At 66, I find myself looking at Nigeria with two feelings that are difficult to separate, pride in what we have remained and frustration over what we have failed to become.
On October 1, 2026, Nigeria marked 66 years of independence. For me, the anniversary is more than another national celebration. It is a moment to ask a difficult question, after six decades of political independence, why does a country with Nigeria’s resources, population and talent still struggle to provide the basic conditions for a decent life for millions of its citizens?
Nigeria has survived. It has remained one country despite a civil war, decades of military rule, ethnic and religious tensions, economic crises and political instability. Since 1999, it has also maintained uninterrupted civilian rule.
But survival cannot be the highest measure of national progress.
The deeper problem, in my view, is the weakness of institutions. When accountability is weak, almost every other national problem becomes harder to solve. Corruption cases can drag on, public resources can be poorly managed, and citizens can lose confidence in the institutions meant to protect them.
The same institutional weakness is visible in the economy.
Nigeria has enormous natural and human resources, yet prosperity remains difficult to see in the everyday lives of many citizens. The World Bank said in its 2026 Nigeria outlook that more than 60% of Nigerians were estimated to live below the national poverty line in 2025, while 50.8%, or about 123 million people, were living in extreme poverty under the lower-middle-income poverty measure.
Inflation is now far below its earlier peak. The National Bureau of Statistics put headline inflation at 15.39% in August 2026 and food inflation at 19.57%. But for the Nigerian household, a lower inflation rate does not mean prices have returned to where they were before the crisis.
This is where the gap between economic statistics and everyday experience becomes impossible to ignore.
President Bola Tinubu, in his October 1, 2026 Independence Day address, said the country had moved from an “age of reform” into an “age of prosperity”, arguing that the difficult economic decisions taken since 2023 had laid the foundation for stronger growth and better living standards.
I believe the real test of that promise is not simply whether the economy grows. It is whether the growth eventually becomes visible in the lives of ordinary Nigerians through better jobs, cheaper and more reliable services, stronger purchasing power and greater opportunity.
Then there is insecurity.
Nigeria continues to face banditry and kidnapping in the North-West, insurgency in the North-East and separatist violence in the South-East, among other security challenges, according to the World Bank. The consequences go beyond the immediate victims, insecurity disrupts farming, investment, education and local commerce.
The human-capital crisis is just as troubling. UNICEF’s 2025 annual report puts the number of Nigerian children out of school at 10.2 million. It also reported that one in 100 Nigerian mothers dies during pregnancy or childbirth, while 54% of children live in multidimensional poverty.
And while millions struggle to access quality education and healthcare, many Nigerians who acquire skills and professional experience continue to look abroad for better opportunities.
That, for me, is one of Nigeria’s greatest contradictions.
We have people capable of building businesses, developing technology, running hospitals, teaching universities, creating globally recognised entertainment and competing successfully anywhere they are given the opportunity.
What remains unresolved is the system around them.
Nigeria does not lack potential. It lacks the consistency, accountability and institutional strength required to convert that potential into broad-based prosperity.
At 66, therefore, I do not think the central question is whether Nigeria has what it takes to succeed. Nigerians have demonstrated that repeatedly.
The harder question is whether we can finally build a country where those abilities can translate into decent lives at home and not merely individual success abroad.
For me, that is the unfinished business of Nigeria at 66, turning the enormous promise of independence into something ordinary Nigerians can actually feel in their pockets, their homes, their schools, their workplaces and their communities.
