There is a meme making its rounds on Nigerian social media. Simple, almost humorous, but painfully revealing. It talks about a time when someone went to a mai-shayi, ordered Indomie and eggs, spent ₦3,500, ate, and still found the energy to complain. Back then, we insulted the government, cursed the economy, and said the country was hard. Today, that same moment feels like luxury. Suddenly, the leader of that era is remembered as a saint, and many Nigerians openly say, “If only we could go back.”

That meme is not really about Indomie or eggs. It is about how quickly standards collapse, and how pain reshapes memory.

During the years of Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria complained loudly. Fuel subsidy debates, corruption scandals, insecurity beginning to show its teeth, people were angry. Yet, basic life still had some predictability. Food was affordable for many families. The naira, though shaky, still held meaning. A young person could hustle, complain, and still eat. Nigerians protested hardship with full stomachs and data to tweet about it.

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Then came the Buhari years, built on the promise of discipline, anti-corruption, and change. Many believed suffering would be temporary, that pain was necessary to clean up the system. But what followed were long years of economic tightening, rising insecurity, closed borders, shrinking jobs, and a sense of national exhaustion. Nigerians adjusted again, this time lowering expectations. We stopped arguing about comfort and started negotiating survival. The Indomie became one egg instead of two. The complaints became quieter, not because things improved, but because fatigue set in.

Now we are here.

Under Tinubu’s administration, the pace of hardship has accelerated in a way that feels overwhelming. Subsidy removal, currency reforms, inflation, transport costs, food prices, everything hit at once. For many Nigerians, this is no longer about politics or party loyalty. It is about daily life. The cost of breathing feels expensive. The meme about ₦3,500 meals hurts because today, that same amount may not buy a sachet of hope.

And so, Nigerians look back.

Not because the past was perfect, but because the present feels unbearable.

Fuel subsidy cut will save Nigeria but impose burden: President | Oil and Gas News | Al Jazeera

This does not mean Jonathan was flawless. It does not mean Buhari did not try. It does not automatically mean Tinubu is evil. What it shows is something deeper and more troubling: each era seems to leave Nigerians poorer in confidence, poorer in comfort, and poorer in trust.

At Ipledge2Nigeria Media, our ethos has always been rooted in the values of the National Pledge, justice, unity, and honesty. This means we do not rewrite history to suit emotions, and we do not weaponize suffering for political applause. But we also refuse to ignore reality.

A nation should not be in a place where yesterday’s struggle becomes today’s luxury.

When citizens start romanticizing the past, it is often a sign that the present has failed to protect them. When people joke about hunger, it is because crying has become too expensive. When memes become economic analysis, it is because official explanations no longer match lived experience.

This moment calls for reflection, not nostalgia worship. It calls for leaders who understand that policies are not just numbers but human lives. It calls for citizens who remember clearly, not selectively. And it calls for a country that measures progress not by speeches, but by whether a family can eat without fear.

So as we laugh at the meme, we must also ask ourselves the harder questions.

Are we truly moving forward, or just surviving louder versions of the same problems?

At what point did basic living become something to miss?

And most importantly, what kind of Nigeria do we want to look back on tomorrow?

We ask you, our audience:

When you think of the past and look at today, what do you see? Progress, decline, or a painful cycle waiting to be broken?

The conversation is yours…

By: Fatima Adamu

A Nation Looking Back to Understand Today

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