are stacked against us, integrity is not dead.

They do exist—the young software developer working remote gigs, the fashion designer who built her brand from scratch, the copywriter, the digital marketer making dollars online, the artist who refused to quit.

They didn’t choose crime. They fought through the system, found alternatives, and created their own success stories.

The problem isn’t that hard work never pays—the problem is that the system makes it harder for honest people to thrive.

And yet, against all odds, some still push through.

A Message to the World

And to the international community—if you truly want to stop internet fraud, don’t just blacklist Nigerian applicants.

Create legitimate remote job opportunities. Open pathways for skilled Nigerian youth to work for their income, so they don’t have to choose between poverty and crime.

Nigeria is filled with talent, ambition, and brilliance. But without opportunities, desperation will always win.

It’s time we fix this. Before another young man decides that scamming is the only way out.

PS:

This isn’t about glorifying fraud—it’s about exposing the system that makes it look like the only way out. If we keep ignoring the root cause, we’ll keep losing our brightest minds to desperation. Fix the system, and crime won’t be an option.

#Nigeria #TruthHurts #Corruption