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What makes Nigerians some of the happiest people in the world?

Despite widespread poverty and political strife, Nigerians are some of the happiest people in the world. Why?

What makes Nigerians some of the happiest people in the world?

In a recent story in the Guardian - Nigeria: The happiest place on earth - reporter Bim Adewunmi examines what makes Nigerians some of the happiest, most optimistic people in the world (according to a recent global survey). In a huge country plagued by corruption and sectarian violence, on the world's poorest continent, what reason is there for such steadfast optimism and contentedness? Adewunmi, a dual citizen of both Britain and Nigeria, thinks that happiness has everything to do with surviving adversity: "I had a comfortable life, and could avoid the abject poverty, crime, social inequality and the legacy of political instability. It seems natural to conclude that all these factors would put a damper on Nigerian cheerfulness. Instead, the optimism is an almost tangible thing, the joie de vivre obvious. Daily life is hardly one glorious Technicolor dance sequence, but I have never lived in such a happy place – and I once lived in hippyville California. I can't give a definite answer, but I think the joy comes from seeing and living through the worst that life can offer; it is an optimism born of hope...There's a spirit of entrepreneurship – people seem bewildered if you admit a lack of ambition. Nigerians want to go places and believe – rightly or wrongly – that they can. That drive and ambition fuels their optimism; they're working towards happiness, so they're happy." In other words, sometimes having a taste of adversity - or simply proximity to it - can make you more appreciative of what you do have and fill you with a sense that better things are yet to come. It's a matter of perspective. On days when I'm enraged by something mundane - like having to wait too long for a streetcar when I'm already late for an appointment - I try to take deep breaths and think about how lucky I am that the worst part of my day is a delayed streetcar. And then I think about how grateful I might be for this simple inconvenience if my life was struck by real tragedy. Sometimes having been unlucky can make you feel like the luckiest - and happiest - person in the world when things are actually going your way.

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