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OPINION:TRUMP, NOSTALGIA AND NIGERIA’S CAPACITY FOR NATION BUILDING

Published

10 months ago

December 2, 2025

Times and words are powerful weights. Just a few lines from him—“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet”—and suddenly Nigeria’s sluggish attention to matters of public concern, especially security of life and property, began to stir. What was Nigeria’s crime? Genocide—against its own people. Nigeria’s descent from promise to something of a disgrace took barely five and a half decades. Precisely from 1970 to 2025, if one discounts the first decade after independence as a natural teething period most countries endure after the departure of colonial masters.

By the turn of the 21st century, national decay had reached its peak. Most indices of development collapse: infrastructure, industry, research capacity, citizens’ well-being, and security. The good old days simply vanished—to the astonishment of the pre-independence generation, who, though not without fault, could clearly tell the difference. That generation—both individuals and institutions—experienced a simpler Nigeria. Life was slow and uncomplicated. Few were educated, yet many were reliable. Nigerians were religious, but without the chronic bigotry of today. Churches and mosques were fewer, but people were morally upright.

The issue should not be twisted. The honest living of that era was not unrelated to the presence of a colonial system that sought to clone Nigerians—and indeed all colonial subjects—into a European lifestyle shaped by the early industrial revolution. Law, order, and accountability were the tools through which the colonialists colonised, governed, and controlled. European legal, economic, and administrative systems became the guiding principles. Early local colonial officers and, later, politicians were schooled and programmed accordingly. They were “white” internally, superintending over their fellow black communities. And it worked—at least administratively.

Things changed after independence. The further society drifted from the colonial experience, the weaker the assimilated values of orderliness, honouring time, public good, and accountability became. Because these behaviours were imposed rather than organically developed, they were difficult to sustain. Worse still, little effort was made to evolve local alternatives grounded in indigenous values. Education was not adapted to local realities. It’s neither labour-market linked, nor did it speak to entrepreneurial motivation. Institutions were not built, either. Thus, giving rise to massive structural unemployment where jobs to done/opportunities to be exploited, exist side-by-side with pools of unemployable labour. And so, as the colonial scaffolding faded, chaos and confusion rushed in to fill the vacuum. The more Nigeria moved away from 1960, the more entrenched the dysfunction became.

No one longs for colonialism—it was exploitative. But the experience, nonetheless, offered some nations a foundation on which to build. In some places, it produced “strong men.” In others, “strong institutions.” In a few, both. These two ingredients accelerated post-colonial development in many societies. Most of sub-Saharan Africa—especially Nigeria—missed out. Society became vacuous, with nothing to guide or shape it. And as Malcolm X (or Alexander Hamilton) put it, “If you stand for nothing, you fall for anything.” Nigeria’s failure to cultivate a shared national philosophy left it vulnerable to every divisive wind.

With no shared vision and weak institutions, Nigerians turned on one another in difficult times. Everyone looked for culprits. Sectarianism exploited social cracks and mental emptiness to mislead vulnerable believers. Some did so through distorted spirituality; others through toxic rhetoric. Ethnic and tribal chauvinists joined in. Before long, communities that once respected each other became sworn enemies. Relationships fractured. The idea of nationhood crumbled. As Achebe, quoting Yeats, captured: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold… The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”

Today, honest conversation has become perilous. Speaking freely with friends, colleagues, or old acquaintances in Nigeria feels like navigating a minefield. Gone are the days when people debated religion, culture, marriage, or political ideology openly. Every word now carries ethnic or religious connotations. People judge each other more by what they didn’t say than by what they said. Every sentence has triple meaning—what was said, what wasn’t said, and why. Paradoxically, what is unsaid is what people hear the loudest.

Under collective hypocrisy and silence, impunity rose and took the driver’s seat. Governance weakened, and society scattered like sheep without a shepherd. Insurgents, terrorists, bandits, and secessionists filled the vacuum. They grew and matured within the same communities that eventually became their victims. Yet Nigerians could not engage in open, honest discussions when these threats were still nascent. The result is a nation soaked in blood, tears, and avoidable misery.

When Boko Haram ravaged Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, many dismissed it as “their problem”—a distant Muslim-on-Muslim or Muslim-on-Christian conflict. Then armed herders began rustling livestock in the Northwest—Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina—and Nigerians again looked away. The phenomenon escalated into mass killings and industrial-scale kidnappings. Criminals reasoned that instead of stealing cattle and struggling to sell them, it was easier to kidnap the owner and make the family sell the cattle and bring the money. “Smart economics”—but drenched in the blood of tens of thousands of innocents.

