Nigeria Held Hostage: Wrestling a Nation Back from the Grip of Greedy Elites.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

Nigeria is a nation of contradictions though blessed with abundant human and natural resources, yet shackled by POVERTY, CORRUPTION and UNDERDEVELOPMENT. The tragedy of our country is not that we cannot work, but that there are powerful individuals and institutions who do not want Nigeria to work. Their power, wealth and influence are built on the back of our suffering. They thrive in chaos and instability. They profit from inefficiency. They grow fat when the common man starves. They will fight, tooth and nail against any reformer or institution that dares to fix this nation.

The question before us is simple but urgent: HOW LONG SHALL WE, THE CITIZENS, ALLOW A CABAL OF SELFISH ELITES TO HOLD OUR COLLECTIVE DESTINY HOSTAGE?

The Economics of Suffering; Real Numbers Tell the Truth.
As of September 1, 2025, obtaining a standard Nigerian passport (a 32-page booklet with 5-year validity; now costs ₦100,000, while the 64-page version is priced at ₦200,000).
This represents a staggering 100 % increase from August 2024’s prices (previously ₦50,000 and ₦100,000), and what’s more, the minimum wage in Nigeria remains around ₦70,000 per month.

Adding insult to injury, NIN verification now costs ₦5,000 per passport applicant, a fee introduced in April 2023 under the guise of “STREAMLINING” the process; yet in effect, placing another levy on already squeezed citizens.

These realities crystallize the argument: the system is configured to extract maximum value from ordinary Nigerians; while offering insufficient service improvement or international mobility in return. It’s PURE PROFIT for those in power; PURE PAIN for the masses.

Compare this with Ghana, where a standard passport costs about ₦21,000 equivalent or Kenya, where it is less than ₦17,000. Even worse, the Nigerian passport ranks embarrassingly low in global mobility. The 2024 Henley Passport Index ranks it 95th out of 199, granting visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to just 45 destinations, mostly small or developing countries. Our passport cannot take us freely to the U.S., the U.K., the E.U. or major Asian economies. WHAT THEN ARE WE PAYING SO MUCH FOR?

This is not just about passports. It is about a system where the government piles burdens on citizens while offering little in return. The elites and political class are insulated; they travel with diplomatic passports, fly private jets and educate their children abroad. Meanwhile, the ordinary Nigerian struggles under a system designed to exploit rather than serve.

The Architecture of Oppression.
We must understand that instability is not an accident in Nigeria; it is engineered. Those who loot the treasury, divert public funds and manipulate the system know that a stable, well-governed Nigeria would strip them of their illicit power.

The late Chinua Achebe, in his timeless book The Trouble with Nigeria, said: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” Today, that failure has metastasized into a deliberate strategy of the ruling class. They deploy ethnicity, religion and regional divides as tools of distraction. While the masses argue over TRIBE and FAITH, the elites laugh their way to Swiss banks.

It is no wonder the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka once lamented: “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.” Nigerians cannot afford silence anymore.

Voices of Reason and Voices of Humor.
Even our comedians (those who make us laugh in the midst of pain) have captured the absurdity of Nigeria’s situation. The popular comedian I Go Die once quipped: “The problem of Nigeria is not witches and wizards from the village, but leaders who do not know their left from their right.”

His colleague Gordons, with his biting satire, declared: “In Nigeria, we do not need prophets to see the future; just watch our leaders and you already know tomorrow will be worse if nothing changes.”

These jokes may sound funny, but they carry the weight of truth. In a society where humor exposes the rot more sharply than government reports, laughter itself becomes a weapon of resistance.

Global Comparisons: Why We Lag Behind?
Let us compare Nigeria with countries that were once at par with us. In the 1960s, Nigeria and Malaysia had similar GDP levels. Today, Malaysia boasts a GDP per capita of over $12,000 (World Bank, 2024), while Nigeria languishes at about $2,200. Why? Because Malaysia built institutions that worked, while Nigeria allowed corruption to hollow out its systems.

South Korea, in the 1950s, was poorer than Nigeria. Today, it is a global economic powerhouse, home to giants like Samsung, Hyundai and LG. Meanwhile, Nigeria cannot boast a single globally competitive indigenous brand in technology or manufacturing.

The difference is not fate. It is leadership. It is policy. It is the deliberate choice of leaders who decided to build rather than plunder.

The Way Forward: Wresting Back Nigeria.
If we are serious about change, Nigerians must rise above TRIBALISM, RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT and POLITICAL MANIPULATION. The struggle is not North versus South, Christian versus Muslim or Yoruba versus Igbo or Hausa. The struggle is the PEOPLE versus the PREDATORS.

To wrest Nigeria back from their grip, we must demand accountability at all levels. Citizens must insist on transparency in public spending. Civil society must grow teeth, not just bark. The media must return to FEARLESS JOURNALISM, not BROWN-ENVELOPE COMPROMISE.

Above all, the Nigerian youth (the largest demographic force in the country) must reject apathy. As Martin Luther King Jr. said: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Silence is no longer an option.

A Call to Courage.
We must recognize that the enemies of progress will not surrender willingly. They will not hand over Nigeria’s destiny with a smile. We must be ready to wrest it back. This does not mean violence, but it does mean courage, persistence and collective action.

The passport issue is symbolic of a larger rot. If we cannot get something as basic as affordable, functional identification right, how can we hope to fix power supply, healthcare, education or security? Fixing Nigeria is possible; if we are willing to confront those who benefit from keeping her broken.

The great Nelson Mandela once reminded us: “Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.” Nigerians must summon that courage now.

Final Word: The Battle for Nigeria’s Soul.
This battle is not just about POLICIES or POLITICS. It is about the soul of our nation. Shall Nigeria remain a playground for greedy elites or shall it rise as a beacon of African pride and prosperity?

The answer lies in our hands. We must refuse to be divided. We must refuse to be silenced. And we must refuse to pay endlessly for passports that cannot even open the doors of opportunity.

To borrow the words of Gordons, “If Nigeria were a person, she would need urgent intensive care.” The time for jokes is over; the time for action is now.

Nigeria can work. Nigeria must work. Firstly, Nigerians must rise together to wrest her back from the grip of those who never wanted her to.