NIGERIAN MONITOR EDITORIAL 

Nigeria is 66 today. Sixty-six years of nationhood is no small achievement. It is a journey long enough to look back with honesty, take stock of where we are and, more importantly, decide what kind of country we want to leave behind for those coming after us.

At 66, Nigeria has every reason to be proud of her resilience. We have survived a civil war, military interventions, economic crises, political turbulence, insecurity, ethnic and religious tensions and periods when hope seemed to be in short supply. Yet, somehow, the Nigerian spirit has refused to die.

The story of Nigeria is, therefore, not only a story of failures. It is also a story of survival.

From the farmer who rises before dawn to cultivate the soil to the teacher who enters the classroom despite inadequate facilities; from the nurse and doctor who remain at their duty posts to the artisan, trader, civil servant, journalist, entrepreneur and countless young Nigerians building something out of very little, this country continues to be sustained by the determination of ordinary people.

But patriotism must not mean refusing to acknowledge our failures.

As Nigeria marks 66 years of independence, we must be courageous enough to admit that some of the problems confronting the country today are products of choices we have made, systems we have tolerated and responsibilities we have collectively neglected.

For too long, corruption has weakened public institutions. For too long, ethnicity and religion have sometimes been deployed to divide citizens who should ordinarily see themselves first as Nigerians. For too long, politics has been treated as a contest for power and patronage rather than a means of improving the lives of the people.

We have also allowed mediocrity to thrive in places where competence should matter. We have watched infrastructure deteriorate, educational standards decline, healthcare become increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens to afford and young people lose confidence in the possibility of building a decent future at home.

We cannot continue this way.

Nigeria’s problems are too deep to be solved by one president, one political party, one ethnic group, one religion or one generation. The responsibility for changing the country must be shared.

This is why Nigeria @66 should not merely be another occasion for speeches, ceremonies and patriotic songs. It should be a moment of national reflection and renewal.

We must collectively ask ourselves a difficult question: what kind of Nigeria are we preparing for our children and grandchildren?

The answer cannot be found only in Abuja. It must begin with each of us.

A better Nigeria will not emerge merely because we change governments. It will emerge when we change the values that govern our individual and collective behaviour. We cannot demand an honest government while celebrating dishonesty when it benefits us. We cannot condemn corruption in public office while encouraging it in our workplaces and communities. We cannot demand accountability from leaders while refusing to account for our own responsibilities.

National renewal begins with personal responsibility.

But personal responsibility must be matched by responsible leadership. Those entrusted with public office must understand that power is not an entitlement. It is a trust.

Every naira entrusted to government belongs to the Nigerian people. Every road abandoned after public funds have been appropriated represents more than an incomplete project; it represents a broken promise. Every poorly equipped hospital, dysfunctional school and neglected community is a reminder that governance must ultimately be measured by its impact on human lives.

Our political leaders must therefore rise above the politics of division and short-term advantage. Nigeria needs leaders who can think beyond the next election and plan for the next generation.

We need institutions that work regardless of who occupies the presidency, the governorship or the local government chairmanship. We need a justice system that inspires confidence. We need an electoral system in which citizens believe their votes matter. We need security agencies capable of protecting lives and property. We need an economy that rewards productivity rather than connections.

Above all, we need to restore faith in Nigeria.

That faith is particularly important for our young people.

Nigeria is a young country, but we must not allow our youthful population to become a demographic burden. Millions of young Nigerians possess the intelligence, creativity and enterprise to transform this country. What they require is an environment in which hard work can produce results.

We must build an economy that creates jobs rather than merely celebrating economic growth figures. We must invest seriously in education, technical training, science, technology and innovation. We must create conditions in which young Nigerians can build businesses, acquire homes, raise families and pursue their dreams without believing that their only route to a decent life is to leave the country.

The Nigerian diaspora is a tremendous national asset, but a country should not have to lose its brightest young people before appreciating their value.

