“Every generation, out of relative obscurity, will discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it.” – Dr. Franz Fanon
The first time I heard the name “Hushpuppy,” I was at a social gathering where four out of five young girls at the next table were discussing how fascinated they were by Hushpuppy’s style, dress sense, and opulence. They even expressed their desire to date him. When one of them mentioned that he was allegedly an internet fraudster, the other four retorted in unison, “Who cares?” This is the new normal in our country.
There was a time in Nigeria when the dream of every young Nigerian girl was to date an undergraduate in a Nigerian tertiary institution or a working-class young man. Now, the dream of some Nigerian girls is to date an internet fraudster. The scenario is alarming, with even some undergraduates becoming Yahoo Boys, while their girlfriends become their Yahoo Girlfriends. These are the puppies of Hushpuppy, or what you can simply call the Hushpuppy Generation.
_The Hush Fathers and Hush Mothers_
Parents now support their children’s involvement in internet fraud. They even register them in “Hustle Kingdoms” (HKs). The fabric of society has been broken, and virtue is no longer respected. Everything is now about money. In the past, if you brought biscuits home, you would have to explain yourself to your parents. Nowadays, a 16-year-old boy can bring home a 15 million naira car, and his parents will celebrate without asking questions. They will even give testimony in church, and some pastors will endorse the ill-gotten wealth by blessing the car with anointing oil. Some pastors now pray for Yahoo Boys and receive a percentage of their loot. When there’s a problem with the sharing formula, they sometimes end up in unexpected places.
Nigeria can be said to be running on a Yahoo Economy, not based on production, demand, and supply, but on cash outs, percentages, and unreal statistics. These are the Hushpuppies, often with no formal education, no plans for the future, and no scruples about what they do to get there. The security agencies, depending on which one, either arrest them to extort them or prosecute them to re-loot their loot. Sometimes, you wonder who the real Yahoo Yahoo is.
The Hushpuppies are taking over. The next posh hotel, exquisite restaurant, or mall in your town may just be owned by a Hushpuppy. Some of them have even found their way into politics, and they’re making it. Imagine exposing your national treasury to an internet fraudster; this country is on a one-chance journey.
You now have Hushpuppy Pastors, Hushpuppy CEOs of Forbes Fortune 100 Companies, and Hushpuppy Singers with huge followings and unique nomenclatures that abhor education and propriety. Meanwhile, the singers themselves have some of the best education from foremost universities worldwide.
Now, the Hushpuppies are breeding puppies. There’s a rave in our society to become internet fraudsters. Some parents even set up templates, procure traveling documents, and encourage their children to engage in this illicit activity. The Hushpuppies are breeding puppies, and some of these puppies may grow up to become Rottweilers. We’re heading towards a Gangster’s Paradise.
On the other side, we still have those who work hard and follow the time-honored tradition to make it in life. That tradition hasn’t changed; it’s just that people are bringing alien vistas that won’t stand the test of time. The contrast between the two divides is that they can’t fathom each other. It’s like a person talking to the dumb.
As Franz Fanon said many years ago, “When conscious power meets powerless consciousness, the result is double tragedy.”
