Why We Remain D-Colonised: The British Built Institutions, Nigerians Built Excuses & Blames

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

More than sixty years after taking independence from Britain, Nigeria remains a painful paradox, a nation rich in resources yet poor in discipline, rich in talent yet impoverished by corruption and rich in culture yet diminished by moral decay. The painful irony is that Nigerians were colonised by the British, a people whose commitment to order, public service, patriotism and institutional integrity stands in stark contrast to the prevailing chaos in Nigeria.

It is time we admitted a bitter but necessary truth: the British are very much unlike Nigerians, especially in the spheres that determine national greatness. In public service, in private enterprise, in respect for the rule of law, in the dignity of labour, in financial accountability and in civic responsibility, the British have long upheld values that are either absent or grossly undervalued in Nigerian society.

1. Public Service and Integrity: A Tale of Two Cultures
The British civil service is one of the oldest and most respected bureaucracies in the world. It is built on principles of neutrality, competence and loyalty to the state; not the ruling party. According to the UK Institute for Government (2023), over 98% of British civil servants are appointed through a competitive, merit-based system that upholds the values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Compare this to Nigeria, where nepotism, bribery, tribalism and religious stands often determine appointments.

Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perception Index ranks the UK 20th out of 180 countries, while Nigeria languishes at 145th. In Nigeria, public service is viewed not as a means to serve, but as a platform to loot. The Nigerian politician is not a statesman; he is a state-chopper.

Chinua Achebe famously said, “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.”

2. Discipline and Duty to the State
The British are raised with an internalised sense of duty to their country. The Union Jack is not just a flag; it is a sacred symbol of collective sacrifice and national pride. Every schoolchild is taught to honour it. In contrast, Nigerian students do not know their state flags, much less the meaning of their national symbols. Even our National Anthem is recited without heart, often forgotten by those in power.

The British queue with discipline. They drive with patience. They pay taxes with dignity. In Nigeria, the concept of queueing is alien. We jump lines, bribe our way through airports and evade taxes while crying for development. According to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), only 10 million Nigerians pay taxes out of over 70 million eligible adults. In the UK, over 95% of working adults pay taxes annually.

Patriotism is not singing national songs during football matches. It is protecting public property. It is demanding accountability. It is paying taxes. It is electing leaders not based on tribe, but merit.

3. Financial Accountability and the Public Treasury
The British Parliament has robust mechanisms for scrutinising public expenditure. The UK’s National Audit Office regularly audits ministries and public officers are held accountable. In 2009, British MPs were forced to resign and even prosecuted over minor abuses of parliamentary expenses, some as little as £100.

In Nigeria, we lose billions to untraceable budget padding, fake contracts and ghost workers. According to the Auditor-General of Nigeria’s 2022 report, over ₦105 billion in federal funds were misappropriated or unaccounted for in one year alone. Yet, there are no consequences.

John Locke, a philosopher whose ideas influenced British governance, once said, “Where law ends, tyranny begins.” In Nigeria, law has long ended.

4. Private and Public Morality
The British sense of morality, though not perfect, is guided by centuries of cultural evolution, religious moderation and civic education. There is respect for the law, a love for clean environments and a fierce dedication to honesty in both public and private dealings. In the UK, cheating in an exam can end your academic career; in Nigeria, lecturers collect bribes for grades and universities sell honorary degrees to fraudsters.

In the UK, traffic rules are obeyed even without police presence. In Nigeria, motorists drive on pedestrian sidewalks, while police officers extort citizens in broad daylight. British society frowns at dishonesty; in Nigeria, we baptise fraudsters with nicknames like “fast Guy” and or “yahoo Yahoo”

Professor Wole Soyinka once said, “You cannot build a nation with crooks and you cannot expect honour from those who were not taught honour.”

5. Leadership and Political Discipline
The British political system is one of the most stable democracies in the world. Prime Ministers have resigned over integrity issues that would be considered trivial in Nigeria. David Cameron resigned after losing a referendum. Boris Johnson stepped down amid an internal party revolt. That is what democracy looks like: accountability not impunity.

In Nigeria, a leader can be caught on camera stuffing dollars in his agbada and still become a senator. The political elite are shielded by ethnicity, immunity and a docile populace. Leadership is about sacrifice in the UK; in Nigeria, it’s about plunder.

6. Religious Management and Behaviour
The British people have evolved spiritually. Religion is personal, not political. Churches and mosques do not block roads. Clerics do not endorse politicians for money. Religious leaders do not preach hatred or tribalism. In contrast, Nigerian religious institutions have become extensions of political parties and money-laundering schemes.

We pray more than any other nation on earth, yet our roads are the worst, our hospitals dilapidated and our police the most feared institution after armed robbers. God is not our problem; CHARACTER is.

7. Human and Resource Management
The UK has one of the best systems for managing its citizens. Births are recorded, national identity is compulsory, pensions are paid and the National Health Service (NHS) offers universal healthcare. In Nigeria, millions have no ID. Ghost workers earn salaries. Pensioners die in queues. Doctors flee the country daily. According to the Nigerian Medical Association (2023), over 60% of Nigeria-trained doctors now work abroad, many in the UK and Canada.

