Forty-two years after Chinua Achebe warned that Nigeria’s greatest problem was “a failure of leadership,” his words remain painfully relevant. At 65 years of independence, the nation continues to battle the same cycle of corruption, incompetence and squandered opportunities.
Achebe’s 1983 classic The Trouble with Nigeria declared: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership… Nigerians are what they are only because their leaders are not what they should be.” That diagnosis still defines today’s reality.
Despite vast oil wealth, natural resources and human capital, Nigeria remains underdeveloped. Roads crumble, power supply is epileptic, and hospitals function as “consulting clinics” while leaders seek treatment abroad. Over $1 trillion earned from oil since the 1970s has been squandered, leaving the nation with broken refineries, fragile infrastructure and an economy where 133 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty.
Countries like Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea—Nigeria’s peers in the 1960s—have surged ahead, while Nigeria stagnated. Malaysia’s GDP per capita today is over $11,000; Nigeria’s remains below $2,000. Dubai, once a desert when Nigeria struck oil, is now a global hub, while Africa’s largest oil producer still faces energy crises.
Nigeria’s leadership failures manifest in corruption, nepotism, visionless policies, weak institutions and disregard for the rule of law. Appointments are based on ethnicity, manifestos disappear after elections, selective justice thrives, and critical sectors like education and health have collapsed.
From former leaders to opposition figures, the verdict is unanimous:
Peter Obi: “Bad leadership is responsible for hunger, poverty, insecurity, and corruption in the country.”
Olusegun Obasanjo: “Nigeria is not short of resources, but we are short of good leadership.”
Ibrahim Babangida: “We all failed this country. We didn’t do enough.”
Analysts say the way out is to fix Nigeria’s leadership selection process, strengthen institutions like INEC and the judiciary, cut the cost of governance, and ensure elections are credible. Citizens, too, must stop celebrating corrupt leaders and instead demand accountability at the ballot box.
As Achebe reminded: “You do not need to look far to know whether a country is well run. Just look at the quality of its leadership.”
Until Nigeria breaks the cycle of bad leadership, its vast potential will remain hostage to what many describe as a curse from the pit of hell.
