What Nigerians Truly Want With Nigeria.

George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

“Not charity. Not chaos. Real jobs, honest leaders and a country that works for its people.”

For over six decades, Nigerians have endured cycles of hope and heartbreak, promises and betrayal, progress and regression. Yet amid the noise of politics and propaganda, one fundamental question still echoes from the streets of Lagos to the creeks of the Niger Delta, from the classrooms of Ibadan to the dusty markets of Sokoto: What do Nigerians truly want with Nigeria?

The answer is neither mystical nor complex. Nigerians are not asking for miracles or charity. They are asking for a country that works, a nation that rewards effort, protects life, upholds justice and gives its citizens dignity. They want a nation where leadership serves the people, not itself. They want, in essence, the Nigeria that was promised but never delivered.

1. Nigerians Want Jobs and Economic Dignity.
Unemployment is not just a statistic; it is a national tragedy. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment and underemployment rates remain disturbingly high, especially among young people. Over 40% of Nigeria’s youth are either unemployed or underemployed, despite being the most educated generation in history.
Every year, Nigerian universities produce over 500,000 graduates, yet less than a fraction find gainful employment. Many resort to driving ride-hailing services, selling data bundles or migrating to countries that value their talent. As Professor Pat Utomi aptly puts it, “a country that cannot convert its youthful population into productive citizens is sitting on a social time bomb.”

What Nigerians want is clear, a government that prioritizes job creation through industrialization, digital economy development and investment in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They want a Nigeria that empowers its people to create wealth, not one that frustrates them into exile.

2. Nigerians Want the End of Poverty.
The World Bank estimates that over 100 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line. Poverty in Nigeria is not theoretical, it is a woman walking ten kilometers to fetch dirty water; it is a child going to bed hungry; it is a farmer watching crops rot because of bad roads.

While politicians boast about GDP figures, ordinary Nigerians measure the economy by what’s on their plates. Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka once said, “You cannot eat democracy.” Nigerians want leadership that translates political freedom into economic reality.

A government that allows its people to live in such destitution, while billions vanish through corruption, has lost its moral compass. Nigerians want a social contract that delivers prosperity to all, not privileges to a few.

3. Nigerians Want Power; Real Electricity, Not Excuses.
Electricity is the bloodstream of development, yet Nigeria still generates less than 5,000 megawatts for a population exceeding 220 million. South Africa, with one-third of Nigeria’s population, generates over 45,000 megawatts, even amid its power crises.
The result is predictable: industries shut down, small businesses crumble and unemployment deepens. Citizens spend more on generators than on food, while leaders boast about “POWER REFORMS” that never light up homes.

Nigerians want light not just in their bulbs, but in their future. They want investments in renewable energy, transparency in the power sector and a government that ends the decades-long conspiracy of darkness that benefits generator importers and corrupt contractors.

4. Nigerians Want Security and the Rule of Law.
A nation where citizens sleep with one eye open is a nation at war with itself. From Boko Haram in the northeast to bandits in Zamfara, kidnappers in the south and cultists in the cities, insecurity has turned Nigeria into a human battlefield.

According to Global Terrorism Index reports, Nigeria remains among the top 10 countries most affected by terrorism, despite trillions spent on defense. The average Nigerian no longer trusts the police or the army to protect them.

Nigerians want a government that values life, that reforms security agencies, pays soldiers living wages, equips them adequately and holds them accountable. They want justice that works not a judiciary that auctions verdicts to the highest bidder.

As Nelson Mandela once said, “Safety and security do not just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment.” Nigerians crave that consensus; a nation where safety is not a privilege but a right.

5. Nigerians Want Leadership That Cares.
In his timeless book The Trouble with Nigeria, Chinua Achebe declared: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” Four decades later, nothing has changed. Leadership remains Nigeria’s most chronic disease.
The Nigerian elite class has perfected the art of deception; promising heaven during campaigns and delivering hell in governance. From inflated contracts to stolen budgets, corruption has become an institution. According to Transparency International, Nigeria consistently ranks among the world’s most corrupt nations, with billions looted yearly.
Nigerians want leaders with conscience, men and women who see public office not as a jackpot but as a sacred trust. They want accountability, transparency and empathy. They want a president who stays in Nigeria to solve Nigeria’s problems, not one who spends half his tenure abroad seeking legitimacy.

6. Nigerians Want Quality Healthcare and Education.

It is shameful that the same politicians who cannot fund public hospitals fly abroad for headaches. Nigeria has lost thousands of doctors to the UK, Canada and the U.S., leaving a doctor-patient ratio of 1:10,000 far below the WHO’s recommended 1:600.
The education sector fares no better. Teachers are underpaid, universities are chronically on strike and libraries are outdated. The UNESCO benchmark for education funding is 15–20% of national budgets, yet Nigeria barely allocates 6–8%.

Nigerians want their leaders to prioritize brains over bricks. They want health insurance that works, hospitals that heal and schools that prepare children for the digital age. They want a government that values human capital, because nations rise not by oil, but by intellect.

7. Nigerians Want a Fair Economy and a Stable Currency.
The naira’s collapse has reduced once-proud citizens to beggars in their own land. Inflation hovers around 30%, food prices have tripled since 2023 and fuel deregulation has made transportation unbearable.
Nigerians are not asking for miracles; they are asking for sense. They want fiscal policies that protect the poor not the privileged. They want a Central Bank that defends the naira not one that defends politicians.

As Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, once noted, “Economic growth without inclusiveness is a ticking time bomb.” Nigerians want inclusiveness, an economy that works for the market woman as much as it does for the billionaire.

8. Nigerians Want Justice, Not Excuses.
Every Nigerian has a story of injustice, a policeman’s slap, a bribe in court, a rigged election or a stolen contract. The rule of law has been replaced by the rule of connection. Until justice is blind to tribe, religion or wealth, Nigeria will never know peace.

Nigerians want a judiciary that is fearless and independent. They want an end to selective justice. They want equality before the law, not impunity before the people.

9. Nigerians Want Their Country Back.
Ultimately, Nigerians want ownership; a chance to reclaim the dream that their fathers fought for. They are tired of being spectators while their leaders loot the field. They are tired of tribal politics, fake reforms and recycled excuses.

As Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II once said, “We must not let others write our history.” Nigerians want to write theirs; one of courage, innovation and rebirth. They want a government that listens, a media that speaks truth and a citizenry that refuses to give up.

The Way Forward; The Nigeria We Deserve.
Nigerians are not demanding the impossible. They are demanding the fundamental. They want light, security, fairness, opportunity and justice. They want leaders who serve not steal; who lead by example not by arrogance.
To rebuild Nigeria, leadership must rise above ethnicity, greed and propaganda. The country must return to meritocracy, discipline and vision. It must rebuild trust between citizens and the state.

As Achebe warned, “Until we have honest and patriotic leaders, Nigeria will never rise.” The time has come to prove him wrong or forever live under his prophecy.