Agriculture must become a serious business. Manufacturing must return to the centre of our economic conversation. Our vast gas resources must be converted into industrial and domestic value. Our roads, railways, ports and power infrastructure must support production. Digital technology must be harnessed to open new opportunities for our people.

And while pursuing economic growth, we must remember the millions who are vulnerable.

A prosperous Nigeria cannot be one where a small minority lives in comfort while millions struggle for food, healthcare, education and decent shelter. Growth must be inclusive. Development must be measured not only by the size of the economy but by the quality of life of ordinary citizens.

We must also confront insecurity with the seriousness it deserves. No country can prosper when its citizens are afraid to travel, farm, trade or sleep peacefully in their homes. Our security forces deserve the support, equipment and institutional reforms required to protect the nation, while the underlying causes of insecurity — poverty, unemployment, injustice, weak institutions and social exclusion — must also be addressed.

But there is another battle we must fight: the battle against cynicism.

It is easy to conclude that Nigeria cannot change. It is easy to point to decades of disappointment and declare that nothing will ever improve. But that would amount to surrendering the future before it arrives.

A New Nigeria is possible.

It will not happen overnight. It will not happen by slogans. It will not happen because one administration announces a new programme. It will happen through deliberate, sustained and collective effort.

We must correct the ills of the past without becoming prisoners of the past.

Those who stole public resources must be held accountable through due process. Those who abused public trust must answer for their actions. But accountability must not become an excuse for endless bitterness. Our ultimate objective should be to build systems that make it increasingly difficult for such abuses to occur in the first place.

We must learn from our history without allowing history to determine our destiny.

At 66, Nigeria should be old enough to know that neither ethnicity nor religion can feed a hungry child. Neither can they build a road, equip a hospital, generate electricity or create a job. What can do these things is competent governance, productive citizens, functioning institutions and a shared commitment to the national interest.

We must therefore rediscover the meaning of citizenship.

Nigeria belongs to all of us.

The North, South, East and West are not separate countries. Christians and Muslims are not competing nations. The diverse ethnic groups that make up this country are not enemies by nature. Our diversity should be a source of strength, not an excuse for perpetual division.

We may disagree about politics. We may belong to different parties. We may hold different religious beliefs and come from different ethnic backgrounds. But there must be a point at which all Nigerians agree that the survival and prosperity of Nigeria matter.

That common ground is our country.

As we celebrate Nigeria @66, we should also remember the generations yet unborn. We are temporary custodians of this country. The Nigeria we enjoy today — with all its imperfections — is a country we inherited. The Nigeria our children will inherit will be determined largely by what we do now.

Let us leave them better schools, better hospitals, safer communities, stronger institutions and an economy that gives them reasons to hope.

Let us leave them a country where merit can triumph over connection, where justice is not reserved for the powerful, where hard work is rewarded and where the circumstances of one’s birth do not determine the limits of one’s dreams.

Let us leave them a Nigeria that is respected abroad because it respects its own citizens at home.

The task is enormous, but it is not impossible.

The Nigeria of our dreams will not be built by government alone. It will be built by parents raising responsible children; teachers preparing responsible citizens; religious leaders preaching integrity and compassion; journalists holding power accountable; businesses paying their taxes and treating workers fairly; public servants serving with integrity; politicians putting national interest above personal ambition; and citizens refusing to participate in the corruption and impunity they condemn.

It will be built by all of us.

Nigeria has made mistakes. We have experienced painful detours. We have lost opportunities. But our story is not finished.

At 66, we must choose hope over despair, responsibility over blame, production over dependency, unity over division and nation-building over personal gain.

The work of building Nigeria will not be completed in one generation. That is precisely why we must begin — and continue.

Our children are watching. The unborn generations are waiting.

The Nigeria we hand over to them must be better than the one we inherited.

This is the challenge of Nigeria @66.

This is our responsibility.

And this is our moment.

A New Nigeria is possible. But it will not happen by wishing for it. We must build it — together.

— Editorial Board, Nigerian Monitor Magazine