By Sonny Iroche
More than six decades after independence, Nigeria, like many African countries, still wrestles with the paradox of enormous potential coexisting with profound developmental stagnation. It is a contradiction that invites deep reflection. Why have countries endowed with such extraordinary human and natural resources continued to lag behind nations that faced similar or even harsher colonial experiences? Why do we continue to recycle a leadership class that is often ill-prepared, visionless, or captured by narrow interests? And how did a continent with such promise become trapped in a cycle of interrupted progress, institutional decay, and perpetual crisis management?
To answer these questions, we must examine the systemic leadership failures that have undermined the continent’s post-independence trajectory. We must confront the uncomfortable truth that while colonialism set many African states off on a difficult footing, it is our inability to build competent, visionary, accountable leadership that has deepened the cracks and widened the gulf between Africa and the rest of the world.
The Running Down of Colonial Legacies
At independence, Nigeria inherited core institutions that, though imperfect, provided a functional foundation: the civil service, the judiciary, public transportation systems, competitive educational institutions, and an economy that held promise. But over the decades, successive governments squandered these legacies, through neglect, corruption, political expediency, or the absence of long-term national vision.
1. Airlines and Maritime Fleets: From National Pride to National Ruin
Few symbols capture the arc of Nigeria’s decline as starkly as the fate of Nigerian Airways and the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL).
At its peak, Nigerian Airways boasted a fleet of nearly 30 aircraft, including Boeing 707s, 737s, 747s, A310s, and Fokker 28 jets, flying to major destinations across Africa, Europe, and North America. It was once regarded as the “Flying Elephant”, a national asset that employed thousands and showcased Nigeria’s aviation ambition.
Similarly, NNSL operated about 21 ocean-going vessels, cargo ships, tankers, and freighters that serviced international trade routes. Thousands of Nigerians, including my late father who served as a seaman for nearly 30 years, built careers on the back of this proud national enterprise.
Today, both institutions are gone, liquidated under the weight of corruption, inefficiency, political interference, and the absence of competent management. The liquidation did not only erase national assets; it erased generations of maritime knowledge and global commercial capacity.
2. The Collapse of Public Transportation and Infrastructure
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), once an efficient artery linking the North and South, gradually deteriorated due to decades of underinvestment, obsolete technology, and poor governance. The colonial-era systems built in the early 1900s survived the British departure, but not Nigerian misrule.
Road networks, which should be the backbone of the economy, fall apart almost as soon as they are repaired. The aviation sector remains unsafe at intervals, and maintenance culture is nearly nonexistent across public institutions.
3. Decline of Education and Healthcare
The University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, and others were once leading institutions on the continent. Nigeria sent doctors, engineers, lecturers, and administrators across Africa and beyond. Today, university rankings reflect sharp declines; the system is plagued by endless strikes, decaying infrastructure, and a mass exodus of talent.
Healthcare tells the same story. Teaching hospitals once regarded as centres of excellence have become referral points to India, the UK, and even smaller African countries.
4. The Power Sector: The Symbol of National Failure
Perhaps nowhere is leadership dysfunction more evident than in Nigeria’s inability to achieve stable electricity.
With over 200 million people, Nigeria has never generated, transmitted, or distributed up to 10,000 MW of power, not even once, despite multiple reforms and the 2013 privatization intended to unlock efficiency.
South Africa, with one-third of Nigeria’s population, generates over 50,000 MW at peak (even in its own crisis).
Vietnam generates nearly 80,000 MW.
Brazil generates over 170,000 MW.
Electricity is the commanding height of modern industry. Without it, manufacturing collapses, healthcare falters, jobs disappear, and poverty deepens.
Comparative Lessons from Asia: Beyond the Blame of Colonialism
It has become easy, almost fashionable, to attribute Africa’s failures solely to colonialism. But history offers compelling counterexamples. Countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, and Taiwan also inherited colonial structures, sometimes harsher than ours. Yet today, they are significant global economic actors, having outgrown their colonial past.
India:
Once ravaged by colonial exploitation, today it is the world’s fifth-largest economy, a nuclear power, a global IT hub, and a player in semiconductor and space technology.
Singapore:
In 1965, it had no natural resources, racial tensions, and extreme poverty. Today, it is one of the most developed, efficient, and corruption-free nations on earth, built on meritocracy, discipline, and visionary leadership.
Malaysia and Vietnam:
Once war-torn and economically backward, both now produce electronics, cars, medical equipment, and manufacturing exports that generate billions.
The Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong):
Their success came from the exact opposite of Africa’s post-colonial governance pattern: continuity, competence, visionary leadership, strict anti-corruption systems, and an obsession with human capital development.
