Nigeria at 65: A Celebration or a Call to Conscience?

By George O. Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

“65 years after independence, Nigerians at home and abroad must ask: Are we celebrating freedom or enduring failure?”

Introduction: Between Celebration and Reflection.
On October 1st, 2025, Nigeria marked its 65th Independence Anniversary. Around the world, Nigerians unfurled the GREEN-WHITE-GREEN flag, sang the national anthem and are organizing gatherings in unity. Among the voices of commemoration was Adv. Smart I. Nwobi, President General of the Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA). In his message, he reminded Nigerians in the diaspora to remain steadfast and not relent in their daily pursuits, despite the odds.

“We Nigerians in Diaspora should not relent. We must always strive to thrive in our daily activities and endeavors,” he told SaharaWeeklyNG.com. His words, while encouraging, also raise a deeper question: what exactly are Nigerians celebrating at 65? Is it true independence, or is it endurance in the face of recurring hardship?

A History of Hope and Betrayal.
Nigeria gained independence from Britain on October 1st, 1960, amid great optimism. With vast natural resources, fertile lands and one of the largest populations in Africa, the nation was tipped to be a continental powerhouse. At independence, Nigeria’s GDP per capita was higher than South Korea’s and the country had a robust agricultural sector feeding not only its people but also serving as a major exporter of cocoa, groundnuts and palm oil.

Yet, six decades later, Nigeria tells a different story: Ranked poverty capital of the world in 2018 (Brookings Institution).

Over 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty as of 2023 (National Bureau of Statistics).

A youth unemployment rate surpassing 42%.

A failing public education system and chronic power shortages.

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka once observed, “Nigeria is a nation perpetually at war with itself.” At 65, the nation still struggles with LEADERSHIP FAILURES, TRIBALISM, CORRUPTION and INSECURITY.

Diaspora Voices: The Resilient Nigerians Abroad.
Adv. Smart I. Nwobi’s words highlight a critical reality, Nigeria’s diaspora community has become not just an extension but a lifeline of the nation. According to the World Bank, Nigerians abroad remitted $20.1 billion in 2022, an amount higher than Nigeria’s federal allocation to education and health combined.

Nigerians abroad excel in academia, medicine, technology and business. From Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, to Dr. Bennet Omalu, the Nigerian-American physician who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), to countless entrepreneurs and innovators, the diaspora consistently proves the resilience of the Nigerian spirit.

As comedian I Go Dye once joked, “Nigerians do not travel abroad, we export solutions.” While humorous, his words capture a truth: Nigerians abroad thrive despite the failures of the state.

The Homefront Crisis: Poverty Amid Plenty.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer, yet its citizens endure endless fuel scarcity. The paradox of wealth and poverty is glaring. Economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has repeatedly warned: “Nigeria is not poor because it lacks resources. Nigeria is poor because of mismanagement and corruption.”

Consider this:
Nigeria earned over $1 trillion from oil since the 1970s, yet most citizens lack access to clean water, quality healthcare and steady electricity.

Over 20 states in 2024 failed to implement the ₦70,000 minimum wage despite rising inflation and cost of living.

Universities were shut for eight months in 2022 due to strikes, while politicians continued to collect allowances running into millions of naira monthly.

Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President, noted: “Nigeria’s problem has never been resources; it has always been leadership.”

Corruption and Leadership Failure.
At 65, Nigeria remains plagued by leaders who treat governance as personal inheritance. The Senate earns some of the highest salaries in the world, yet delivers some of the lowest governance outcomes. Governors loot state coffers, while local governments have become shadows of their constitutional purpose.

Activist Omoyele Sowore bluntly stated: “Nigeria is not a poor country; it has been made poor by a criminal political class that thrives on stealing from the people.”

Meanwhile, insecurity continues to ravage the country:
Boko Haram and banditry in the North.

Kidnapping epidemics in the South.

Farmers abandoning farmlands due to fear of attacks.

As comedian Gordons once quipped, “The only place Nigerians are sure of light is inside the mortuary.” Behind the humor is a bitter truth, basic infrastructure remains a mirage.

65 Years of Missed Opportunities.
Nigeria’s trajectory since independence has been marred by missed opportunities:
Agricultural collapse – from being a food exporter in the 1960s to relying on imports worth over $10 billion annually.

Industrial failure – factories shut down due to power shortages and policy inconsistency.

Brain drain – thousands of skilled professionals leaving under the “JAPA” wave, draining the nation of doctors, engineers and academics.

Political instability – six coups between 1966 and 1999, followed by two decades of democracy riddled with electoral malpractice.

The Call of Diaspora Responsibility.
Adv. Nwobi’s call is not merely ceremonial. Nigerians abroad must ask how their success can translate into national transformation. Beyond remittances, the diaspora must:

Influence policy by engaging with home-based governance structures.

Invest responsibly in small and medium enterprises to create jobs.

Champion accountability by demanding transparency in Nigeria’s institutions.

As Nelson Mandela once said: “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.” The Nigerian diaspora has the potential to be that generation.

