About 10 years ago, a 53-country Gallup poll ranked Nigeria as the happiest place in the world and its people as the happiest. In that report, Nigerians were rated at 70 points for optimism, ahead of countries like Britain which had a -44 score.
Also in 2003, the World Values survey revealed that Nigeria was the home of the world’s happiest people.
How Nigerians remained optimistic and resilience with hopes of a better future didn’t cease to amaze a lot of people, especially those who lived outside of the country and read about the country’s cataclysms in the media.
All that seem to have changed now. It is no longer uncommon to find many Nigerians who get triggered to anger by even the most insignificant things.
At bus stops, vendor stands, in public vehicles, in markets and other public places, what one may describe as ‘angry Nigerians’ are seen, arguing and screaming at each other in a manner that looks like they would go for their jugulars any moment.
More people are losing faith in the country as evident in the number of suicides and of those leaving the country for greener pastures, even through unconventional means that sometimes cost them their lives.
As of 2020, Nigeria was ranked 85 on the world happiness table by the World Happiness Report, a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a global initiative of the United Nations.
In 2021, Nigeria dropped 31 places and now ranks 116 on the table.
The world happiness table contains articles and rankings of national happiness, based on respondent ratings of their own lives, based on life factors.
Some of the key variables for the ranking include freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE sought to know why Nigerians are increasingly becoming unhappy and losing points in global happiness ranking.
“There have being existing reasons for Nigerians’ lack of happiness but they are given solace by religion and culture with the promise of a better tomorrow,” Dr. Usman Daniya, head of history department, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, said.
He said Nigeria’s current position in the happiness index is not surprising.
“Religion and culture offer solace with the promise of a better hereafter. Emphasis is also laid on contentment as one of the qualities that must be imbibed to access the promised goodness of the heaven.
“As the grip of religion and culture lessens, Nigerians are no longer as docile as they were towards their circumstances. The tendency of challenging the status quo is higher and we are not just challenging situations and circumstances, we are challenging ourselves and the roles we have played in our own lives,” he explained.
Continuing, Daniya said the level of unhappiness today can also be linked to the pervasive suffering and insecurity in the country, with no solution in sight.
“How can we smile when there is nothing to expect tomorrow,” he queried.
He said all of these have contributed drastically to Nigeria’s current position on the world happiness index.
According to Moses Adah, a teacher at the Nigeria Naval Officers’ Wives Association (NAFOWA) School, the main reason for the recent low ranking of Nigeria on world happiness table is due to bad governance and insecurity.
“I say bad governance in the sense that everything in this country is falling apart. Things are getting more expensive, life is getting more difficult and this is because the government is not doing anything to curtail the situation.
“The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and that is why people in the streets are always angry. If you mistakenly touch someone now, he will pour his anger and hatred on you,” Adah stated.
He also attributed the lack of happiness to insecurity in the country, saying people are always afraid when they go out to work or when they are travelling or when they are at home, that bandits or thieves could come to their house or they can be kidnapped on their way to work or when travelling.
“Insecurity alone makes the standard of living in the country low, people can’t go out to have fun, most especially in the night, like hanging out with friends in a pub or a club,” he added.
A retail shop owner, Aminu Sada, said, “we are facing a lot of difficulties in business and this alone will never make you have a peace of mind.”
He lamented the tough economic environment in Nigeria, which he said makes it difficult to survive in business.
“The prices of almost all products have doubled since the start of this present administration. A bag of rice was N8,000 but it’s now N22,000. A litre of petrol was N87 but now it’s N162. The increase in the prices of goods leaves us with very little profit as business people.
“With all this conditions how will people be happy? How will people have rest of mind? How will people be at ease? You cannot be happy when you do not feel safe as a citizen.”
Sada said Nigerians will remain unhappy, irritable and easily triggered to anger unless the level of governance, security and economic indices improve to guarantee an overall better quality of life for citizens.
