There is a disturbing question Nigerians need to ask themselves: “Have we become so dissatisfied with the way God created us that we are now prepared to risk our lives in the pursuit of physical features that somebody else has declared fashionable?”
The foregoing question, no doubt, becomes even more compelling following the reported death of a Nigerian in Thailand after undergoing a penis-enlargement procedure.
That tragedy should not be dismissed as another bizarre story that will trend on social media today and disappear tomorrow. It should compel us to examine a deeper problem confronting our society: “the growing inability of some Nigerians to accept themselves as they are.”
From Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedures to breast augmentation, extreme body sculpting and penis enlargement, cosmetic modification has increasingly become part of a culture in which people are encouraged, directly or indirectly, to believe that their natural bodies are inadequate.
At this juncture, it is germane to draw a line in the argument by saying that there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. There is nothing wrong with exercising, eating healthily, dressing elegantly or seeking legitimate medical treatment. There are also circumstances in which reconstructive or cosmetic procedures may be medically justified. But when the pursuit of beauty becomes a desperate attempt to escape one’s own body, we have moved from self-improvement into self-rejection. That is dangerous.
The Bible provides a powerful starting point for this conversation. In Genesis, after creating man and woman, God looked upon His creation and declared it “very good.” The implication is profound: “God did not create human beings as unfinished projects waiting for human beings to perfect them.” He created them. He saw what He had created. He declared it good. And He rested.
Yet today, some Nigerians seem to have appointed themselves as God’s quality-control department. God gave them one body; they want another. God gave them a particular shape; they want the shape trending on Instagram.
God gave them their natural physical endowment; they begin searching the internet for ways to enlarge, reshape or reconstruct it. Perhaps we should pause and ask: “What exactly are we trying to prove?” Who are we trying to impress? And at what price?
The tragedy is that insecurity has become a thriving industry. People are constantly being reminded of what they supposedly lack. Women are told that their bodies are not curvy enough. Men are made to feel inadequate if they do not meet some imaginary standard of masculinity. Young people are bombarded with photographs of supposedly perfect bodies until they begin to regard ordinary human bodies as defective. But social media has never been an honest mirror. What Nigerians see online may have been filtered, edited, strategically photographed, surgically enhanced or carefully selected from hundreds of images. Yet people compare their real bodies with manufactured images. That is madness.
A young Nigerian woman may look at an Instagram celebrity and conclude that she is unattractive because her body does not resemble hers. A young man may see another man’s physique and begin to question his own masculinity. But human beings were never designed to be identical. The fact that someone has a different body does not mean your body is defective. Unfortunately, we have allowed comparison to become a national psychological affliction.
Beyond bodily comparison, we compare houses, we compare cars, we compare salaries, we compare marriages, we compare children, and we even compare lifestyles.
Against the backdrop of the foregoing, it is not an exaggeration to opine that the consequence is that people who should be grateful for their lives begin to despise themselves because they do not look like somebody else. That is the point at which society must intervene.
In fact, Nigerians need to hear this clearly: “your body is not your worth.” A woman’s worth is not determined by the size of her buttocks. A man’s worth is not determined by the size of his penis. A person’s value is not measured by the shape of his nose, the width of her waist, the size of his muscles or the complexion of her skin. Rather, character matters, intelligence matters, competence matters, kindness matters, integrity matters, and courage matters. Above all, what a person contributes to society matters.
There is something particularly tragic about a society in which a person may be prepared to spend enormous sums modifying the body while doing little to develop the mind. We must therefore ask ourselves whether some of these procedures are actually solving a physical problem or merely treating a psychological wound.
However, if a person has a genuine medical condition, reconstructive surgery or another medically appropriate intervention can be life-changing. But if someone is perfectly healthy and is prepared to undergo a risky procedure because social media has convinced him or her that the natural body is unacceptable, then the problem may lie somewhere deeper.
Perhaps the person does not need a surgeon first. Perhaps the person needs reassurance. Perhaps counselling. Perhaps education. Perhaps simply someone to say: “You are enough.” This is particularly important for young Nigerians. We cannot continue allowing our children to grow up believing that beauty has a single shape, masculinity has a single measurement and attractiveness has a universal formula. There is no such formula. Human beings are wonderfully different. Some are tall. Some are short. Some are slim. Some are broad. Some have pronounced curves. Others do not. Some men are heavily built. Others are naturally lean. Some people have prominent physical features. Others have modest ones. None of these differences makes one human being more valuable than another.
To checkmate the debilitating development, it is expedient to suggest that the media also has a responsibility. There is nothing wrong with reporting on cosmetic procedures, but the media should be careful about normalizing dangerous interventions as though they are harmless lifestyle choices. Influencers and celebrities should equally recognize the enormous influence they wield over impressionable young people.
In addition to the foregoing view, consequent reportages on the issue should be in the perspective of telling the people that not every trend deserves to be followed, not everybody requires modification, not every insecurity requires surgery, and not every insecurity is real. Sometimes, insecurity is manufactured by the very people who profit from selling the solution. That is why Nigerians must become more discerning. Before surrendering your body to a procedure, ask questions. Is it medically necessary? What are the risks? Who is performing it? Is the practitioner properly qualified? What happens if something goes wrong?
And perhaps the most important question: “Am I doing this because I genuinely want it, or because I have been made to believe that I am inadequate without it? “That final question could save lives.
We must also resist the temptation to mock people who struggle with body image. Ridicule will not solve the problem. Someone who hates his body needs help, not humiliation.
The objective should not be to shame people who have undergone cosmetic procedures. It should be to build a society in which nobody feels compelled to risk life and limb merely to earn acceptance.
In fact, given the sad news from Thailand, there is a lesson for Nigerian men. This is as the obsession with penis enlargement deserves particular scrutiny because it exploits one of the oldest male insecurities: the fear of being considered inadequate.
Unfortunately, a man’s masculinity is not a measurement, a man’s dignity is not a measurement, and his worth certainly cannot be reduced to an organ. If anything, the reported death in Thailand should remind men that desperation can make people vulnerable to practitioners and businesses willing to exploit their insecurities.
In fact, no man should die trying to prove that he is “man enough.” Likewise, no woman should die trying to achieve a body shape that social media has declared fashionable. Life is too precious.
We should therefore return to a simple but increasingly forgotten principle: “accept yourself.” Improve yourself, yes. Take care of yourself, certainly. Seek medical help when necessary. But do not hate yourself.
Do not allow Instagram, TikTok, celebrity culture or peer pressure to convince you that God made a mistake when He made you.
There is a difference between grooming and rejection of self; between healthy aspiration and destructive insecurity; between medical necessity and dangerous vanity. Nigerians must learn that difference.
Perhaps our society needs a new definition of beauty, one that does not begin and end with physical appearance. Perhaps we need to celebrate the woman who has confidence without a surgically constructed body. The man who does not measure his masculinity by his physical endowment. The young person who understands that being different is not being inferior.
And the adult who has finally looked into the mirror and said: “This is me, and I am not ashamed.” The Bible says that God looked at His creation and declared it very good. Maybe the problem is not that God failed to create us perfectly enough. Maybe the problem is that “we have become too insecure to believe Him.” God did not make a mistake. Nigerians should stop behaving as though He did.