Not done. The terrorists moved into the Middle Belt—Niger, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and Kwara. Here, criminality is fused with ethnic and religious undertones. Jihadist groups exploited these cracks. Natives and farmers fought back with whatever means they could. After decades, the outcome remains the same: death, displacement, and sorrow. In the Southeast, the ghost of the Civil War still lingers. IPOB’s armed struggle to revive the Biafra dream has been chequered but destructive, grounding the regional economy and inflaming tensions.

Discussing these crises openly has become taboo. Everything is dressed in religion, region, tribe, or culture. Nigerians discuss these matters internally within groups, but not across groups. People who can not share collective grief can not agree on causes. Even existential threats are reframed into ethnic talking points. Nigerians have become prisoners of their own narratives, transmitting doom from generation to generation.

As a consequence, Nigeria, with over 220 million people, becomes the only nation on earth with such a size to be economically impotent. It can’t genuinely invent, innovate, or improve. It’s a nation with a highly defficient capacity to manufacture or mechanise processes, except for low-tech activities such as bottling, packaging, and assembling, while mid-tech projects, are usually executed on turnkey bases. A nation that manages to put infrastructure like highways, power transmission, and public buildings but hardly maintains and/or routinely service them. A nation that at best could be said to be on the path of growth but certainly not development. For, no economy gets developed or transformed without the existence of given levels of applied engineering technology, innovation, and commercialisation capacity, and infrastructure. The Nigerian economy is defficient in all these, and as such vulnerable to imminent collapse – maybe within a twelve calendar months – in the event of an internationally coordinated economic sanctions.

Then Trump entered the scene. His allegation of genocide may be exaggerated, but it achieved what Nigerians had refused to do for decades—it forced the nation to talk. To accuse openly and to respond openly. Trump reminded Nigerians that nature equipped them with mouths. Problems can not be solved through silent groaning in enclaves. They must be confronted squarely. Whether or not Trump’s motives are clear, there is a silver lining: Nigerians are finally speaking. No more pretence. No more sweeping issues under the carpet—at least not if Nigeria plans to remain one country.

The way forward is for governments at all levels to treat the U.S. allegation not as an attack but as an opportunity for honest, open, and constructive national engagement. Civil society organisations like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Supreme Council of Islam Affairs (SCIA), and Jamma’at Nasirul Islam (JNI) must rally their followers toward common ground rather than divisive accusations. The same applies to major cultural and regional organisations—ACF, Ohanaeze, Afenifere. Through action or inaction, these groups, along with successive governments, have been part of the failure to stem Nigeria’s steady decline.

It is instructive and incumbent on all to know that the history of US interventions around the world rarely delivered the envisaged peace and stability. Instead, such nations were recessed decades back in terms of peace, harmony, and stability, from Somalia, Iraq, Libya, Philippines, Israel, Syria, and Afghanistan to cite a few. Nigeria is too fragile to gamble with US interventions even if it chooses mutual dissolution. Suffering and deprivation are “colourblind” when to it comes to tribe, religion, culture, or creed – the very achilles heels of Nigeria. Social upheaval, too, affects both the oppressed and oppressor, to varying degrees. In the final analysis, people largely may not only end up in the same boat but also face the same storm.

Now that Trump has lifted the lid over the bottled up frustrations, mutual prejudice, and attendant emotions, among Nigerians, the engagement should extend to why the nation and indeed Sub-saharan Africa are finding it difficult to evolve good governance. Why should a nation be in a constant state of lamentations and trading blame for over half a century? Granted that historical experiences (colonialism, neocolonialsm, neoliberalism, imperialism, globalism, etc) may have a part to play in a nation’s predicaments, why should some like Nigeria remain perpetually trapped. Nations make conscious and deliberate efforts to overcome them by cultivating the right attitude.

What is inside Nigerians that allow them to know the right thing but never prepared to do the right thing, just to go on extolling the virtues of those doing the right thing? Why doesn’t the consciousness stick? Nations work and walk out of “-isms” through hard work and justice systems and not lamentation and impunity. It is delusional to think that Nigeria could sidetrack good governance and still become a great nation. After getting over the allegations of genocide, the next logical dialogue should be to interrogate why Nigerians are the way they are. Could it be nature, nurture, or both? Let the interrogations begin.
A.G.Abubakar
agbarewa@gmail.com

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Gov AbdulRazaq Lauded Over Conferment Of Sadauna Of Ilorin Title

Published

20 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Our Reporter

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been hailed for the conferment of the prestigious Sadauna of Ilorin Emirate title on him by His Royal Highness, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji (Dr.) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR.

