By Prince Adewole Adebayo
As an ocean of green and white sweeps across our streets, Independence Day reminds us that this occasion is not merely a ritual of rejoicing, but a solemn renewal of our covenant as a people. My thoughts return each October 1 to the words of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in 1960:
“This is a wonderful day, and it is all the more wonderful because we have awaited it with increasing impatience… we have acquired our rightful status, and Nigeria now stands well-built upon firm foundations.”
His words remain alive today, calling us not to rest in nostalgia, but to labour with courage toward the destiny they envisioned.
Independence Day offers us a rare opportunity to pause and reflect. It is a moment to honour our profound history—but more importantly, to look ahead to the next chapter in our national journey. Despite the immense challenges we face today, I remain optimistic when I consider how far we have come since October 1, 1960.
From a population of about 45 million at independence, Nigeria has grown to over 237 million people—now the largest in Africa and the sixth largest globally. We have progressed from a handful of universities to more than 260 tertiary institutions. Our creative industries, especially Nollywood, have become global forces, supporting over one million direct and indirect jobs and contributing between ₦1.9 trillion and ₦2.0 trillion to the economy. But optimism alone will not carry us forward.
The 21st century is poised to become the African Century—but the question is not if, it is when, and more importantly, how. The test is whether Nigeria will rise as the continent’s vanguard, or falter as a colossus with feet of clay.
Without justice, scale becomes spectacle. Without equity, abundance breeds misery. Nowhere is this clearer than in the poverty that scars our land.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Multidimensional Poverty Index, 63% of Nigerians—some 133 million men, women, and children—lack access to health, education, and decent living conditions.
The World Bank confirms that nearly one in three Nigerians lives below the global poverty line of $2.15 a day. Humanitarian agencies warn that around 31 million of our people face acute food insecurity, and one in three children under five suffers from stunted growth.
These are not abstract figures; they represent broken lives. They demand a national response as urgent and coordinated as war.
Security: The Greatest Test of Our Generation
Security remains the foremost challenge of our time. Banditry, insurgency, and communal violence have sown terror across the land, displacing millions and crippling local economies. According to United Nations data, over 2.3 million Nigerians were internally displaced by the end of 2024.
Thousands of violent incidents have shattered lives, businesses, and hope.
No nation can prosper while its people live in fear. Peace is not optional—it is the foundation of progress, the anchor of prosperity, and the oxygen of national renewal.
Infrastructure: The Bridge Between Potential and Progress, Closely linked to insecurity is our staggering infrastructure deficit, estimated by the African Development Bank at over $100 billion. Our power sector exemplifies this gap:
While South Africa generates over 40,000 megawatts of electricity, Nigeria struggles with under 5,000 MW—despite having a population four times larger.
Our roads tell a similar story: over 30% of federal roads are in poor condition, and only one in five rural communities has access to all-season motorable roads. Broadband penetration remains at just 45%, far below global averages.
This infrastructure gap is not a technical statistic—it is the everyday barrier that prevents farmers from accessing markets, hinders young entrepreneurs from seizing digital opportunities, and keeps patients from reaching hospitals on time. Infrastructure should be the launchpad into greatness; instead, it has become the chain holding us down.
Corruption: A Betrayal of the Future Compounding these crises is the corrosive impact of corruption. When public funds become private spoils, classrooms remain empty, hospitals broken, and power grids dormant. Corruption is not just inefficiency—it is a betrayal of the nation’s future.
Nigeria reportedly loses $18 billion annually to illicit financial flows—money that could have built schools, clinics, roads, and power plants. Instead, it is siphoned into private accounts, deepening poverty and eroding public trust. Corruption undermines not only our institutions but also the national belief that progress is possible.
Hope, Action, and the Road Ahead
Despite these daunting realities, I remain hopeful. We can still bend the arc of history—if we commit to three urgent national imperatives:
Security First
We must forge a unified, accountable security strategy that integrates military force, intelligence, policing, and community peacebuilding—while upholding human rights. Nigeria must adopt a modern doctrine of defence, investing in surveillance technologies—from drones to satellites—that enable us to outsmart insurgents and restore peace.
Infrastructure Revolution
We must launch an infrastructure revolution, financed transparently and driven by disciplined public-private partnerships. Roads, railways, power grids, and broadband should not be luxuries—they must be the lifelines of a modern economy.
Anti-Corruption Crusade
We must tackle corruption decisively. Every naira must be traceable. Every contract enforceable. Every public official accountable—regardless of rank or status. Open governance and fiscal transparency must become the norm, not the exception.
Empowering the Youth:
Nigeria’s Greatest Asset
Above all, we must invest in our youth. With over 70% of Nigerians under the age of 30, our future sits in classrooms, vocational centres, farms, and tech hubs. We must link education to enterprise, scale up vocational and digital training, and ensure meaningful budgetary commitments to youth employment and innovation.
This is not charity—it is the master strategy for national greatness.
On this day, as the words of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa echo once more in my mind, I remain unshaken in my belief that Nigeria can rise again. But for us to take the next great step forward, any government of the future must put security at the heart of its national agenda.
Peace will unlock the infrastructure we need.
Peace will reconnect towns and cities.
Peace will power our homes, open our schools, revive our hospitals, and allow the economy to breathe.
But peace is only sustainable when we confront corruption with courage and transparency.
Nigeria has never turned away from adversity. Our history is marked by trials that once seemed insurmountable. Yet, time and again, we overcame—because we chose courage over fear, unity over division, and hope over despair.
The urgent task before us now is clear: to build a Nigeria where no citizen is left behind, and no community is condemned to despair. If we meet this challenge, we will awaken the Nigeria of our dreams—a nation where schools and hospitals are beacons of service, where roads and railways stitch us together, where light banishes darkness, and where hunger and poverty are defeated—not in slogans, but in reality.
This is the true promise of independence.
This is the noble vision our founding fathers entrusted
to us.
This is the vision we must dare—together.
Edited By Peter Adelowo
