By Agboola Aluko | GLiDE NEWS
I n the heart of Africa lies a paradox. Nigeria — the continent’s most populous nation, blessed with immense natural wealth and vibrant human potential — remains shackled by poverty, riddled with corruption, and adrift in a leadership void. More than 60 years after independence, the same questions still haunt its people: Why does poverty persist? Why do elections breed more fraud than progress? And why have Nigeria’s leaders, past and present, traded nation-building for personal gain?
Despite raking in over $1 trillion in oil revenue since the 1970s, 88.4 million Nigerians lived below the international poverty line of $2.15 a day in 2022, according to the World Bank. That’s more than 40% of the population. These numbers tell a story — not of failure, but of betrayal.
Oil Wealth, Empty Pockets
Nigeria produces 1.4 million barrels of oil daily, making it Africa’s top exporter. Yet its GDP per capita stagnates at $2,085, far below its 2015 peak of $2,700. Four state-owned refineries, capable of processing 445,000 barrels a day, operated at less than 10% capacity in 2023. Meanwhile, the country blew $23 billion importing fuel.
For decades, fuel subsidies guzzled national funds — often fraudulently. A 2022 investigation found payments made for shipments that never arrived. While billions vanished, 92 million Nigerians lacked electricity, and 71% of rural homes had no access to clean water. Insecurity added to the crisis: Boko Haram displaced 2.9 million people by 2024, and rampant banditry caused over $3 billion in agricultural losses in the northwest.
The root cause? An entrenched culture of corruption. Nigeria ranks 145th out of 180 on Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index. An estimated $582 billion has been looted since 1960 — nearly six times the country’s entire 2023 GDP.
Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” — A Hollow Slogan?
When Bola Ahmed Tinubu was elected in 2023, he promised reform, stability, and relief. But his administration’s record tells another story.
His removal of fuel subsidies in May 2023 was marketed as a necessary reset. Instead, petrol prices soared from ₦185 to ₦617 per litre, triggering 33.4% inflation by the end of 2024. The cost of food exploded — a 50kg bag of rice climbed from ₦25,000 to ₦80,000. An ₦8,000 cash transfer scheme promised to 12 million households reached less than a quarter, riddled with logistical failures and reports of diversion.
The naira’s collapse, following exchange rate unification, pushed it from ₦460 to ₦1,600 per dollar by early 2025. While reserves rose, importers buckled under skyrocketing costs. Paracetamol, once ₦100, now sells for ₦250. Amid this crisis, government spending shocked the public: ₦21 billion for a new vice-presidential residence, ₦5 billion for a presidential yacht, and ₦160 million SUVs for each lawmaker.
The administration’s anti-corruption stance also rang hollow. The EFCC recovered ₦70 billion in 2023, mostly from small-time fraudsters. Meanwhile, top politicians faced no accountability. Former Ekiti governor Kayode Fayemi was accused of diverting ₦4 billion, and Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son, was linked to a ₦1.5 billion contract scandal — both uninvestigated.
Democracy in Name, Deceit in Practice
Nigeria’s electoral system is designed not to reflect the people’s will, but to shield those in power. The 2023 general elections, despite costing ₦313 billion, were marred by technical failures and widespread manipulation. INEC’s new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System failed in 20% of polling units. Real-time uploads of results stalled, fueling suspicions of rigging.
Tinubu was declared winner with just 36.6% of the vote, amid protests from major opponents who cited vote inflation in states like Lagos and Rivers, where APC tallies exceeded accredited voters by 200,000. Videos of ballot box theft and voter intimidation flooded social media. Still, INEC held firm.
But this wasn’t new. In 2007, late President Umaru Yar’Adua admitted his own election was deeply flawed. In 2015, over 1.9 million ghost voters appeared in APC strongholds. In 2023, soldiers were deployed in opposition zones, and governors allegedly disbursed ₦2 billion in “mobilization funds.”
Vote-buying was rampant. In rural Nigeria, ₦5,000 per ballot was the going rate.
Justice for Sale
The final insult came from the judiciary. In October 2023, Nigeria’s Supreme Court rejected opposition petitions despite glaring irregularities — including INEC’s failure to upload over 18,000 polling unit results. The court claimed the evidence was "insufficient."
In 2019, the same court controversially handed Imo State’s governorship to Hope Uzodinma, who had trailed by 300,000 votes. A 2024 panel revealed that judges received average bribes of ₦5 million per case, and one justice took ₦500 million in a single election dispute.
From 1999 to 2023, only 1% of election petitions led to overturned results.
Power Over Purpose
Why do Nigeria’s leaders consistently fail to chart a noble path? Because politics is the fastest route to wealth, not service. Lawmakers earn ₦29 million monthly, while the minimum wage sits at ₦70,000. The same political names — Tinubu, Atiku, Obasanjo — have rotated power for decades, amassing fortunes while recycling old promises.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is reportedly worth $1.8 billion, enriched through deals struck after leaving office. In 2007, he tried — and failed — to secure a third term. In 2018, Buhari’s loyalists floated a similar extension.
This leadership dysfunction is not uniquely Nigerian. Across Africa, the pattern persists. Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe looted over $1 billion while clinging to power for 37 years. In Kenya, votes were allegedly bought at $50 apiece in 2022.
The Way Forward?
Nigeria’s greatest tragedy isn’t that it is poor — it’s that it was made poor by those elected to enrich it. The country’s poverty is not accidental; it is engineered, enforced, and sustained by a system built on deception.
To rise, Nigeria must radically reimagine its leadership. Not cosmetic reforms. Not new slogans. But a national reckoning — where integrity trumps tribe, merit defeats money, and power is redefined as service.
Until then, the poverty persists. The people suffer. And the dream of a great Nigerian nation remains just that — a dream.
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