At 65, Nigeria remains trapped in underdevelopment as leaders and analysts echo Achebe’s 1983 warning that the nation’s core problem is bad leadership
Sixty-five years after independence, Nigeria continues to grapple with the leadership crisis identified over four decades ago by the late novelist Professor Chinua Achebe. In his 1983 classic, The Trouble With Nigeria, Achebe declared: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” He stressed that “Nigerians are what they are only because their leaders are not what they should be.”
Despite vast natural and human resources, poor leadership has left the country underdeveloped, with decaying infrastructure, epileptic power supply, and failing health and education systems. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo noted: “Nigeria is not short of resources, but we are short of good leadership.” Ex-Military President Ibrahim Babangida admitted: “We all failed this country.” Similarly, former Anambra governor Peter Obi blamed “bad leadership” for poverty and insecurity.
Analysts insist that only visionary, accountable leaders and strong institutions can rescue Nigeria from its cycle of corruption, weak governance, and lost potential.