By Bolarinwa Ayoola
I am directing this letter to all Nigerian leaders at all levels and stakeholders, particularly President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the 10th National Assembly. Many Nigerians have grown weary of simply praying for change. We have come to the realization that prayer alone will not achieve what deliberate action must. At this critical point in our country’s history, we must act intentionally and decisively to save Nigeria from total collapse.
About two year ago, over eight million Nigerians among whom I proudly count myself spoke with one voice, voting enthusiastically for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We chose him to lead us toward a new Nigeria, where prosperity meets peace, freedom, and unity, as the last line of the first stanza of our national anthem envisions.
While the President and his team have hit the ground running in search of solutions to the nation’s perennial problems, the current state of the country calls for deeper concern and a critical examination of the very structure and relationships that hold the Nigerian state together. It is time to question what unites us, what threatens our coexistence, and what hinders our progress and prosperity.
It is essential that Nigerian leaders abandon pretenses and stop preaching hope without addressing the root causes of our challenges. If we allow Nigeria to continue on its current trajectory, the consequences may be even more devastating than the 1966–1969 civil crisis , an outcome that we must all work diligently to avoid. There are critical actions we must undertake now if we are determined to preserve the Nigerian state.
The widespread poverty that has engulfed our people has given rise to increased hardship and spawned a host of social ills: corruption, cybercrime, militancy, kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, and a general atmosphere of violence and restiveness. Separatist agitations — from the promoters of Biafra, Oduduwa Nation, Niger Delta separatists, and others and the waning spirit of patriotism among the citizens are stark indicators that Nigeria is gravely sick and requires urgent diagnosis and treatment.
Our current economic and political realities should deeply concern every genuine lover of this country. In the wake of renewed politically motivated violence, escalating economic hardship, and rampant corruption among officials, the stakes are incredibly high. On February 25, 2023, we entrusted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with our votes and our hopes for a better Nigeria. We must ensure he does not fail , our country may not survive another missed opportunity for redemption.
Over the decades, successive administrations — both military and civilian — have made efforts to address Nigeria’s political and economic challenges. Yet despite numerous policy initiatives, the solutions remain elusive. Since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigeria has grappled with terrorism, insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, militancy, the vandalism of national assets, electoral violence, banditry, and kidnapping, with no clear end in sight.
The current administration, like those before it, has begun tackling economic issues head-on, deploying measures such as the floating of the naira, the removal of the petroleum subsidy, and the revival of state-owned refineries. However, faced with fierce opposition and burdened by the monumental challenges inherited. The President Bola Ahmed administration must break new grounds and succeed where its predecessors failed if it truly seeks to rescue Nigeria.
There is a saying: “Only a fool does the same thing repeatedly and expects different results.” In scientific terms, a lump of sodium metal is stable under liquid paraffin but reacts violently when exposed to air or water. Similarly, unless we change the variables in Nigeria’s governance, we cannot expect a different outcome. President Tinubu’s administration, alongside the 10th National Assembly, must break free from the old patterns. They must muster the courage to thoroughly review Nigeria’s history, critically assess what has worked, what has not, and what might work today.
Historically, under British colonial rule, Nigeria was administered regionally along major ethnic lines. This allowed each region to develop according to its specific needs. For example, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s introduction of free education in the old Western Region was made possible by the autonomy granted under the regional system. Each region thrived at its own pace, fostering healthy competition and national growth.
However, the coup d’état of 1966 ushered in a unitary system disguised as a presidential democracy, eroding regional autonomy and setting the stage for many of the issues we face today. Although Nigeria’s current presidential system was modeled after that of the United States, it lacks critical features such as true resource control, a decentralized security structure, and independent state judicial systems.
In the U.S., states control their resources, manage their own police forces and National Guards, and maintain independent judicial systems, including state Supreme Courts. In Nigeria, we lack these structures, making the “presidential” system a mere facade masking a unitary reality.
The rampant insecurity across Nigeria fueled by calls for self-determination, terrorism, ethnic and religious tensions, political violence, and criminality demands urgent action. Nigeria, as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state, requires a system that empowers its diverse regions to govern themselves, reflect their unique identities, and foster healthy competition. We once thrived under such a regional arrangement. Returning to a modernized form of it, informed by present realities, may be our only path to survival.
It is high time our political class stopped playing to the gallery and took bold steps to redirect the country toward greatness. The 10th National Assembly must see itself as the principal actor in birthing the New Nigeria of our dreams.
A stitch in time saves nine.
