When will Nigeria reach maturity is a rhetorical question that needs to be unravelled by Nigerian leaders. The word ‘Independence’ is a state of having freedom from external control. It is also the state of being self-sufficient or self-reliant. A self-sufficient person, family, group, organisation or country is completely independent. A well-organised country with adequate provisions of basic human needs demonstrates true independence. A country with rulers that ensure good governance and smooth running of the state is independent.
Nigeria has been independent and freed from external control since 1960. Independence has lasted over 63 years, yet the political and economic affairs of Nigeria are not running smoothly, making Nigeria ‘old’ in Independence, ‘child’ in growth. The economy of Nigeria since independence until today has been deteriorating. When a new government gains political power in Nigeria after manifestoes, propaganda and elections, the hope of everyone is that the new government will fulfil its promises and promote the economy of the country. However, before the end of the tenure of such a government in office, the standard of living in Nigeria would have fallen prey to inflation (high cost of goods). The question is: When will there be a solution to the political and economic problems troubling Nigeria?
During the colonial administration of Nigeria, Nigerian nationalists were agitating against the policies of the British colonial rulers. The agitations led to the fall of all colonial constitutions until the independent constitution of 1960 was established. This gave birth to Nigerian Independence. The independent constitution of 1960 handed over the affairs of the country (Nigeria) to the hands of her citizens.
When Nigeria obtained independence on October 1, 1960, the country practised a parliamentary system which retained Queen Elizabeth as the Head of State for three years. In 1963, Nigeria became a Republic (a sovereign state) under the leadership of Dr Nnamdi Azikwe – Head of State (Ceremonial President) and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa – Head of Government (Prime Minister). During the Second Republic of 1979, Alhaji Shehu Shagari became the first Nigerian President vested with the power to hold office as the head of state and head of government (presidential system of government). It was sorrowful that Nigerian nationalists who agitated against the British policies and fought for independence later became leaders who were found with shortcomings such as regionalism, bribery and corruption, electoral malpractice, tribalism, nepotism, etc. The shortcomings led to the fall of the first and second republics, giving way to several military governments in Nigeria.
The Third Republic of 1989 became unsuccessful over the annulment of the June 12, 1993, general election by General Ibrahim Babangida. The annulment led to a national protest which forced Babangida to step aside and hand over to Ernest Shonekan. Therefore, Ernest Shonekan became the head of an Interim National Government. Unfortunately, the interim government was overthrown by the late General Sani Abacha on August 27, 1993, a few weeks after the interim government was set.
After the death of Abacha in 1998, the Fourth Republic constitution of 1999 was established, and a general election was held in 1999. The 1999 general election made the first civilian government of the Fourth Republic emerge. This was under the leadership of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who ruled Nigeria between 1999-2007. The second government was Musa Yar’adua/Goodluck Jonathan, 2007-2011. The third government – Jonathan, 2011-2015. The fourth government – Muhammadu Buhari/Yemi Osinbajo, 2015-2023. The current government is Bola Tinubu/Kashim Shettima – May 2023 till date.
However, as these governments are emerging one after another, the Nigerian economy is getting poorer, making the citizens unable to maintain their standard of living. Although Nigeria became independent many decades ago, the citizens are suffering from:
Irregular power supply: To date, Nigeria has no regular electricity supply. Instead of improvement, the distribution of electricity is worsening. Nowadays, the power supply has become a ‘toy’ that a child plays with because it fluctuates too much.
High rate of unemployment: High unemployment rate is a major problem in Nigeria caused by a poor economy. Many qualified graduates in Nigeria are unemployed because the government fails to create more job opportunities. Governments are not establishing new industries; instead, many government-owned companies established in the past are no longer functioning while the remaining are about to close down.
The high unemployment rate has put Nigeria into big trouble and the solution to this is to establish more industries by the state and federal governments. Those industries that have closed down should also be revived. The benefit is not only to provide employment, but it will also boost the economy of the country and encourage the production of export goods.
Inadequate provision of basic human needs: Nigerian governments have failed in the adequate provision of basic human needs to the citizens. The condition became bad in 2012 during Jonathan’s government. It became worse during Buhari’s government and much worse just a few months after the Tinubu/Shettima government emerged. Every commodity including food is facing constant inflation. Prices of goods increase almost every day in Nigeria.
Nigerian governments have never solved economic problems without inflation. Except for Musa Yar’Adua, no government in Nigeria has not inflated the price of fuel. Nigerian citizens are not benefiting from crude oil even though it is a natural resource present in Nigeria because fuel prices have never been stable. The inflation that fuel is facing is one of the biggest problems of Nigeria. Inflation is an evil; it causes hardship to man. After all, what the government would say over inflation is that Nigerians should endure hardship for a short time but in the end, there won’t be anything.
Moreover, Buhari’s government suffered many economic downfalls (frequent hikes in fuel prices, inflation on other goods, and depreciation of the naira to the dollar). When the problem started to occur, Nigerians hoped that it would only last for a short time, but it remained the same until the two terms of this government ended. This Buhari’s government failure and incompetent because it failed to provide for the citizens. Rather than fulfilling its promises, it added to the hardship and burden of the country leaving Nigerians in severe difficulties.
Who knows if the policy of removing fuel subsidy by the present government would bring a good result? Since the subsidy was removed, life has been more difficult than ever for Nigerians, especially the less privileged. The new government claimed that the removal of subsidy was to curb shortcomings and corruption in the petroleum trade. The possibility that the present government will not disappoint Nigerians like former governments is unknown.
Therefore, the present government should take immediate steps to deal with economic problems – inflation, depreciation of the naira, and their causes. This government should also deal with the total dependence on crude oil to relieve Nigerians from suffering. The new government should know that the citizens are presently in great ordeal. Nowadays, getting a square meal is difficult for the majority of Nigerians and this is the consequence of inflation. The government should give a realistic solution now!
Finally, Nigeria needs honest and godly leaders who will greatly contribute to its development. Greedy, wicked, incompetent, heartless and callous people are no longer needed in the Nigerian government because they are damaging the economy and hindering the growth of Nigeria.
