April 02, (THEWILL) — “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials” – Confucius
Since Nigeria’s inception in 1960, it has been a nation steeped in more than its fair share of controversies and problems. Seeing as Nigeria celebrated its 65th anniversary as a sovereign nation, I think it is time to look back at its journey and history to know just how far we have come and whether the time has come to retrace our steps and fix some of the mistakes made by our leaders.
Nigeria had always been a nation with a lot of promise and actively worked towards its goal of economic success and independence, which saw it emerge as an agricultural giant in Africa and the world. It was the lead exporter of palm oil ahead of a nation like Malaysia, and also the second-largest producer of Cocoa. Agriculture accounted for over 60% of GDP and roughly 75% of export earnings in the early 1960s. It wasn’t just a force in agriculture but was also about to emerge as a force in the manufacturing industry (textile).
It also became one of the biggest oil producers in the world with a GDP rivalling some of Asia’s tigers, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea, and one of its biggest advantages lies in the overabundance of its human resources and labour force. But all these advantages were ultimately squandered during the oil boom in the 1970s, Nigeria slowly gave up on agriculture and manufacturing, choosing instead to import basics like rice, wheat and tomato paste, giving up on locally produced goods and choosing imports instead because it was cheaper, which killed the domestic competitiveness and market.
Its failure to invest in technical skill training and education turned its biggest asset (population) into its biggest liability, characterised by its high unemployment rate. Despite it being one of the biggest oil and gas producers, it has failed to translate its resources into domestic energy security. The Asian tigers turned their agriculture and other resources into fuel for their slow and steady positive industrialisation, Nigeria’s early wealth turned into a curse both institutionally and as a mono-product economy holding the nation back. During a visit by the then Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, he stated his pessimism for Africa (Nigeria), “I was not optimistic about Africa”, due to some observations he made during his visit to Nigeria, where he discusses Nigeria in the 1960s primarily in his memoir From Third World to First: The Singapore Story (1965-2000), published in 2000.
He describes being alarmed by certain practices under Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s government, noting that he “went to bed that night convinced that they were a different people playing to a different set of rules”. Shortly after he left Nigeria for Ghana, a military coup occurred in Lagos (January 15, 1966), in which Balewa was assassinated. His comments highlight concerns over governance, corruption, tribal divisions, and post-colonial challenges that contrast with Singapore’s approach.
Nigeria, for all its negatives, still remains the nation with the 4th largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of over $180 billion, and its diversified sources of income, as the nation towers over other African Nations in various industries. It remains the king in the oil and gas sector as it is the largest exporter of oil and gas in Africa and this constitutes for a majority of its income, Nigeria also spreads its wings to other sectors and dominates such as telecommunication, the nation generated a whooping 4.8 to 5.1 billion USD in 2024, depending on the average 2024 exchange rate of ~₦1,500–1,600 per USD), according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reported in late 2024. This marked a 44.7% increase from ₦5.3 trillion in 2023, driven by surging data usage, digital services, and value-added offerings like mobile money, despite challenges from naira depreciation and high operating costs.
Although it pales in comparison to South Africa’s telecommunications sector, which recorded approximately $14.4–15 billion USD, at an average 2024 rate of (R18–19 per USD) in revenue in 2024, per the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in its 2025 State of the ICT Sector report. This represented about a 12% year-on-year growth, fuelled by mobile data, fibre broadband expansion, and social media-driven connectivity. In USD terms, South Africa’s telecom industry generated significantly more revenue than Nigeria’s in 2024 (roughly 3 times higher), reflecting higher ARPU, a more mature fixed broadband market, and a stronger currency. Nigeria’s sector showed faster percentage growth due to its larger population and rapid mobile/data adoption, but currency devaluation impacted its USD figures. Note that some earlier reports (e.g., PwC’s mid-2025 outlook) cited lower USD estimates for Nigeria’s mobile segment alone (~$7.6 billion), but the NCC’s full-year operator data provides the most comprehensive view.
