A Nigerian doctor, Tolu Binutu, has shared old and new photos of himself, highlighting his remarkable transformation after six years in the UK.
Compared to the UK, Tolu stated that studying medicine and working as a doctor in Nigeria is often characterized by challenges, including power outages, inadequate infrastructure, delayed or unpaid salaries.
He recalled how they studied under streetlights and had to photocopy entire medical textbooks because they were expensive.
The doctor further revealed that one time, he sutured a bleeding patient using his phone torch for light.
Tolu said that people are often hailed when they do better abroad as if they weren’t brilliant and hardworking enough while in Nigeria.
According to him, it is simply the removal of resistance and presence of a working system.
He added that no matter how brilliant, disciplined or hardworking a person is, one cannot outwork a broken system.
“30 years in Nigeria. 6 years in the UK. Same intelligence. Same work ethic. But two completely different lives,” he wrote in a post on Saturday, February 2026.
You can’t outwork a broken system.
Believe me, I tried. In medical school in Nigeria, exam season often meant no electricity.
We attended lectures all day. At night, we read under streetlights.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. You see, Medical Textbooks were expensive.
So we photocopied entire books.
Standards did not drop. Exams did not adjust. Expectations did not soften.
Then the house job came along. There were nights with no electricity on the ward.
Wards without running water. I once sutured a bleeding patient using my phone torch for light.
Yet, we were still owed salaries. In fact, we worked for 14 months before we were paid.
I had the same intelligence. Same discipline. Same work ethic. Just constant friction.
Then I moved to the UK. The difference in standards was glaring.
Water runs. Equipment works. Training is structured. Infrastructure supports effort.
And suddenly Nigerians “excel.” People call it brilliance.
Often, it is simply the removal of resistance. Hard work matters. But the environment sets your floor and your ceiling.
You can be exceptional and still be capped by dysfunction. Location × Leverage × Work Ethic = Outcome.
Not mindset alone. Not motivational slogans. Not hustle quotes.
Choose your environment carefully. It will either multiply your effort or mute it.