A Call to National Rebirth Through Character Transformation
It is not geography or GDP that distinguishes nations, it is the character of the people. Britain colonised over a quarter of the world not just with ships and soldiers, but with an ideology of order, systems and responsibility. Today, Britain remains relevant not because of its natural resources, but because it has mastered human management, institutional governance, and social discipline.

Nigeria must stop blaming colonialism for her current state. The British have long left, but we continue to govern like a colony of impunity. We have replaced oppression with self-destruction and substituted colonial order with indigenous chaos. The tragedy is not that we were colonised; it is that we never outgrew it.

The time has come for Nigerians to look in the mirror and ask: “Are we building a country, or simply existing in one?”

If we must ever rise, then every citizen from the street HAWKER to the SENATOR must undergo a moral re-engineering. Our children must be taught ethics before English and our leaders must be held to the standards of public service, not personal gain.

Nations are not built by miracles, they are built by mindsets and until we begin to think like those who once ruled us not in dominance but in discipline, we will remain a footnote in the history of missed potential.

Let me end with the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
“A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”

And to paraphrase former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill:
“To each, there comes a moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and asked to do a great thing. Let Nigeria not sleep through that moment.”

Nigeria, arise; not in noise, but in discipline and let the transformation begin, not in Abuja, but in the Nigerian soul.

Lagos APC in Turmoil as Chairmanship Aspirants Reject ‘Imposition Plot’ Ahead of Council Polls

LAGOS — With barely two months to the July 12 local government elections in Lagos State, crisis is rocking the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) amid growing outrage over alleged attempts by party powerbrokers to impose chairmanship candidates across several councils.

What began as routine preparations for the party’s primary elections has exploded into factional disputes, protests, and petitions—threatening to fracture the APC’s long-standing grip on Lagos politics.

Aspirants and stakeholders across multiple Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) have accused influential party figures of hijacking the screening and selection process under the guise of “consensus,” which many claim is being used as a smokescreen for imposition.

In Ojokoro LCDA, tension escalated after a group known as the Ojokoro Apex Council declared Mobolaji Sanusi as the consensus candidate in a letter endorsed by former House of Reps members, Ipoola Omisore and Adisa Owolabi. However, controversy erupted when a rival group presented Rosiji Yemisi as their preferred aspirant, sparking accusations of “importing a candidate backed by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.”

“You can’t force a stranger with no political roots here on us,” said a local party member who requested anonymity. “This is not democracy; it’s dictatorship in disguise.”

Similar unrest flared up in Yaba LCDA, where a coalition of landlords, electorates, and political stakeholders cried foul over an alleged attempt to replace top-ranked aspirant William Babatunde—who scored 85% in the screening exercise—with Babatunde Ojo, who reportedly came 11th.

In a passionate petition addressed to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, the group warned that repeating the politics of imposition could destabilize the APC’s base and impede development.

“We urge President Tinubu and Her Excellency to intervene and halt this travesty,” said Amoo Ismail, the coalition leader. “We must protect the democratic voice of our communities.”

The discontent isn’t isolated. In Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, Opeyemi Ahmed, media aide to outgoing chairman Dele Osinowo, slammed party leaders in a now-deleted Facebook post. He warned that ignoring internal democracy could backfire in 2027.

“If a few are writing names at the top and using fake strategy to call for consensus at the bottom, then Tinubu should be ready to lose Lagos come 2027,” Ahmed cautioned.

Veteran APC chieftain Fouad Oki added weight to the warnings in a scathing open letter titled “Lagos APC’s Crisis of Democracy”. Oki described the brewing conflict as a “crisis of confidence” and warned of an electoral backlash that could reverberate beyond local elections.

“Unity forged under injustice is brittle. Lasting strength requires inclusivity,” Oki wrote. “Let this be a rallying cry: abandon the politics of imposition or risk losing Lagos to our own internal discord.”

Reacting to the mounting accusations, APC Lagos Publicity Secretary Seye Oladejo denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the primary process had not been concluded. He defended the use of consensus as a valid and constitutionally backed method that had helped reduce post-primary tensions in the past.

“Where consensus fails, delegates will vote. Nobody is being sidelined,” Oladejo stated.

Despite assurances from the party’s leadership, the storm within the Lagos APC appears far from over. With primaries slated for today, the credibility of the process—and the party’s unity—hangs in the balance.

PDP in Crisis: The Political Exodus That May End Africa’s Largest Party

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

Never did we imagine that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), once hailed as Africa’s largest political coalition, would witness such dramatic erosion from within. But in today’s Nigeria, where political loyalty is as volatile as the economy, the PDP is now hanging by a thread. What was once a formidable machinery that ruled Nigeria for 16 unbroken years has become a political shadow, limping from one internal crisis to another, gasping under the weight of ambition, betrayal and irrelevance.

This is no longer mere speculation. This is a full-blown political exodus.