By early 2025, subscriptions rebounded further to around 169 million active lines (NIGERIA). Mobile internet users were estimated at 40 million in 2024 (SOUTH AFRICA). Nigeria also leads the way in the entertainment industry, as it is one of the biggest in the world and currently the biggest in Africa. Nigeria also has a strong presence in the manufacturing industry. It is currently the third most industrialised country in Africa, behind the likes of South Africa and Egypt. It mostly benefits from the cement production from the Dangote group, as well as the ongoing oil refinery by the same group, and it also benefits from the food and beverage processing by the Nestle and Unilever.
Nigeria also has a strong agricultural reliance, being blessed with fertile land and a vast landscape. All this positives point to a very prosperous path and show that Nigeria should have a seat amongst the giants and the most prosperous nation of Africa and the world.
Unfortunately, a lot of factors have led to a rather bumpy and stunted growth trajectory. Despite the abundance of human and natural resources, Nigeria remains one of the “poor” nations of the world today. Nigeria, unfortunately, has the largest population of poor people in Africa today and suffers from a population explosion with its massive population of over 200 million. Corruption and poor governance continue to tear Nigeria apart, as Nigeria remains one of the most corrupt countries in Africa today, with a very high unemployment rate. Almost all political figures in Nigeria today are corrupt in one way or another, leaving the average Nigerian with nothing but having to endure poverty, anger and despair. Although Nigeria has many graduates, most end up on the streets with nothing to do after their education, leading them into a life of crime, either opting for online scams or other fraudulent activities just to survive.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), over 40.1% of Nigerians live below the international poverty line (of 137,430 naira ($381.75) per year) as of 2019. Water and land degradation (caused mainly by agricultural and industrial runoffs and oil spillage poison food sources and water bodies, especially in the Niger Delta areas), another environmental problem is the air pollution (caused by lack of government regulations and improper waste disposal), which remains a major environmental challenge facing Nigeria today. Insecurity plagues the nation with several religious, ethnic and political conflicts, causing widespread panic, the threat of Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen taking several innocent lives and properties daily. Despite several promises made by the government, armed robbery and kidnapping still happen on an almost daily basis in Nigeria.
The good news is that the nation is not completely done for, in the work of Okorie Ndubuisi Simon “The making of a new Nigeria: Solutions to corruption and Underdevelopment” where he proposes a multifaceted approach to facing Nigeria`s problems, which is that the government makes three promises to its people first of which is to invest in the productive capacity of its people (prosperity), ensuring that life is valued (protection) and guaranteeing all rights (liberty). I would like to further build on this point by noting that Nigeria is diversifying its economy and investing significantly more in agriculture, which will alleviate many local problems. I heavily suggest the country invest a lot more into domestic security like the saying goes “A man whose house is on fire should not go about chasing rats”, I believe the core of Nigeria (home) should be made secure before any other issue can be tackled because a lot of bright minds are to stifled by fear to speak out or make any groundbreaking wave. Looking at Singapore as a case study, as a nation that had their own fair share of issues and challenges and in a far worse state than Nigeria but now have a better economy than most European nations, all this as a result of a well planned approach as well as leaders who worked actively to stick to the step by step approach which spanned decades as opposed to Nigeria’s reactionary approach and an inability by the leaders to stick to a plan over the course of a change of leadership. Nigeria needs a long term plan and needs to stick to it in other to gather momentum in this slow and arduous process of making Nigeria great again.
Nigeria once a nation steeped with the promise of a brighter tomorrow, proclaimed a giant amongst nations of Africa, expected to be a nation with massive hope of joining the developed nations of the world. A nation blessed with vast resources enough to guarantee a smooth progression to its supposed pedestal. Make no mistake Nigeria is still a great nation with a lot of room to grow and human resources enough to actualise the dream foretold even before 1960. We have a lot to fix, it is time to wake up the sleeping giant that is Nigeria.
*** Written By Chekwube Stanislaus Obi
