Crisis Everywhere, Governance Nowhere: What The Omoluabi Ethos Demands

Nigeria stands at a crossroads, gripped by multiple crises while governance appears slow, distant, and at times absent. From rising insecurity to deepening economic strain, citizens face daily hardships that demand urgent and decisive leadership. Yet the response has often seemed reactive rather than strategic, leaving millions to navigate uncertainty on their own in a country of over 200 million people.

Security challenges continue to spread at an alarming rate. The insurgency in the North East, now over 15 years old, persists despite repeated military campaigns. In 2025 alone, hundreds of civilians were killed in attacks across Borno, Zamfara, and Plateau states, while kidnapping for ransom has become a thriving criminal enterprise. More than two million Nigerians remain internally displaced in the North East, and several rural communities across the North West and North Central have effectively fallen outside full state control. What began as a regional crisis has evolved into a nationwide threat, weakening agriculture, disrupting supply chains, and discouraging investment.

Economic realities offer little comfort. Nigeria’s GDP grew by about 3.87 percent in 2025, up slightly from 3.38 percent in 2024, yet this growth has not translated into improved living standards. Inflation, though moderating from over 30 percent in 2024 to around 15 percent in early 2026, continues to erode purchasing power. Food inflation remains particularly severe, with staples rising beyond the reach of average households. With a minimum wage that struggles to match the cost of living, millions of Nigerians now spend a disproportionate share of their income on basic survival.

Poverty and food insecurity deepen the strain. An estimated 129 million Nigerians live below the poverty line, while nearly 100 million face varying levels of food insecurity. Malnutrition rates among children remain high, and access to basic healthcare and education continues to decline in vulnerable communities. The informal sector, which employs over 80 percent of the workforce, remains largely unregulated and unstable. Official unemployment figures hover around 4.9 percent, but this masks widespread underemployment and precarious work conditions that offer little economic security.

Fiscal pressures further complicate the situation. Recent reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of exchange rates, have improved government revenue and reduced the fiscal deficit to about 4.5 percent of GDP. However, these gains have come at a steep social cost, with transport, energy, and food prices rising sharply. Public debt stands at roughly 34 percent of GDP, while oil production, Nigeria’s primary revenue source, continues to underperform. Although output recovered to about 1.5 million barrels per day in 2025, it remains below both OPEC quotas and national targets due to theft, pipeline vandalism, and chronic underinvestment.

These challenges are deeply interconnected and point to a broader governance deficit. Insecurity disrupts farming and trade, economic hardship drives poverty, and limited fiscal space constrains effective intervention. The result is a cycle of vulnerability that continues to tighten around millions of citizens.

The Omoluabi ethos offers a clear alternative. It represents leadership defined by character, discipline, accountability, and an unwavering duty to the people. Under such a framework, security would be treated as a sacred responsibility, not a recurring crisis. Government would act with urgency and coordination to protect lives and property, while economic policy would be deliberately people centred, focused on reducing the cost of living, stabilising prices, and supporting small businesses and agriculture. Growth would be measured not just in statistics but in the improved welfare of citizens.

Public institutions under this ethos would function with purpose and discipline. Ministries would operate with clear targets, coordination, and accountability for results. Fiscal decisions would reflect prudence, balancing reforms with social protection so that citizens are not crushed under the weight of policy adjustments. Above all, leadership would be empathetic and present, grounded in the daily realities of the people and responsive to their needs. Governance, in this sense, would not be distant or abstract but a visible commitment to improving lives.

Measured against this standard, the present stewardship of the Nigerian state clearly falls outside the Omoluabi ethos. Persistent insecurity, rising living costs, and the widening gap between economic indicators and lived reality reflect a leadership approach that lacks the discipline, accountability, and people centred focus that define that value system. Rather than embodying empathy and responsibility, governance has often appeared distant, reactive, and insufficiently attuned to the human consequences of its decisions. The issue, therefore, is not merely one of policy but of principle. Until leadership aligns with values that prioritise service, accountability, and the welfare of the people, the crises will endure and the question will remain, se na like this we go de dey?