Giving the commendation on Tuesday in a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, Alhaji Yakubu Garba Gobir, who is the Sarkin Gobir and Madawaki of the Ilorin Emirate, described the recognition and honour on Governor AbdulRazaq as well deserved, timely and apt, giving his huge contributions to the growth and development of Ilorin Emirate and Kwara State as a whole.

Gobir specifically commended the Emir of Ilorin for conferring this distinguished title in recognition of the qualities and contributions of the new Sardauna, noting that it is a solemn call for greater responsibility, leadership, loyalty and devoted service to the Emirate and its people.

He added: “The title of Sardauna occupies a position of profound significance in the history, heritage and traditions of the Ilorin Emirate. I commend His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, the Emir of Ilorin, for conferring this distinguished title in recognition of the qualities and contributions of the new Sardauna.

“The title embodies courage, leadership, loyalty and devoted service to the Emirate and its people. Your elevation is therefore not merely a mark of honour; it is also a solemn call to greater responsibility and continued service.

“As a fellow title-holder in the Ilorin Emirate, I am particularly delighted to welcome you into this distinguished circle of traditional leadership. I am confident that you will bring to the office the same qualities of leadership, dignity and unwavering commitment to public service that have distinguished your tenure and career.

“At a time when our Emirate and our State require men and women of character, wisdom and courage to advance the interests of our people, I am certain that you will make a meaningful contribution to the enduring unity, progress and development of the Ilorin Emirate.”

Gobir offered prayers for a successful, impactful and enduring tenure for the new Sadauna, adding:
“May Almighty Allah grant you wisdom, sound health and strength, and may He make your tenure as Sardauna of Ilorin a source of lasting honour to you, your family and the entire Ilorin Emirate.”

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FG Commissions KWASU ICT Centre To Enhance Graduates Employability

Published

20 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Our Reporter

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin.

The wife of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has commissioned a TETFund/Renewed Hope Initiative-backed ICT Experience Centre at the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete.

It would be recalled that KWASU is one of the six tertiary institutions selected for the pilot phase of this intervention, with one institution representing each of the Nigerian six geopolitical zones.

Represented at the commissioning on Tuesday by the wife of the Vice-President, Nana Shettima, Tinubu said the project is a testament to the federal government’s commitment to advancing education, digital inclusion and enhancing graduate employability.

“The TETFund/Renewed Hope Initiative ICT Experience Centre we are commissioning today represents opportunity, innovation, knowledge, and the future of young people in Kwara State and beyond.

She said: “This initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which places emphasis on youth empowerment, education, innovation, and economic transformation. Mr President is committed to creating opportunities that will equip Nigerian youths with knowledge and skills required to thrive in a modern and competitive world.”

Senator Tinubu said the facility was designed as a modern technology centre equipped with ICT laboratory, interactive digital display, conference facility, and exhibition spaces, adding that it would be an environment for learning, creativity, research, and technology advancement.

According to her, the ICT centres had been commissioned at the Ekiti State University on May 28, University of Cross Rivers State on September 4, Anambra State Polytechnic on September 10, adding that the Centres at Kaduna State University and Taraba State Universities would be commissioned soon.

“The next phase of this intervention will cover 15 institutions in Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Katsina, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, Yobe, and Zamfara states which construction is currently ongoing. This expansion demonstrates the administration’s commitment to ensuring that more Nigerian youths, irrespective of their locations, have access to digital learning opportunities,” she said.

She encouraged the students to take ownership of the facility, maximise the opportunity it provides, and use technology positively to enhance their lives, community, and the nation.

In his speech, the Executive Secretary of Tetfund, Architect Sonny Echono, said the centres are being established across selected Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, with the Kwara State University, Malete proudly hosting the facility in the North-Central Zone.

“Through practical training and digital skills acquisition, TETFund seeks to enhance graduate employability, foster innovation and position Nigeria to participate more effectively in the global
technology-driven economy,” he added.

Echono also said that the ICT Experience Centre is designed to equip students and lecturers with critical digital skills in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Robotics and Software Development.

He added: “The Centre being commissioned today is one of the foremost ICT Experience Centres being delivered across the country, and the third to be commissioned this year. The Centre is equipped with modern digital devices, Computer systems and relevant software to facilitate training, practical learning and skills development. The facility is appropriately furnished and
fully air-conditioned, with supporting power and municipal infrastructure.”

Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Shaykh- Luqman Jimoh, said the new facility represents vision, belief, and an investment in the Nigerian youth to better shape the future of our
nation.

The Vice Chancellor described the ICT Experience Centre as an investment in human capital, in innovation, in entrepreneurship, and, most importantly, it is an investment in the future of Nigeria.

