Nigeria at 66: The Next Independence Project Is Unlocking Young Nigerians

I feel nothing, really.

That may be a strange thing to say on Nigeria’s Independence Day. Our elders fought hard to get this independence, and as someone who is not even in his forties yet, I cannot fully imagine what happened more than 66 years ago. I did not experience colonial rule. I did not live through the struggle that made independence possible.

So, yes, this should be a thing of joy.

But somehow, it is not.

The country has gained independence, yet it sometimes still feels as though we are under slavery—not to a foreign government this time, but to terrorism, cultism, corruption, the loss of lives, a damaged economy and systems that repeatedly fail the people they were created to serve.

Sometimes, it even looks as though we were better off when we did not have independence. That is a terrible way to think. Yet this country makes people think just that.

People enjoy football matches more than they enjoy Independence Day. And perhaps that is because football gives us something immediate to celebrate. It gives us moments when we can see effort, progress and victory. Independence Day, on the other hand, asks us to celebrate freedom while many Nigerians do not feel free.

Independence, with graduates unable to find jobs after school?

Independence, while some young people are killed in terrorist attacks?

Independence, when you cannot travel freely by road without thinking about bandits or whether you will return safely?

Is that really independence?

Politically independent, but are the people free?

Many young Nigerians lack economic agency, opportunity, confidence in the country and its leaders, and control over even their very near future.

What, really, can the youth do?

Leave the country to find a better life? Even that is becoming increasingly difficult by the day.

Stay and fight? Fight with what, and for how long, when honest work often appears to produce less than corruption, fraud or political connections?

We now live in a country where scamming and defrauding people have become normalised in parts of the population as ways to survive. Some go further into rituals, violence and killings. Then we say, “Happy Independence Day.”

The sarcasm almost writes itself.

But underneath my frustration is a deeper concern: we are not only losing money, lives or confidence in government. We are losing people. We are losing young Nigerians who could have built this country, built with us and built for us.

The dark side is recruiting

Look, Nigerian youth have potential. They are excellent—but many are unaware of it. And even when they recognise it, there are not enough systems to properly support them.

I would not say the government is doing nothing. New initiatives emerge regularly, and some people within government are genuinely trying. But I would not say it is enough either.

I see young people losing belief not only in the government, but in themselves.

Many of the young men we now dismiss as “Yahoo boys” once had dreams. Many once said they would never do it—that they would fight the good fight. But they grew older. They saw little support. They watched honest people struggle while dishonest people appeared to prosper. Eventually, some yielded to the dark side.

And the dark side embraced them back.

It gave them money, recognition, community and the appearance of progress when their country did not. Other young people watched. Younger children watched too. Some no longer tried to fight the good fight; they went straight to the other side. In some cases, their own parents took them there, hoping to create a path to fortune for the family.

That is how a society loses talent—not always because its young people were born without values, but because destructive systems recruited them more effectively than productive ones did.

I recently read the report of a 20-year-old phone seller arrested after a police sergeant died during a stop-and-search incident in Lagos. The police alleged that the young man sped off as the officer approached, while he attributed the crash to brake failure; the investigation was still ongoing.[1]

The case is a wild example, and it is not something that happens every day. But it happened. Around it are many other encounters, large and small, that reveal a country turning against itself: the government against the government, the people against the people, the people against the government, and the government against the people.

Is this what our independence means?

We are all Nigeria

It is easy to speak about Nigeria as though it were an object somewhere outside us—as though “Nigeria” means only the President, governors, ministers, legislators, civil servants or police officers.

But individuals constitute the government. The same government people call corrupt is filled with people like the rest of us. Businesses are run by individuals. Schools are run by individuals. Religious organisations, media houses, families and communities are all shaped by individuals.

Nigeria is not an abstract idea. Nigeria is us.

This does not excuse failed leadership or reduce the responsibility of those who control public resources. Power must come with greater accountability. But it does mean that none of us can build dishonestly in private and expect an honest country in public.

We must all caution ourselves and work towards building a better country in whatever way we can.

Build a faithful business.

Be faithful in your work in government.

If you are a young Nigerian, be youthful. Be willing to learn and willing to fight—not with violence, but for your mind, your values, your future and the kind of country you want to inhabit. Do not yield easily to the dark side.

Real independence is the ability to create positive change

Real independence should mean that we can create positive change for ourselves and the people around us.

And we can. So let us do so.

You do not need to become a governor before you can contribute to Nigeria. You do not need a large foundation, a government appointment or millions of naira before your contribution becomes valid.

A third-year student can guide first-year students who are confused about university life.

An NYSC corps member can guide university students preparing for life after school.

A young professional can show someone how to prepare a CV, apply for an opportunity or avoid the mistakes they made at the beginning of their career.

A business owner can choose to build a faithful business: serve people properly, keep promises, pay fairly, reject exploitation and create dignified work.

You can find proper mentors and learn from them diligently. You can build a business that improves your environment. You can clean your environment. You can enter political discussions, learn how policies affect you, organise responsibly and eventually lead.

None of these actions will repair Nigeria overnight. Difficult things are not easy simply because we have described them clearly. But national decline is built through repeated individual and institutional choices. National renewal will also require repeated choices.

We all are Nigeria. If we do better, Nigeria does better.

The next independence project

Our elders fought for the right of Nigeria to govern itself. The responsibility before our generation is to ensure that Nigerians, especially young Nigerians, can meaningfully participate in building what comes next.

The next independence project must be helping young Nigerians move from potential to progress.

It must create pathways for young people to recognise their abilities, develop relevant skills, find proper mentors, access opportunities, build responsible businesses, understand public policy and participate in leadership.

Government has a role. Businesses have a role. Schools, families, religious institutions, development organisations and established leaders have roles. Young Nigerians also have a role.

We should continue to demand better systems and accountable leadership. But while making those demands, we must not surrender our own agency. We must develop ourselves, guide those coming behind us, create ethical opportunities and refuse to let the worst parts of our society recruit the next generation unchallenged.

Political independence was not the completion of Nigeria’s story. It gave us the responsibility to write the rest ourselves.

At 66, perhaps we should spend less time repeating that young people are the leaders of tomorrow and more time equipping them to build, contribute and lead today.

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s next independence project is ensuring that young people are not merely free to dream, but equipped—and willing—to build.

Come and build with us

Through Africa Development Sphere, we are working to create practical pathways for young Africans through guidance, skills, community, visibility, partnerships and access to opportunity.

But building Nigeria cannot be the work of one organisation, one government or one generation.

If you are interested in supporting young people, building your city or state, creating ethical opportunities, sharing useful knowledge, mentoring others or contributing your skills to a better Nigeria, reach out to us.

Come to grow—or come to help someone else grow.

Nigeria belongs to all of us. Its failures concern us, but so must its future.

Happy Independence Day, Nigeria.

May we become truly worthy of the freedom our elders fought to give us.