The warning signs have long been in the air, but the silence of the party’s leadership only emboldened the defections. More PDP governors, senators and influential political actors are preparing to “throw in the dirty towel” to use a common Nigerian parlance and “get a change of toiletries” from a more promising political vehicle. The All Progressives Congress (APC), despite its governance failures, has remained the dominant force. Meanwhile, Labour Party (LP) and its ideological frontmen have seized the imagination of Nigeria’s politically conscious youth. Where is the PDP in all this? Nowhere near the pulse of the nation.

The Collapse of a Giant

Once upon a time, PDP stood like a colossus, commanding national attention and holding sway across all six geopolitical zones. In 2007, it controlled 28 out of 36 state governorships. By 2015, that number had dropped to 21. Today in 2025, the PDP controls just 9 states, an embarrassing decline that reveals the party’s waning appeal and fractured internal unity. Analysts have blamed this on the party’s failure to manage its primaries democratically, an outdated power-sharing formula and the overbearing influence of godfathers.

“Power is not something you hold forever. You must constantly renew your legitimacy through the people,” said late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a former PDP leader known for his integrity. The party has clearly forgotten this principle.

The Atiku Albatross

The PDP’s 2023 presidential campaign was marred by one fatal error: the insistence of fielding Atiku Abubakar, a serial contestant whose political capital has been dwindling with each election cycle. The PDP’s inability to learn from its past mistakes and reinvent itself through younger, credible candidates shows how deeply the party has lost touch with contemporary realities.

Even within the party, Atiku is increasingly seen not as a unifier but a divider. His constant grip on the presidential ticket has frustrated younger aspirants and caused internal blockades that push members away.

“One man cannot hold a whole party to ransom,” said former Senate President Bukola Saraki in a private meeting leaked last year. That message reflects what many insiders are saying in hushed tones.

The Shockwaves of 2027

As the 2027 election cycle begins to take shape, permutations are in full gear. And while Atiku may be warming up for a record-breaking sixth attempt at the presidency, his influence is anything but stable. The PDP is already seeing rebellion from within, particularly from southern blocs who believe it is time the North stopped dominating the party’s presidential ambition.

Key political actors are already exploring alternative alliances. Rumours abound of secret talks between PDP governors and Tinubu’s men. Some are also aligning quietly with Peter Obi’s Labour Party, hoping to hedge their bets.

A recent poll by SBM Intelligence showed that 61% of PDP voters in the South-East and South-South are “open to switching allegiance” if the party fails to restructure before 2026. That’s a political red flag.

Why Governors Are Jumping Ship

What exactly is triggering this mass departure? The reasons are numerous, but four stand out:

Self-Preservation: Most Nigerian governors operate in a transactional political environment. Their loyalty lies not with ideology but with continuity of power. With the PDP unlikely to win the presidency in 2027, many are seeking new alliances to protect their political future.

Lack of Internal Democracy: The PDP has failed repeatedly to conduct transparent and fair primaries. Recent gubernatorial primaries in states like Delta, Rivers and Abia were marred by allegations of imposition and backdoor deals.

Atiku’s Grip: The feeling that Atiku is determined to contest in 2027, regardless of public sentiment, is unsettling. Many believe that as long as he remains a central force in the party, others have no space to thrive.

Tinubu’s Strategic Poaching: The current APC-led administration is systematically targeting opposition strongholds. Governors are being enticed with promises of federal appointments, project funding and legal shields from EFCC investigations.

Can the PDP Survive?

This is the pressing question. The answer lies in whether the party is willing to undergo painful introspection and renewal. It must adopt a bottom-up approach, re-engage with the grassroots, purge itself of godfatherism and allow credible young candidates to emerge.

It also needs to redefine its ideology. The APC may have failed economically, but it succeeded politically by branding itself as a party of change, regardless of how false that branding turned out to be. The PDP has no distinct narrative today.

What the Experts Say

Prof. Ayo Olukotun, a leading political scientist at Obafemi Awolowo University, recently argued: “The PDP is a classic case of political entropy. Without internal reform, it will disintegrate not by collapse, but by irrelevance.”

Similarly, Dr. Remi Adekoya, political analyst and author of “Politics of Identity in Nigeria”, notes: “The PDP has become a party for political pensioners. It is not inspiring to young voters nor innovative in its messaging.”

A Last Chance

If Atiku and the old guard truly care about the future of PDP, they must step back and allow a new leadership to emerge. Nigeria is moving on. The PDP must do the same. The 2027 ticket cannot be an inheritance. It must be earned. And it must reflect the shifting demographics of Nigerian voters, 65% of whom are under the age of 35.

This is not just about Atiku. It is about the soul of the PDP and whether it can reclaim its place in Nigerian political history or fade into obscurity like the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of the 1990s.

Furthermore

History is not kind to political parties that fail to evolve. The PDP has been served many warnings. The defections we see today are not just acts of betrayal; they are symptoms of decay. If the party does not reinvent itself quickly and decisively, it will not survive the coming storm.

The words of Chinua Achebe ring truer than ever: “A man who brings home ant-infested firewood should not be surprised when lizards come to feast.” The PDP brought this upon itself. The only question now is: will it learn, or will it perish?