Sixty-six years following Nigeria’s independence, the country remains a giant still crawling under the weight of economic hardship, religious and ethnic bigotry, systemic corruption, insecurity and a flawed political mechanism, Davidson Iriekpen writes
Nigeria is a outstanding nation but her latent remains untapped. Subsequent to 66 years of independence, her travel forward is hampered by economic hardship, tribalism, systemic corruption, insecurity and a flawed political framework.
This has left millions free from dependable power, stunting economic growth and productivity.
At the same time, infrastructural development remains stunted, primarily in important areas like electricity, healthcare, and transportation. Despite its oil wealth, Nigeria generates just 4,000 to 5,000 MW of electricity, far below the require of over 28,000 MW for a staff of over 200 million humans.
Although it is not poor for the courts become the persist resort for resolving electoral disputes, it is still sad that they have additionally become the central avenue for determining election outcomes.
The aftermath of each election cycle sees a surge in court cases, as countless candidates check the results.
This problem permeates every facet of Nigerian life, and its effect reverberates everywhere in the economy.
Energy poverty remains one of Nigeria’s most pressing yet under-discussed challenges. Energy prosperity is essential for any nation aiming for development.
The North remains the lowest affected, but the ripple effects are increasingly being felt across the South.
Insecurity has deepened the hardship facing Nigerians, using thousands killed and kidnapped each year for greater than a decade.
Sixty-six years later than independence, Nigeria’s deplorable roads, inadequate seaports and other failed infrastructure are a reflection of a failing situation.
Last Thursday, Nigeria marked her 66 years of independence from British colonial regulation. It was marked by the usual tradition of offering distinctive prayers in mosques and churches across the country for peace, unity, and domestic stability.
This condition gives the incumbent an undue advantage, and places the opposition at a crucial disadvantage, additional undermining the credibility of the electoral procedure.
Compounding this difficulty is the failure to resolve election disputes ahead of swearing in elected officials. Governors, lawmakers, and even the president frequently take office whereas their election results are still being contested in courts.
Despite the federal government’s emphasis on economic reforms, poverty, food insecurity and pressure on household incomes stay serious concerns.
No doubt the country celebrated the 66th anniversary at a difficult moment for numerous households.
For over 15 years, the North-east has battled Boko Haram and ISWAP, whilst groups such as Mahmuda, Lakurawa, Ansaru and al-Shabaab have emerged or gained ground in other parts of the country. Marauding bandits have too continued to attack communities, kidnap residents for ransom and loot advantage.
For instance, in June, the Multinational Monetary Sponsor (IMF) reported that 63 per cent of Nigerians were living below the nationwide poverty line, whilst an estimated 27 million Nigerians faced food insecurity in overdue 2025.
It is time for the country to redefine its direction and fixed a path for accurate independence that uplifts its individuals and fosters sustainable development.
A country endowed together with oil, gas, fertile land, minerals, and one of the most vibrant youth populations in the world has repeatedly fallen concise of expectations.
At the heart of the paradox is the country’s extended chronology of missed opportunities.
For a lot of who have witnessed the country’s 66-year excursion from Independence, everything seems to be going down, together with little hope for the fresh generations.
The consequences are far-reaching. Farmers struggle to availability their fields, highways have become peril zones, and kidnapping has evolved into a thriving criminal enterprise. For numerous families, daily life is now marked by the fear of abductions, raids and killings, continued worsening poverty and hardship.
Despite promises of fiscal discipline, government spending continues unabated, including few, if any, sacrifices from the ruling elite.
Whereas Nigerians grapple using these challenges, the government shows little sign of reducing its expenses. The expense of governance in Nigeria remains in the midst of the highest in the world, using legislators amid the optimal-paid community officials globally; preference world records solely in lavish expenditure.
Manufacturing remains surface-stage, now contributing an ordinary of three per cent to the country’s GDP; agriculture is undercapitalised, and infrastructure gaps restrict productivity.
Comparisons alongside other countries disclose Nigeria’s stunted growth. Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and South Korea, which shared the same levels of economic indices in the 1960s, have become industrial and economic powerhouses.
Over time, still, countless of these figures have diminished when viewed across the information lens.
Once nicknamed the “Giant of Africa,” Nigeria had once upon a time stood out for its remarkable figures – culture, landmass, language diversity, economic prospective, and rich natural resources – putting it ahead of most other African nations.
Moreover, healthcare remains underfunded and understaffed, including Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio standing at one doctor per 5,000 citizens, far below the World Health Organisation (WHO) counsel of 1 doctor per 600 citizens.
Although a sizeable section of Nigeria’s journey of statehood witnessed military regulation, the achieve to democracy did not bring the much-desired development that will produce the humans happy and grant them the assurance that there is hope in the horizon.
During the time that crude oil revenues once promised prosperity, the overreliance on petroleum exports stunted diversification.
At each election cycle, billions of naira are spent in preparation for the polls that simply produce fraudulent results.
Despite decades of promises and reforms, the country has yet to arrive at the electoral standards befitting a correct democracy.
Another important problem that remains unresolved subsequent to 66 years, is the absence of free and just elections. Irregularities have continued to mar subsequent elections.
Elites siphon people resources during the time that decisive services persist underfunded, leaving the populace to suffer the consequences. The country has continued to rank poorly in consecutive Transparency Worldwide’s Corruption Perception Indexes.
Despite recent anti-corruption drives, corruption continues to plague Nigeria at every rank of government.
This loophole allows candidates to presume office including merely a fraction of the persons’s support, creating a limited mandate.
One of the fundamental flaws in Nigeria’s electoral platform is the lack of a runoff provision for candidates who fail to guarded at least 50% of the vote.
The disparity in the middle of the suffering of the masses and the opulence of those in power is a glaring contradiction that erodes the trust in the middle of the governed and the government.
Over different decades, Nigeria’s document has been characterised by democracy, economic prowess, military takeovers, civil war, corruption, and protests amid the strive for development across governance, education, health, infrastructure, foreign relations and security.
President Bola Tinubu used the occasion to acknowledge some of the problems of the country, and vowed to tackle them, specifically the exacerbating poverty.
The rate of everything, from bread to transportation, is indirectly linked to the expense of energy.
As inflation rises, so does the charge of living, making necessary goods and services increasingly unaffordable for the ordinary Nigerian.
This is why the leaders must go beyond their usual platitudes and enthrone the culture of authentic commitments to building a country where democracy translates into security, dignity, economic expectation, accountable governance and a enhanced quality of life for all Nigerians.