“This Centre will provide opportunities for our students to develop practical digital skills and engage with contemporary technologies. Importantly, it is our hub for interdisciplinary engagement.

“This ICT Experience Centre is therefore a timely, critical, and strategic infrastructure that will definitely enhance research, teaching, learning, entrepreneurship, and community service. This intervention is at the core of what this university seeks from partners and donors: synergies that add value and impact on today and the future,” he started.

KWASU Vice Chancellor also assured that the ICT Experience Centre would be put to maximum use for the benefit of students, researchers, and the University
community, adding that the “KWASU community would engage with the facilities in this Centre, we will use it. We will explore, experiment, learn, and innovate in i

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2027: Violent ;Kaduna as ADC, APC Supporters Trade Accusations….APC Calls For Police Investigation into the Vandalisation, attacks on its Office

Published

20 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Our Reporter

By Hassan Agboola

Tension is mounting in Kaduna State ahead of the 2027 general elections, following renewed exchanges between supporters of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and groups backing the administration of Governor Uba Sani.
The latest development came on Tuesday when ADC governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru, addressed supporters in Kaduna and, according to an account of his remarks, declared that the party was prepared to respond to attacks against its members.
Ashiru was also quoted as saying that it was Governor Uba Sani, rather than President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was responsible for the continued detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

However, available public records show that El-Rufai’s detention followed proceedings before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), with the commission stating that his continued custody was based on a court-issued remand order.

The controversy over El-Rufai’s detention has nevertheless become a major political issue in Kaduna and beyond. The ADC has repeatedly criticised the handling of the former governor’s case and alleged political persecution, while other political actors have made different claims about the circumstances surrounding his detention.
Rising political temperature

Ashiru’s emergence as the ADC governorship candidate has added another dimension to the political contest in Kaduna. He defeated other aspirants at the party’s governorship primary in May 2026 and is now preparing for another governorship contest after previously representing the PDP in the 2019 and 2023 elections.
The political atmosphere has been further complicated by disagreements within the ADC and accusations from different groups over the party’s leadership and candidates.

A Southern Kaduna political group, for instance, recently questioned Ashiru’s candidacy and the choice of his running mate, allegations rejected by an ADC official.
The situation has also produced incidents involving ADC supporters and security personnel. In one recent incident, police dispersed an ADC solidarity walk in Kaduna, while the party subsequently accused opponents of attacking its members and warned that political violence could escalate ahead of the 2027 elections.

The former governor remains an important factor in the emerging political contest. El-Rufai was taken into custody in February 2026 after responding to an invitation from the ICPC. His family subsequently demanded his release, while the anti-graft agency maintained that his detention was authorised by a court.
Since then, the issue has increasingly featured in political statements by the ADC and its supporters, with the party accusing the Federal Government of political persecution and calling for the former governor’s release.
The development has created a new political fault line involving the ADC, the APC-led Kaduna State Government and supporters of the former governor.

While allegations have been exchanged over who is responsible for political violence in Kaduna, the competing narratives should not be confused with established findings. The ADC itself has recently rejected the suggestion that it has a monopoly on political violence and accused unnamed opponents of introducing thuggery into the 2027 political process.

With the 2027 election campaign yet to fully commence, the increasingly combative language from ISA Ashiru and his supporters has raised concerns about the possibility of further confrontation.
The immediate challenge before the political parties, security agencies and community leaders is therefore to ensure that political disagreements do not degenerate into violence, particularly in a state with Kaduna’s history of politically and communally sensitive conflicts.
As at the time of filling tid report the All progressive congress, APC , Kaduna state in a statement has condemned the attacks on its office and called for police investigation
Certainly. I’ll retain the substance of the report while correcting grammar, tightening the structure, and presenting it as a clean newspaper hard-news story.
Writing
APC Condemns Violent Attacks on Members, Party Offices in Kaduna
The Kaduna State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned alleged violent attacks on its members and the vandalisation of party offices and properties in the state.
The party also called on the police and other security agencies to investigate the incidents and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement, the Kaduna State APC Publicity Secretary, Sani Dan-Azare, alleged that some of the party’s members and supporters had been attacked, while some party and support-group offices were vandalised.
He also alleged that vehicles belonging to some party members were damaged during the incidents.
The APC described the attacks as unacceptable and urged security agencies to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incidents.
The party called on its members and supporters to remain calm and law-abiding, stressing that they should not resort to retaliation or take the law into their own hands.
The APC said it remained committed to peaceful political engagement and urged all political actors in Kaduna State to conduct their activities within the bounds of the law.
It further appealed to security agencies to strengthen security around party offices and other sensitive locations to prevent further incidents.