Comedian and TV host, Teju Babyface, has shared a deeply personal reflection on a time he regretted relocating to the United States with his family.
In a new YouTube video, the entertainer spoke candidly about the emotional and practical challenges he faced after moving abroad, admitting he battled what he described as the “grass is greener” syndrome — the belief that life is automatically better elsewhere.
“The issue with life is that we almost suffer from ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ syndrome. When we’re standing in one position in life and we’re looking at another place from where we are, that other place looks very green, very rosy, very appealing — and we want to be there. But we don’t see the challenges of that side from where we are standing.”
Before leaving Nigeria, Teju Babyface said he was confident that relocating was the right decision for both his career and his family. However, things quickly took a different turn after their arrival in the U.S., especially when the COVID-19 pandemic struck just a few months later.
“When we were leaving Nigeria, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was the necessary next step in my career evolution. But when we got here and the challenges started, especially when COVID began, I was convinced I had made the biggest mistake of my life,” he said.
“America has its own unique challenges that you will go through — tough challenges. Then when you add COVID on top of that, ah! For about three years, I was convinced that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. That I had shot myself in the foot.”
Teju Babyface went on to reveal that the experience left him so shaken that he began to grasp the meaning of a classic King Sunny Ade lyric he had sung for years without fully understanding.
“I had a phrase for it. I was convinced that I had taken a ruinous risk — the kind of risk that leads to ruin. Because I was completely lost and had no idea where my life was going,” he confessed.
“For the first time, I could understand what King Sunny Ade meant when he sang. I never understood what he meant in that song, and I’d been singing it all my life. But for the first time, I understood his sentiment.”
