Nigeria, May 17 -- What started as a casual quip has evolved into a cultural talking point, thanks in part to a stirring critique by Folorunsho Fatai Adisa in his piece "This is Not for Civil Servants: A Mockery Masquerading as Marketing." In it, he challenges the moral foundation of a phrase that seems harmless on the surface but, upon closer inspection, cuts deep into the dignity of a workforce that silently holds the country together-teachers, nurses, clerks, secretaries, and countless others who embody public service.

According to Adisa, the phrase doesn't just exclude-it mocks. It reduces hard-earned humility to something laughable. It tells millions of Nigerians that their sweat isn't worth status, that their paychecks disqualify t...