Nigeria at 51: What Future?

Published on 17th October 2011

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On October 1, Nigeria, celebrated the 51st anniversary of its political independence from the United Kingdom. The country of 154 million people and more than 250 ethnic groups had a relatively low key celebration ostensibly due to the yet-to-be- quelled threat of an Islamic extremist organization known as Boko Haram. This organization is widely held responsible for the recent bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria and a spate of bombings, killings and mayhem in the Northeast part of the country.

At 51, Nigeria is a remarkable survivor. The country survived a fratricidal civil war between 1967 and 1970. It survived seven successful military coups, long periods of poor governance, political upheavals, religious and ethnic violence, atrocious elections and militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Nigeria continues to be hobbled by growing levels of endemic poverty and widening inequalities.  Its basic infrastructure in transportation, health, education and agriculture are in bad shape.   

Despite its domestic challenges, Nigeria has played significant roles in global peace making and international cooperation. Nigeria’s contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping operations is widely respected. Nigeria played critical political and financial roles in the fight against Apartheid in South Africa and the liberation struggles in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique and Angola. It continues to send some of its best young minds to assist in the development of other African countries. Nigeria was instrumental to the establishment of the successful African Development Bank and continues to play stabilizing role in various African continental organizations, including the African Union. 

For the future, the battle ahead will be tough but not insurmountable. Nigeria needs to feed its people and reduce high burdens of diseases. It needs to tackle endemic poverty by addressing the challenge of official corruption and by implementing transparent social protection programs for the poor. Resilient public and private sector partnerships will be needed to successfully implement nationwide initiatives on self-employment and to expand the scale and employment opportunities available from small and medium scale enterprises.

Nigeria needs to urgently restoring nationwide security by modernizing its public safety institutions and by reducing extrajudicial law enforcement actions. It should also take steps to improve the quality of life of all segments of the population, since Nigeria has one of the highest inequality rates among defined populations in the world. Nigeria’s army of unemployed university graduates need to get jobs through a mix of public stimulus programs, incentives for private sector hiring and enhanced loan programs to encourage self employment. The country needs to lay solid plans for nationwide industrialization based on a regular supply of electricity in urban and rural areas, excellent transportation networks, strong national institutions and stable macroeconomic policies. Abroad, Nigeria’s foreign policy should be dynamic, linking prosperity at home to strength abroad. Additionally, Nigeria should become a powerful, independent voice in the international arena. 

Perhaps, the most significant step forward for Nigeria may be whether it can consolidate gains made during the April 2011 national elections. Observers from all corners of the globe gave Nigeria a pass mark for the conduct of the election. If Nigeria can organize a freer and fairer nationwide election in 2015 and achieve orderly transfer of power at all levels of governance, the country may be on its way to fulfilling its promise as the giant of Africa. 

By Chinua Akukwe

Former Chairman of the Technical Board of the African Center for Health and Human Security at the George Washington University, Washington, DC.


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