Everyone has something they’re scared of. Some are pretty “normal”, while others might be considered a bit more “random”

We asked 11 Nigerians to tell us their worst fears and here’s what they had to say.

1. Mary, 26

I hate saying it out loud, but I’m scared that my husband might die. There’s nothing wrong with him or anything. I’m not even scared of death for myself. It’s just him. Maybe when I have kids, I’ll stop being scared that my husband might die and start being scared that it might be my kids. But I just tell myself, “Even if your husband dies, you won’t be the first”

2. Bam, 30

I’m scared that when my father retires in a few years, my siblings and I might not be able to cater for our parents. There’s nothing that indicates that right now because we’re not doing too badly, but it’s just my biggest fear.

3. Yinka, 24

Don’t call me crazy, but I’m scared of waking up, only to discover that a bug has crawled up my ear and made a home there. Terrifying.

4. Fola, 22

There’s this book I read some years ago, where a 7-year-old was raped by two grown men. After the ordeal, she was tortured and penetrated with a pistol and a bottle of gin. If that ever happened to me I’d never want to live again. So that’s my biggest fear: Being raped and tortured.

5. David, 21

My biggest fear is dying before Arsenal wins the Champions League. There, I said it.

6. Rah, 33

My biggest fear is not going to heaven.

7. Lams, 28

One time, I was travelling and I had a stopover in Dubai. While shopping, I left my passport at the front desk of a store and I got stranded at the airport. Because I like being punctual, I decided to check-in about one hour before my flight time, and that’s when I realized I didn’t have my passport. I almost died. I started running around, going to all the stores I shopped at, and the restaurant where I ate. When I got to the store where I left the passport, the clerk just casually handed it to me. I nearly missed my connecting flight. Sometimes I just pause and think about what I would have done if I didn’t find my passport. So my greatest fear is being stranded in a foreign country.

8. Reece, 25

My greatest fear is finding out that I’m not capable of being loved.

9. Michael, 23

Poverty. My greatest fear is poverty.

10. Tega, 30

One day, in JSS 1, I was walking back to my classroom from the bathroom when a senior student pointed at my zipper. I looked down and say that my fly was very very wide open. Embarrassed, I ran back to the bathroom and zipped up. Ever since, my greatest fear has been finding out that I haven’t zipped up.

11. Busayo, 21

People say the things you obsess about end up happening to you. It’s true. Ever since I was a teenager, my biggest fear has been laughing until I let out a fart. I don’t know where it came from, but that was just it. This year, it happened to me. In public. Everyone heard it, but nobody commented. I wanted to kill myself.

>

OUR MISSION

Zikoko amplifies African youth culture by curating and creating smart and joyful content for young Africans and the world.