NIGERIA today is a country of many contradictions. It is Africa’s largest economy by population and one of its most talented societies, yet millions of its citizens wake up each day unsure how they will feed their families.
To describe the state of the nation honestly, one has to look at the economy, security, education, health, power, politics and the mood of the people.
The economy is where most Nigerians feel the pain first. When the government removed the fuel subsidy in May 2023 and unified the exchange rate a few weeks later, it said the reforms were needed to stop a leaking system. The reforms may be sound in theory, but the cost landed on ordinary people.
The naira lost much of its value, the price of petrol rose sharply, and the cost of transport,food, cooking gas and school fees followed.Civil Servants and average earners, spend most of their monthly income on food alone.
The new minimum wage of 70,000 naira sounds better than it buys. Tax reforms and a rebased economy are being promoted as progress, but families judge progress by what their money can buy at the end of the month.
Security remains the most painful failure while education is quietly collapsing. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world, with the number often put above ten million.
Public universities lose months to strikes by lecturers over pay and funding, so a four-year degree can stretch to six. Many graduates leave school without the skills employers want, and unemployment among young people stays high.
Little wonder that the word japa has entered everyday speech. Doctors, nurses, engineers and teachers are leaving for the United Kingdom, Canada and the Gulf, and the country is losing the very people it trained.
Health care shows the same strain. Many Nigerians pay for treatment from their own pockets because insurance covers only a small share of the population. Hospitals in rural areas often lack drugs, equipment and staff, and a patient may travel for hours to reach a doctor. When the health workers who remain are overworked and underpaid, strikes are inevitable.
Power supply tells its own story. The national grid has collapsed many times in recent years, leaving whole states in darkness. Small businesses run on generators, so the cost of fuel is built into the price of goods and commodities. Manufacturers that cannot bear those costs shut down or leave and jobs go with them.
The state of the nation, then, is one of pressure and possibility at the same time. Nigerians are patient, but patience is not a policy, and it cannot be treated as an endless resource.
The government must make security its first duty, protect the citizens while it reforms the economy, fund schools and hospitals properly, and fix power. Citizens must also do their part by demanding accountability and rejecting the idea that things can never change.
- West is a seasoned journalist and development practitioner with over a decade of experience in media, human rights advocacy, and NGO leadership. Her syndicated column, The Wednesday Lens, is published every Wednesday in News Point Nigeria newspaper. She can be reached at bomawest111@gmail.com.