As Nigeria marks another milestone in her checkered history, the primal challenges she grappled with over six decades ago continue to frustrate one generation after another, STEPHEN ANGBULU writes
Days of celebratory events, cultural dance and fireworks followed the announcement of Nigeria’s independence from British colonial rule on Saturday, October 1, 1960. At home and abroad, the spirit was the same.
Regardless of tribe, religion and political leaning, citizens of the most promising black race trooped out en masse to celebrate the opportunity to witness the historic event or be part of its making.
But Nigeria was not alone. It was around the middle of the 20th century, amidst the great wave of independence sweeping across Africa. For activists at the time, the continent could now breathe in peace as the cloak of colonialism was gradually rolled away.
For Nigerians, independence brought hope in the possibility of a future where the country could do better across all development indices; hope that its challenges would gradually give way to massive development. Many hoped the infrastructure deficit and other challenges that pervaded the previous years would finally be addressed.
However, not many people foresaw the negative possibilities on the other side of self-governance.
Only six years later, the euphoria soon gave way to bloodshed that plunged not just Nigeria but the continent into the dark age of forceful takeover of power. The relics of those dark years still linger in the form of misgovernance, bad leadership, unemployment, infrastructural decay, insecurity and a poor perception in Africa and beyond.
Although successive leadership promised to roll the dark realities away, or at least reduce them, some of the problems have not gone away, decades after. Worse, they now form the collective identity of Nigeria—stunting her growth and the quality of life for many of her citizens.
As the green and white flags flap on October 1 every year in celebration of freedom and sovereignty, they also flap in the face of unresolved challenges. Though not new, the challenges have evolved with the times and many young Nigerians today find themselves caught in a mess they did not start.
According to many Nigerians who spoke with the media, the problems facing the country, rather than dissipate, have continued to mutate at an alarming rate, from the time of Tafawa Balewa, who was the first Prime Minister between 1960 and 1966, to incumbent President Bola Tinubu.
Nigeria’s first President was Nnamdi Azikiwe from 1963 to 1966; after which Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi ruled from January 1966 to July 1966. After him was General Yakubu Gowon, from 1966 to 1975; while Gen Murtala Mohammed ruled from 1975 to 1976.
After his assassination in February 1976, General Olusegun Obasanjo became the Head of State from 1976 to 1979, and he later handed over power to the democratically elected President Shehu Shagari, who governed from 1979 to 1983, before Major General Muhammadu Buhari overthrew his government and ruled from 1983 to 1985.
General Ibrahim Babangida ousted Buhari and ruled from 1985 to 1993; after which he installed Ernest Shonekan as the Head of Interim National Government which lasted from August to November, 1993 when General Sani Abacha sacked his government and took over power.
The late Abacha ruled from 1993 to 1998, and after his death on June 8, 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar became the Head of State. He later handed over power to democratically elected President, Olusegun Obasanjo in May, 1999. Obasanjo was the President till 2007; he was succeeded by Umaru Yar’Adua, who died in office in May, 2010; and his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, became the President and was in office till 2015. President Muhammadu Buhari took over power from him, and after his second term terminated in May 2023, Tinubu was sworn in as the President.
Despite the number of persons that have led the country, however, many Nigerians say the same old problems persist, and now in newer forms.
For example, the stable electric power supply that eluded Nigeria decades ago has continued to hurt young and old Nigerians. The noise of generators may have staved off total darkness, but the unstable power supply has worsened over the years.
Also, the youth, full of energy and potential, battle unemployment or under-employment. Security challenges remain real and deadly while disunity festers even as calls for good governance grow louder day by day.
Poor power supply
Nigeria’s power problem is old and deep. With a gnawing infrastructure deficit, power shortage, prolonged blackouts and heavy debts, the power sector has defeated every administration since 1999 and is dealing its perennial blows to the Tinubu administration through periodic grid collapse. After collapsing 98 times under his predecessor, the new President had his first taste on September 14.
Not known to discriminate, the power challenge has affected even those who should be immune to its sting. On January 23, 2023, the presidential campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress in Bauchi State was brought to an abrupt end by power outage.
The rally was taking place at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi when the power cut and the sound system went off and could not be restored. Eventually, the then President Muhammadu Buhari and his successor, Bola Tinubu, could not address the mammoth crowd.
Billions of dollars have been sunk into power sector reforms, in addition to the 2013 privatisation, but the narrative remains unchanged, while the agitation for a permanent solution to the problem persists.
Obsolete infrastructure, vandalism and a convoluted mix of administrative and regulatory bottlenecks accentuate the crisis. Despite the country’s abundant natural gas reserves, power plants grapple with gas shortages due to infrastructural deficits and security challenges. Also, in spite of the dams across the country, hydropower has yet to be fully maximised, with some dams and the equipment purchased abandoned since the 1980s.
While many people in Lagos and some other major cities could boast of hours of electricity daily, many people in rural communities say the situation has only become worse. In fact, bothered by how the power problem has persistently defied solutions, a former Minister of Power once said witches and wizards were behind the power problem. While the outage is worrisome, tens of millions of Nigerians do not even have access to electricity.
The immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said in 2022 that 62 per cent of Nigerians lacked access to electricity.
While successive governments promised a total transformation of the sector, Nigerians still groan in darkness. Many electricity users told Sunday PUNCH that it was shameful that 63 years after, the power problem remains bad, even as they call for concerted efforts to address the problem.
Naira’s free fall in troubled economy
In recent years, many Nigerians and economic experts have expressed concerns over the state of the economy; from the huge debts to rising inflation rate, low revenue, unemployment and high exchange rate, all of which have compounded Nigerians’ woes.
For example, the naira has maintained its free fall, with the parallel market hitting N1000/$ recently while the Investors & Exporters’ window also remains unstable.
However, the naira recovered on Friday, September 22, 2023, after President Bola Tinubu nominated Olayemi Cardoso as the acting head of CBN. Cardoso’s nomination moved the naira upwards by N10 against the dollar in the black market, closing at N990/$1.
According to experts, the exchange rate depicts an embattled currency, slipping from N450/$ in January to N1000/$ in the parallel market, which has resulted in increased cost of goods, escalating living costs and a populace grappling with the icy grip of inflation.
In August 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics reported an inflation rate hovering around 24.08 per cent, with the common man feeling the pinch at marketplaces and stores.
The implications stretch beyond the immediacy of elevated prices to the long-term prospects of investment and economic growth.
External debt has surged by N13.38tn ($17.38bn) in the second quarter of 2023. The Debt Management Office said Nigeria’s external debt rose to N33.25tn ($43.16bn) in Q2 2023 from N19.64tn ($42.67bn) in the preceding quarter, an increase credited mainly to the weak naira rather than fresh borrowing.
Many economists have however expressed concern over the state of the economy.
High unemployment
63 years after, Nigeria still grapples with ballooning youth unemployment crisis, which has not only worsened crime but also contributed immensely to brain drain that is now at an alarming rate.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics put youth underemployment at 6.9 per cent and youth unemployment at 18.1 per cent, figures that have since been faulted by experts who argue a much higher rate.
While the debate is on, it seems clear to all that millions of young individuals have been relegated to the fringes of economic participation—their aspirations stifled, their innovation untapped and their contributions muted.
In a country with about 70 per cent of its citizens under 25, the unemployment crisis has been described as a time bomb and national emergency.
Early 2023, the World Bank lent weight to this narrative, warning that the unemployment abyss could continue its ominous expansion unless drastic measures are undertaken.
