Nigeria at 66: ‘Are We Cursed or Have We Become the Curse?’ — Obi Challenges Nigerians to Confront Nation’s Failures

By Praise Chinecherem

As Nigeria marks its 66th Independence anniversary, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has challenged Nigerians to look beyond the celebrations and undertake an honest assessment of the country’s development journey.

Obi made the call in his Independence Day address titled “Nigeria at 66: Looking Back, Looking Forward,” urging citizens to use the anniversary as an opportunity to examine the realities confronting the nation and chart a more purposeful course for its future.

He described the anniversary as a moment to celebrate Nigeria’s abundant human and natural resources, agricultural potential, cultural diversity and relative freedom from devastating natural disasters.

The NDC presidential candidate also paid tribute to Nigeria’s founding fathers and other citizens who, he said, made selfless and, in some cases, supreme sacrifices for the country’s independence, survival and development.

However, Obi argued that Independence Day should not be reduced to ceremonies and festivities.

According to him, every serious nation must continually ask three fundamental questions: “Where are we today? Where do we want to be? How do we get from where we are to where we want to be?”

He said the questions had become particularly important amid the challenges confronting Nigeria despite the promises made by the APC-led administration in 2023.

Obi identified widespread poverty, insecurity, terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, food insecurity, the large number of out-of-school children, high infant and maternal mortality, youth unemployment and underemployment, drug abuse and low life expectancy as some of the major challenges facing the country.

He cited estimates indicating that more than 140 million Nigerians live in poverty or severe hardship, while more than 18 million children are out of school.

He also drew attention to the growing number of Nigerians facing food insecurity, as well as the scale of youth unemployment and drug abuse.

On insecurity, Obi recalled the recent killing of 37 young Nigerians, describing the incident as a painful reminder of the human cost of the country’s security crisis.

He further noted that Nigeria’s reported life expectancy of about 54 years remains significantly below the global average of approximately 74 years, while youth unemployment and underemployment, according to figures he cited, affect more than 35 million Nigerians.

Against this backdrop, Obi called for “serious, sober and honest reflection,” drawing on the philosophical teaching attributed to Socrates that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

By the same principle, he argued, an unexamined nation cannot successfully determine its future.

“We must therefore ask ourselves: Are we cursed, or have we become the curse through the choices we have made and the failures we have tolerated?”

Obi rejected the notion that Nigeria is cursed, insisting instead that the country is “immensely endowed and blessed.”

He argued that Nigeria’s fundamental problem is not a lack of resources but the failure to transform its vast endowments into human development, productivity, security and shared prosperity.

The NDC candidate also reflected on his recent two-day visit to Sokoto State with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, where they held consultations with residents and stakeholders on insecurity, out-of-school children, poverty, youth unemployment and drug abuse.

During the visit, Obi said they inspected the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at Ramin Kura in Sokoto metropolis, where they encountered thousands of women and children living in difficult conditions after being displaced from their communities.

According to him, many of the children at the camp lacked access to education, while mothers and children had limited access to basic healthcare.

He described their situation as particularly troubling, noting that the displaced Nigerians should ordinarily be living in their communities, attending school, farming, operating businesses and contributing to the economy rather than living as internally displaced persons in their own country.

For Obi, the experience underscored the connection between insecurity and Nigeria’s wider human-development crisis.

He said the country cannot achieve sustainable development without addressing the conditions that force citizens from their homes, keep children out of school, limit economic opportunities and expose vulnerable communities to poverty and insecurity.

As Nigeria marks 66 years of independence, Obi urged Nigerians to turn the anniversary into more than a commemoration of the past.

He called for an honest national assessment of where Nigeria stands today, where it wants to go and, most importantly, what must be done to bridge the gap between the two.

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