The message is clear:
Colonialism is no longer an excuse. Leadership is the determining factor.
Nigeria and Africa’s Untapped Potential
Despite these failures, Nigeria and Africa stand on the cusp of greatness. The continent has:
• The world’s youngest population (median age 18).
• The largest reserve of untapped arable land.
• Immense mineral, gas, and renewable energy potential.
• A resilient, entrepreneurial population.
• Exploding digital adoption.
Nigeria, in particular, is blessed with human talent, academics, writers, fintech innovators, musicians, filmmakers, scientists, and global professionals who excel despite systemic barriers. Yet these gifts remain largely underutilized due to weak governance, poor planning, and institutional collapse.
The Leadership Recruitment Crisis
One of the root causes of Africa’s stagnation is the poor recruitment of leaders.
Politics has been hijacked by those:
• who lack the intellectual depth required for leadership;
• whose motivation is financial misconduct rather than public service;
• who view positions not as opportunities for development, but as vehicles for personal wealth and patronage.
Leadership is not a retirement plan. It is not compensation for party loyalty. It is not a reward for ethnic alliances. Leadership is a science, requiring discipline, training, and vision. But in Nigeria and many African countries, politics has become an occupation for the unprepared.
Even anti-corruption agencies, despite earnest efforts, struggle to prosecute high-profile cases due to:
• repetitive legal delays;
• loopholes exploited by senior lawyers;
• political interference;
• the slow, tedious nature of the judicial process.
Thus, corruption thrives, money politics dominates, and competent individuals stay away from governance.
Is the Resource Curse to Blame?
The “Resource Curse” thesis, where resource-rich nations perform worse economically and politically than resource-poor nations, applies partially to Nigeria and Africa. Oil wealth distorted incentives, entrenched corruption, and created rent-seeking political classes.
But it is leadership that determines whether natural resources become a curse or a blessing.
Norway has oil. So does Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Their leaders built global wealth from it. Nigeria squandered it.
Thus, the resource curse is only a symptom. The disease is leadership failure.
Not All Gloom: Bold Steps from the Current Administration
While Nigeria’s problems are deep-rooted, it is important to acknowledge recent bold initiatives by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration since assuming office in 2023:
• Removal of fuel subsidy, ending a decades-long fiscal drain that cost the country trillions.
• Tax reforms aimed at widening the tax net and reducing leakages.
• Efforts to unify the exchange rate, despite the shockwaves.
• Renewed push for infrastructure financing and foreign investments.
• Digital economy initiatives, including deepening broadband penetration and tech reforms.
• Civil service and public sector reforms, though still in early stages.
These are difficult decisions, but necessary. However, they must be accompanied by transparency, competent implementation, and protections for vulnerable groups.
The Responsibility of States and Local Governments
Nigeria’s governance problems are not limited to the federal level. The 36 state governments and 774 local government areas, the tiers closest to the people, often perform far below expectations.
Many states rely almost entirely on federal allocations, refusing to explore internal revenue, agriculture, human capital development, or local industrialization. Local governments, designed to bring governance closer to the people, have become shadows of themselves, captured by state governors and stripped of autonomy.
For Nigeria to grow, the subnational units must rise.
The Way Forward: A Blueprint for Renewal
Nigeria and Africa can break free from this cycle. The solutions are known:
1. Merit-Based Leadership Recruitment
Leadership must be professionalized. The best minds, experts, technocrats, innovators, must enter governance.
2. Institutional Rebuilding
Strong institutions, not strong men, build nations. Civil service reform is essential.
3. Stable Electricity as National Emergency
A 10-year national electricity plan should target 30,000 MW and full grid modernization.
4. Education, STEM, and AI-Driven Curriculum
No nation develops beyond the quality of its education.
5. Anti-Corruption Overhaul
Fast-track courts for corruption, asset recovery, and accountability reforms.
6. Economic Diversification
Agriculture, mining, ICT, manufacturing, and creative industries must replace oil dependence.
7. Youth Empowerment
Nigeria’s youth are its greatest asset, if empowered with skills, mentorship, and opportunity.
8. National Vision
Nigeria needs a 50-year development plan, insulated from politics.
Nigeria and Africa stand at a crossroads. We can continue along the path of mediocrity, excuses, and repeated failures or we can confront the truth that we have all it takes to build globally competitive nations. Leadership is the difference. Vision is the fuel. Discipline is the vehicle. Accountability is the compass.
This is not a message of despair. It is a call to awakening. Africa can rise. Nigeria can lead. But only when we choose leaders who are prepared, competent, visionary, and committed to service over self. The future of our continent depends on such choices.
