On today’s occasion of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, the country is at a crossroads, besieged by economic, social and governance challenges. This is the reality, notwithstanding self-consolation by political leaders to the contrary. Indeed, Nigeria should no longer gloat for remaining a united country, rather than a divided country, as the sole achievement after 65 years. While the country has not broken into pieces, it is nevertheless highly fragmented across political, economic and social divides. The labour and dreams of her heroes’ past have refused to materialise. Instead of converting gains of self-rule to make the country great, Nigeria has become a timid regional player and fringe partner in global affairs. 
 
Instead of forging unity out of rich diversities, Nigerians have become more suspicious of one another, widening hate and reaping strife. The country’s economy has failed to provide a better life for the teeming population. In many development indices, Nigeria leads from the bottom. Her peers who emerged from similar colonial experience have transformed into global players. Today, Nigeria runs to them for financial and technical empowerment. This is not the Nigeria the founding fathers envisaged at independence. 

It is time for a return to the ambience of that era, when the country had a country and a purpose. In 1960, Nigeria operated a constitution that established a federal structure, with substantial self-government for the regions. That enabled the regions to develop at their individual pace, while engaging in healthy growth competition. The leadership was visionary and courageous, as leaders embarked on various economic strategies and plans, such that by the first six years, there were measurable advancements in the economic and social sectors. Agro-based industries were built and universities were established.
 
While the early political landscape was characterised by intense rivalry, the Independence Constitution enacted a federal system that ceded autonomy to the regions. That was to prevent the central government from overreaching itself. It was a compromise federal arrangement that allowed all sides and everyone to thrive. The 1963 Republican Constitution further provided guardrails against domination, especially of minority groups.
 
Nigeria did not deny her diversity but instituted a system that guaranteed equity and justice for all. The 1963 Republican Constitution allayed minority fears by incorporating a Bill of Rights for fundamental freedoms and rights for all citizens. The assurance of citizens’ rights of expression, assembly and religion, movement, and liberty from discrimination set the country on the path of discharging quality leadership and good governance.

The country was midwifed by courageous and visionary leaders: Sir Tafawa Balewa in the North; Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe in the East and Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the West, among others. The regional governments were built on agriculture. Cocoa was the primary export crop with which the Western Region earned revenue to fund the bureaucracy and provide infrastructure. Palm oil was the export crop in the Eastern Region and the North thrived on groundnut, cotton and leather. Later, Mid-West region was created in 1963. The region was sustained on rubber and palm oil. This reliance on agriculture and locally sourced raw materials formed the basis for local industrialisation. 

The political turmoil of 1964 in the Western Region created an opportunity for the military to intervene in 1966. That intervention truncated efforts to consolidate independence, democracy and development plans. Things began to fall apart quickly, assisted by the military’s declaration of unitary government. That alienated the regional governments and collapsed the units into a command structure that is synonymous with military hierarchy. That escalated the rancor and distrust in the polity, eventually leading to the civil war from 1967 to 1970. The war disrupted both economic and social life. Despite concerted efforts at reconstruction, reconciliation and rehabilitation, the strain on national cohesion had been colossal. The country is still reeling from the aftershocks.
 
Today, there is agitation to return to the federal system that gave autonomy to the regions. The military’s governance system that is still in operation today has not addressed the economic and social fears codified in the 1960 Independence and 1963 Republican Constitutions. The government should decisively institute reforms to restore the original template that was agreed on by the founding fathers at the creation of the Union. Piecemeal constitutional amendments are insufficient to return the country to the path of measurable growth and sustainable nation-building. 
 
Today, the country is burdened by a myriad of self-inflicted troubles – maladministration, crippling corruption, insecurity and lack of unity. There is a leadership deficit that can only be resolved organically, from the bottom up, not a quasi-military imposition from the centre. A deliberate devolution of power and responsibility to the federating units has the potential to reduce emphasis on a bogus and wasteful centre. It will free resources for education, health and infrastructure in states where populations are domiciled. There is a dire need for a lean and less costly bureaucracy at the centre, not the overbearing behemoth that is worshipped in Abuja.

The profligacy and extravagance in the system are killing the economy and the country’s resources, while the country reels in circles. So much is being expended on defence budgets when millions of citizens are unsafe in their homes. By 2024, Nigeria hosted 3.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). That is a shame. It is time to return policing to the federating units, where states and local governments would effectively monitor and apprehend potential crises before they escalate. That was the system Nigeria operated under at independence. The country must tackle insecurity head-on, not cavalierly. 
   
The country must sanitise her political and electoral system. We cannot afford another experience of 1964, when the Federal Government at the time overreached itself and trampled on the political autonomy of the Western Region. Nigeria never agreed to a one-party system in 1960. She is a multi-party, multi-ethnic country that must give voices and protection to all groups. 
 
The federal and state governments should stop borrowing to fund bureaucratic incompetence and profligacy. It is alarming that the country owes N149.39 trillion as of the first quarter of 2025. This negates the country’s origin as a self-reliant people, particularly before the oil boom era. The practice of true federalism will promote states and local governments as production units instead of being cost centres and drainpipes to enrich pockets of the political class. 

Corruption is at an all-time high, from contract inflation to opacity in oil and gas transactions. Billions are stolen yearly and Nigerians are the poorer for it. In August, Chatham House restated that corruption is endemic in Nigeria, despite 25 years of attempted reforms. Corruption has undermined the country’ economic growth and democracy, effectively stalling adequate funding of education, health, roads, decent public transportation and other critical infrastructures. In 2024 alone, it is estimated that Nigeria earned N50.88 trillion ($32.91 billion) from crude oil sales, but she was unable to pay university teachers, doctors and nurses.
 
Nigeria cannot claim to be independent, given her crass incapacity to govern herself. She must stop being a straggler forever and join other countries to reclaim her independence from inept leaders and thieving elite!