Nigeria at 65: Cause for Celebration or Protest?
So, is there a cause to celebrate? Yes – Nigerians have survived despite overwhelming odds. They have built communities, thrived in foreign lands and refused to surrender their identity. The Nigerian spirit remains unbroken.

Survival is not the same as success. At 65, the nation should have moved from survival to prosperity. It should have secured electricity for all, functional schools and hospitals that save lives instead of killing hope.

Chinua Achebe, Nigeria’s literary giant, once wrote: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a FAILURE of LEADERSHIP.” That remains the nation’s central truth.

Final Word: A Call to Conscience.
As Nigerians raise the flag at 65, the real question is not about the number of years since independence, but the quality of life those years have delivered.

Adv. Smart I. Nwobi’s reminder to remain steadfast is valid. Yet steadfastness must go hand in hand with accountability. Nigerians at home and abroad must demand more from their leaders, refuse to normalize corruption and insist on a country worthy of its immense potential.

The green-white-green flag is not just cloth; it is a symbol of hope. Though symbols cannot feed the hungry or protect the vulnerable. Only LEADERSHIP, VISION and UNITY can.

At 65, Nigeria must decide: will it continue as a nation of SQUANDERED WEALTH and BROKEN PROMISES or will it RISE, at last, to its rightful place as Africa’s giant?

Nigeria at 65: Celebrate or Complain? A Brutal Inventory of a Nation That is Still Waiting. 

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

65 years of independence, millions still unfree; is this the PARTY or the PROTEST?

October 1, 2025; Today Nigeria turns 65. Sixty-five years after a proud “GOOD MORNING, NIGERIA” and the handing over of colonial keys, a short, simple question refuses to go away: IS THERE ANY GENUINE CAUSE TO CELEBRATE? If celebration means parading achievements; stable electricity, full hospitals, decent schools, security in every region, a currency people can trust and a population that is not hungry, then the answer is not a cheerful “yes.” It is a complicated, discomforting “NOT YET.”

Let us begin with the cold arithmetic. The economy shows faint green shoots in official statistics: headline inflation has eased from the peaks of recent years to about 20.1% in August 2025 and the IMF has nudged its 2025 growth projection into positive territory (around 3.4%). That is progress; but context matters. For most Nigerians, falling inflation from an unbearable peak to a still-punishing 20% does not translate to cheaper food, affordable medicine or meaningful wage power. The Central Bank’s recent policy tweaks and interest-rate cuts are important, but they are corrective needles, not a cure for a sick system.

On security and civic trust, the LEDGER is WORSE. Regions of the country remain under the blight of insurgency, banditry and kidnapping; civilian life in places is lived with the constant thrum of fear. Political tensions have hardened into institutional distrust: high-profile detentions and contested court processes have become part of the national drama, underscoring that the rule of law is still fragile for many. The recent courtroom orders and repeated legal showdowns involving separatist and opposition figures are a reminder that the crown of sovereignty sometimes feels like a heavy crown of discord.

If independence at 65 were to be measured by civic pride and national ceremony, this year’s official calendar offers an apt metaphor for our contradictions. The federal government declared October 1 a public holiday and then cancelled the central parade that traditionally showcased the best of our military and civic institutions. Symbolically, it was as if the state were saying: “We will mark the day, but with caution.” It is a fine mirror of a nation that wants to be seen as mature but often chooses optics over substantive repair.

Voices on the street and on social media are blunt. Activist Omoyele Sowore (who has made “FREEDOM” his watchword) asks an uncomfortable question: how do you wish people “HAPPY INDEPENDENCE” who are not in fact independent from HUNGER, POOR GOVERNANCE and FEAR? His rhetorical provocation is not nihilism; it is a call to examine the yawning gap between ceremonial independence and everyday liberty. Meanwhile comedians and social critics like Gordons and I Go Dye use ridicule and satire to puncture the pomp: their jokes contain the sting of truth, that our national house was built on shaky foundations and our leaders keep painting over the cracks. Satire here is not frivolity; it is a civic thermometer.

From the technocratic bench, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (an economist and global diplomat who has repeatedly warned about governance failures in Nigeria) reminds us that structural reform is not optional. Her public interventions and published commentary stress that corruption, poor public goods delivery and weak institutions are the clamps that stifle investment and opportunity. She has argued, repeatedly and patiently, that national wealth alone does not make citizens free; how the state allocates resources, invests in education/ health and attracts responsible capital does. Words from the global stage: PROGRESS requires COMPETENCE as much as cash.

And then there are the politicians whose rhetoric swings between consoling citizens and sparring over blame. Opposition leader Atiku Abubakar (a veteran of Nigeria’s national stage) hailed Nigerians resilience on this anniversary while pointing a finger at the ruling administration for “ABANDONING” citizens to economic pain. His message is part consolation, part indictment: Nigerians have held the country together through courage and improvisation, but representation and accountable governance are glaringly absent.

So: is there cause to celebrate? There is cause to acknowledge endurance. Nigerians are resilient, inventive and endlessly resourceful. From the markets of Kano to tech hubs in Lagos and diaspora remittances that cushion families, resilience is real and worthy of respect. But celebration must not be a substitute for critique. A birthday cake with frosting over rotten fruit is still rotten fruit beneath.

