Societal pressure: The bane of self-discovery

Doctor Idowu Malomo, a former Chief Medical Officer (CMD) of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, was reported by one of the dailies to have attributed the rising suicide rate among Nigerians to pressure from the society. He had said, “Young people should be encouraged to discover and develop their hidden talents. Everything is not […]

Doctor Idowu Malomo, a former Chief Medical Officer (CMD) of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, was reported by one of the dailies to have attributed the rising suicide rate among Nigerians to pressure from the society.

He had said, “Young people should be encouraged to discover and develop their hidden talents. Everything is not about high grades. This unnecessary emphasis on high grades is causing corruption and examination malpractice. A child that doesn’t attend university can be a good entrepreneur and contribute to national development. A university degree is not the only meal ticket that Nigerians have.”

According to Vocabulary.com, “Societal pressures are expectations that affect the entire community, or specific parts of it, like the pressure to get married and have children…”

In Nigeria, the societal pressure of an individual differs from age, profession, gender, marital status and the like, and this pressure has placed a burden where if a person does not meet a particular expectation, he/she considers him/herself a failure.

For instance, a single lady at the age of 30 is under tremendous pressure from family and friends to get married. In the legal profession, a lawyer without a car (though a necessity) is under immense pressure from colleagues to get a car. In the family, a lawyer is equally under pressure from family to be a provider of some sort.

In order to please the society, many have ignored their dreams and passion because it will take too long to succeed. They prefer to abandon what makes them happy to go for what makes the society happy, thereby hindering self-discovery.

Many lawyers have lost track and subjected themselves to labour exploitation to earn daily bread; all in a bid to make someone happy.

Passion which ordinarily ought to be the driving force for self-discovery is no longer a considerable factor in making legal choices. The Nigerian society places importance on material possession than honest living and integrity. People who live in mansions, drive exotic cars, have more than enough cash to throw around are looked upon by the society with great respect than an average man with decent and honest living.

A lawyer that decides to venture into an area of practice that does not involve litigation is not considered a practicing lawyer. A lawyer who wants to be independent and decides to establish his/her own law firm is considered as recalcitrant. We hear statements from colleagues like, “He is not ready”, “He should at least have stayed longer with his principal partner”. Now, this pressure forces a lawyer to become scared of the future and forced to remain stagnant under the employ of another; whether happy on the job or not.

Self-discovery promotes entrepreneurship, which in turn leads to better productivity and improvement of the legal profession, rather than the slow pace of development the profession faces because many of its enterprising lawyers are scared to take the necessary steps for fear of what the society would say if he/she fails.

When lawyers do not discover themselves, or are scared of creating new innovations in the industry, we conscript the profession to stereotyped area of practice that is overcrowded and incapable of feeding all legal professionals involved.

The recent increase in suicide is as a result of people not able to withstand the societal pressure for their disappointments, and this comes from the peculiarity of the country we live in.

Sadly, no one is taught how to handle social pressure in Nigeria, or what to expect when things are not going as planned. This leaves one with an instinct on how to handle the pressure.

Some remain under the security of employment in a job they are not happy, endure and manage their way till they become comfortable. Some take the bold step of following their dreams and keep getting up no matter how many times they fall.

Truth be told, the pressure from family, friends and even the society can be so overbearing that one does not know what to do, but then, lawyers must find the purpose of being in the industry; and work towards it.

Great innovations are made by people who go outside the box and do the impossible. The societal pressure would be more on the future generation if the generation of today does not begin to discover self and create new areas of law and expand the frontiers of opportunity.

The Nigerian pressure is real, but it can be overcome with strong belief in self. Do not let the opinion of others define you, keep doing you, and know that the death of fear is certain if we do that which we fear. Godspeed!

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