By Moses .C. Enekwechi
Everywhere you look these days, it’s “rise and grind,” “let’s go and secure the bag,” “hustle or die.” Social media even makes it look glamorous like hustle culture is a badge of honor, as if it’s the main reason we’re living.
But if we’re being real, hustle culture isn’t born out of luxury or ambition for most people — it’s born out of survival. Especially in Nigeria (and I use Nigeria because it’s normal, no place like home 😅), where inflation is ridiculously high, jobs are scarce, and even the jobs available don’t allow people to save enough by the end of the month. Hustling isn’t a lifestyle choice here. It’s the price of survival.
For most in Nigeria, they have to resort to side hustles and extra jobs to supplement income, which is popularly known as the gig economy. It has really helped the average Nigerian cope with the cost of living, but unfortunately, it wasn’t designed as a necessity for survival. It was meant to complement livelihoods but sadly, that’s not the case.
Take a look around: the average young person, aside from working a 9-5 job, is probably managing logistics on weekends, freelancing, or juggling multiple other gigs just to earn more income. Now, one would think a person doing all these would be very comfortable but you’d be surprised how many aren’t. Instead, they’re just managing to break even at the end of the month.
Let’s not even talk about the mental and psychological effects it takes on a person the lack of quality time with friends and family, and the exploitation or unfair work conditions many face at the workplace simply because they don’t have a choice. Yet, remarkably, we still show up and put up for the hustle and the grind regardless.
This is why I sometimes laugh and get annoyed at how hustle culture is glamorized online. While the internet sells the image of success and luxury, the average Nigerian hustler is simply trying to make ends meet. They make it seem like you must work hard and suffer before you can succeed. You’ll even hear people say things like, “na hard times de make the story sweet.” When in fact, you can work hard and also work smart.
And people also seem to forget that, biblically, before man’s fallout with God, work was meant to be fulfilling and pleasurable not a burden. It only became a thing of struggle as a consequence of sin.
Now, don’t get me wrong hustle will always be part of life and truly a measure of success. But it shouldn’t be the way it’s portrayed in our society nowadays. It should be about how much work-life balance you can create, about how comforting the results of the entire struggle are. It shouldn’t look like just a means to an end for survival, but rather a path toward comfort and fulfillment.
Because the thing is like I said earlier hustle itself isn’t the problem. The real issue is what it’s costing us: peace of mind, health, and time with the people we love. And sadly, in this part of the world, a lot of us don’t really acknowledge this. What’s the point of the grind if, at the end of the day, you can’t even enjoy the life you’re hustling for?
At the end of the day, the hustle is here to stay. But the real question is this: do we own the hustle, or does the hustle own us?