What would genuine celebration (the kind that honors the spirit of independence) actually look like? First, an honest reckoning. The nation must measure itself by lives lived in dignity: lower child mortality, functioning schools, reliable power, safe streets, transparent budgets and a justice system that protects rather than persecutes. Second, a social compact: when citizens pay taxes, they must see public goods. When the state borrows or reformers devalue the currency, the burden should not fall disproportionately on the poorest. Third, inclusion: our democracy must be more than elections; it must be a system where the voices of youth, women and marginalized regions alter policy outcomes.

There is another painful truth: the conversation about Nigeria at 65 is also about choices. For decades, elites have rationed national opportunity through patronage and short-term deals. Artists and satirists, from Gordons to I Go Dye, have lampooned that pattern because laughter sometimes reaches where speeches fail. Activists like Sowore insist that citizenship requires agency, not just slogans. If independence is to mean anything, it must mean the removal of systems that convert public money and trust into private gain.

So how should the citizen respond on this October 1? Not by blind rejoicing. Nor by despair. By demanding accountability, by voting with courage, by supporting institutions that strengthen rather than erode the social fabric and by insisting that our leaders stop treating the country like a family business. If the state cannot deliver the basics, then the people must reform the state.

Nigeria at 65 is not a simple story of failure or triumph. It is a liminal nation; one foot in a painful inheritance, one foot in an uncertain future. There are measurable gains and stubborn, systemic failures side by side. The choice for every Nigerian and for every member of the diaspora who loves this country, is whether this anniversary will be a moment of self-congratulation or a day of recommitment to fundamental change.

If we are honest, we will do both: PAUSE to HONOR the SACRIFICES that BIRTHED the NATION, then get to WORK. The party must end early enough for the real work of nation-building to begin again and with CLARITY, COURAGE and CONSCIENCE.

— George Omagbemi Sylvester, SaharaWeeklyNG.com

Use Your Security Vote to Address Insecurity and Stop the Blame Game – Arewa Youth Tells Gov Dauda Lawal

The Arewa Youth Network for Peace (AYNP) has described Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal as an utterly ineffective leader whose tenure has plunged the state into a cesspool of insecurity, illegal mining, and governance collapse.

In a statement issued in Kaduna on Tuesday, the group accused Lawal of squandering Zamfara’s vast resources while offering nothing but excuses, starkly contrasting his failures with the tangible achievements of other governors like Nasarawa’s Abdullahi Sule.

“Dauda Lawal is a monumental disappointment, a governor who has turned Zamfara into a bandit’s paradise while hiding behind hollow rhetoric,” said Comrade Yusuf Idris, the group’s convener.

“Unlike his counterparts who have transformed their states with far less, Lawal has no achievements to his name—only a legacy of chaos, misery, and misrule.”

The group drew inspiration from Governor Sule’s remarks at the 2025 Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit in Abuja, where he challenged governors to take full responsibility for security amid unprecedented federal allocations.

Sule revealed that monthly disbursements to the three tiers of government have quadrupled under President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, with over N2.2 trillion shared in August alone, compared to N590 billion to N620 billion in 2019.

“Every state now has the resources to secure its people. We should stop blaming anybody for our security. If we are blaming anybody, blame ourselves,” Sule declared.

The Arewa Youth Network turned this into a scathing indictment of Lawal’s leadership. “While Sule has attracted investors to build a 3,000-metric-tonne-per-day mineral processing plant and completed another 6,000-tonne facility in Nasarawa, Lawal has allowed illegal mining to flourish in Zamfara, bankrolling bandits and devastating communities,” Idris charged.

“Zamfara’s security vote is a bottomless pit, yet bandits roam freely, schools remain shuttered, and farmers are too terrified to till their land. Lawal’s administration is a masterclass in incompetence.”

The group didn’t hold back, accusing Lawal of abandoning Zamfara’s people to their fate. “Under Lawal, governance is a myth. Roads are death traps, hospitals are empty shells, and communities are ghost towns.

“He has failed to deliver even a single project that justifies the billions pouring into Zamfara monthly,” Idris said.

“Compare this to Nasarawa, where Sule has confirmed oil reserves of five to seven million barrels and expanded rice cultivation from 3,300 to 8,000 hectares. Lawal’s only talent is pointing fingers while Zamfara burns.”

The youth network further slammed Lawal for his apparent indifference to the suffering of Zamfara’s citizens. “Villages are sacked daily, women and children are kidnapped, and illegal miners operate with impunity under Lawal’s nose. Is this what leadership looks like?

“He should be ashamed to call himself a governor,” Idris fumed. “His security vote is a scandal, vanishing into thin air with no results.

“Lawal is not just failing—he’s actively making things worse.”

The group called on Lawal to take a cue from proactive governors like Sule, who have harnessed increased allocations to drive security and development.

“Stop whining, stop blaming others, and start governing. Zamfara’s people deserve a leader, not a chronic underachiever who watches as the state collapses,” Idris said.

“If Lawal cannot deliver, he should resign and spare Zamfara further agony.”