Nigeria: A Giant Indeed

This might seem as a futile effort but hey, wait a minute; I’ve never been so optimistic about the happenings in my country than ever before. Nigeria is a paradox of sorts because it’s a well known fact that the vast majority of Nigerians are wallowing in abject poverty or destitution while a relatively insignificant minority are living in affluence. This has earned the country such sobriquets as a “basket case” or “toothless bulldog” This article is not an attempt to rubbish the reform efforts of the current administration but rather to point out were we’ve been lagging behind as well as our strong points (if any). I therefore accept the fact that frantic efforts have been made over the years to wake up this sleeping giant from its deep slumber, but these have been few and far between or too little too late. However, there are no easy answers or one size fits all solution to these challenges since most (all) of these problems are intricately linked with each other. This article will largely center on a few of the development challenges militating against growth and development in Nigeria. These are leadership, bribery, corruption, red tape, nepotism just to mention but a few. (leadership & corruption)


Corruption is often defined as “the abuse of public office for private gains”. This definition is universally acceptable in all countries of the world except Nigeria where corruption is defined as “conversion of public office into personal office.” it’s among the few countries in the world where corrupt leaders flaunt their ill gotten wealth with impunity and the anti-corruption agency (ies) dishes out “selective justice” on political opponents. Corruption is so pervasive (endemic and systemic) and ingrained not just in the highest echelons of power but also at the bottom rungs of the society. The fact that corruption siphons off our meager resources that should be put into the provision of infrastructure and social services in Nigeria, is a no brainer! I’ve always wondered why this is so, does our genetics, nutrition or culture have something to do with this. This might sound a little absurd but in reality these factors might also help in explaining why this cankerworm has not only eaten deep into the fabrics of our society but has sucked us “dry”. Maybe our fore fathers or ancestors were so corrupt but this doesn’t seem to be the case. An examination of the traditional leadership in Nigeria prior to the advent of the British points to the contrary. In the case of the Igbos (one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria) they had a well organized leadership structure which was largely decentralized from the village to the family level that frowned at as well as punished squarely corrupt individuals. (thieves) The severity of the punishment (which was considered as discipline) meted out to erring members of the society depended on the magnitude of the offence and could range from public shaming, excommunication to ostracification. I’ll also like to contend that the colonialists (the British) sowed the seed of corruption in Nigeria through their shady business deals (the Royal Niger Company) and appointment of Nigerians who were mere puppets to the then British government. All of this was done by the British without due recourse to the local administrative system existing in the country. The era of the military junta definitely exacerbated the problem because it was fraught with gross mismanagement, violation of fundamental human rights, miscarriage of justice e.t.c. These “vampire regimes” especially under the military almost brought the country to the brink of collapse because of their cronyism. I chose to describe the various administrations as “vampire regimes” because they’ve sucked up the remaining vitality that was left in the country when it gained its independence. I think the country needs a second independence this time from our fellow country men because those we entrusted with power have failed us from all ramifications. Lets not play the blame game here; we’ve got to put our house in order before it collapses on our heads. The Transparency International and Freedom House indices on Nigeria corroborates the above mentioned facts and shows some dismal statistics that would be difficult for any “true Nigerian” to stomach. (You can visit: www.freedomhouse.org ; www.transparency.org )


Of course, some would argue that Nigeria is a young country. C’mon, for how long are we going to remain a baby, we gained our independence in 1960 and for crying out loud Nigeria will turn 49 on the 1st of October. This is no longer a valid argument for pundits who are toying with the destiny of our “dear country” can capitalize on. As the saying goes “a fool at 40 is a fool for life” If Nigeria were a baby that was born in 1960, went through the rigors of education from primary to the tertiary level, landed a job, got married, had kids it could possibly qualify for a grandfather today. So no excuses!

In recent times when we talk about leadership, “good governance” which has become a mantra of sorts comes to mind. According to this paradigm as espoused by some international agencies such as UNDP and the World Bank, “good leadership” ought to be participatory, accountable, transparent, predictable, equitable and also uphold the principle of rule of law e.t.c. It’s pretty obvious that our (all) leaders have grossly failed the citizens in every way, shape or form. I therefore, challenge every reader of this article to mention only three good leaders that have emerged in Nigeria in the past four decades. Nigeria is in dire need of proactive leadership and not reactive leadership at this tipping point in its history. The current scheme of things calls for ordinary people who are passionate, motivated, committed, daring and willing to call a spade a spade just like the proverbial Moses. As Collin Powell said “Effective leaders are made not born”, they learn from trials and error, and from experience. First what’s important here is that good leaders don’t emerge from the blues, it requires individuals with the right sense of direction and investments in education and the inculcation of values, ethics and morals.

Our politics is rife and bedeviled with elite, ethnic and tribal politics which continues to tear us apart and could possibly grind the country to a screeching halt if not addressed urgently. We should envision the Nigeria of our dreams; we should all be the architects that would chart a new course for this nation. To my mind the issue of leadership in Nigeria has been a case of the blind leading the clueless over the years. I know a lot of people would be furious and as well as utterly disagree with this assertion. Without any shred of doubt I’ll say that Nigerians are one of the most educated people on the continent (inclusive of Nigerians in the Diaspora) but this has not been able to translate into “good or effective leadership”. Leaders should not just talk the talk but also walk the walk. In as much as we’ll know that leadership at the top remains very crucial to propel this nation into the 21st century because we still live in the 18th century from all indications. There’s a leader in you and I and I believe those innate leadership qualities that thrives in each and every one of us could possibly take us to the Promised Land. Leadership should be self driven as recently exemplified in the U.S elections where ordinary people summoned or embraced the “Yes We Can” spirit that saw the first African American into the White House. From the outset, a lot of folks tagged his sojourn to the White House “Mission Impossible” This goes to show that ordinary people can do phenomenal things that might seem to be an uphill (impossible) task when viewed from conventional human wisdom. But I’ll rather strongly suggest that Nigerians embrace the “Yes I can Spirit” in stead of the “Yes We Can”. This might seem to be a little over the top but It’s definitely not so. It’s simply all about tapping into the diverse but unique qualities of each and every citizen and harnessing these qualities into a force that would radiate a glimmer of hope in the society.

In the face of these odds and challenges, I seem very confident, upbeat and optimistic that this new generation of Nigerians will some how resurrect this nation of ours that’s currently at a crossroads or limbo. As written in the Holy Bible, Nigerians must surely overcome because we are a holy people, chosen tribe, a royal priesthood and a peculiar people.