When NEPA Took Light and Gave It Back
There was a time when power outage felt temporary. The fan would stop, someone would shout “NEPA has taken light,” and everyone would laugh. You’d light a candle, wait, and before the wax even melted properly, the bulb would blink back on. Today, darkness stays longer. Generators cough, fuel prices bite, and that small joy of sudden brightness feels like a story we once lived, not something we still expect.
School Shoes That Survived Everything
Your school shoes lasted for years. They followed you through rain, dust, assembly grounds, and punishment kneeling. They were polished on Sunday night and somehow still presentable by Friday. Now, everything tears faster. Shoes barely last a few months, and prices climb without apology. Sometimes it’s not about the shoes themselves, but how durable life once felt, even when we complained back then.
The Sound of Mum Calling You From Outside
Before phones ruled everything, your name echoed across the compound. Your mother’s voice cut through noise, unmistakable and urgent. You knew exactly what tone meant trouble and which meant food was ready. Today, it’s missed calls and unread messages. The voice is replaced by vibration. And somehow, even with all this technology, we still miss each other more than we did back then.
When ₦100 Solved Real Problems
There was a time ₦100 bought snacks, transport, and still left change. You planned small happiness with it. Now, ₦100 feels like a mistake someone dropped on the floor. Inflation didn’t just raise prices, it shrank expectations. People now budget carefully just to survive the basics. We joke about it online, but deep down, everyone remembers when money stretched further than our worries.
The Neighbourhood That Raised Everyone
You didn’t belong to only your parents. Every adult was allowed to correct you. You fetched water for neighbours, borrowed pepper, and returned plates with extra food. Now, gates are higher, greetings are shorter, and everyone minds their business for safety. We call it progress, but sometimes it feels like we traded community for caution, and warmth for locks.
Watching News Without Fear
The evening news once felt distant. Politics happened somewhere else, far from daily life. Now, headlines feel personal. Exchange rates, fuel prices, protests, and policies affect breakfast plans. People watch updates with tension, not curiosity. Nigeria didn’t suddenly become complicated; we just grew old enough to understand how deeply decisions reach into ordinary homes and quiet conversations.
Sunday Rice That Meant Something
Sunday rice wasn’t just food, it was an event. The aroma filled the house early, and plates were guarded fiercely. Today, Sundays still come, but cooking feels heavier. Ingredients are expensive, gas finishes quickly, and joy feels calculated. People still try, though. That persistence, cooking despite everything, is its own kind of Nigerian resilience we don’t talk about enough.
When Transport Was Stressful but Predictable
You complained about buses then, but you knew the routine. You knew how much it cost, where to stand, and when to shout “driver, drop me.” Now, transport feels like a gamble. Prices change overnight, routes disappear, and patience runs thin. Moving from one place to another has become a daily test of endurance, not just distance.
Childhood Games We Didn’t Document
We played without cameras. Ten-ten, suwe, football with plastic balls, and racing slippers down the street. No one recorded it. Those moments exist only in memory now. Today, everything is captured, posted, and forgotten quickly. Maybe that’s why old memories stay stronger. They weren’t performed for an audience, they were simply lived.
Still Hoping, Quietly
Despite everything, Nigerians still hope. It’s quieter now, more careful, less loud than before. People hustle, joke, pray, and plan escape routes at the same time. Nostalgia reminds us that things once worked differently, not perfectly, but softer. And maybe that memory is what keeps people believing that things can feel human again, someday.
The Naija Lowdown Writer 