NIGERIA DEMOCRACY DAY, “CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE”

June 11, 2026 admin 0 Comments

( THE JUNE 12,HOPE 1993 )
Today remains a special day for Nigeria Electorates, but not the younger generations that were not born then. Exactly thirty-three years ago, on June 12, 1993, Nigerians voted massively for a new Nigeria of hope without tribal sentiments for love and unity. Late President MKO Abiola was given a mandate to rule Nigeria and he promised that he would not be isolated from the people, he felt our pains, and he shared our dreams and he drew his strength and his wisdom from masses. Now the renewed hope, after several of democratic governances with retired military biases and pure civilians. What went wrong? Why are we here today? We are still battling to give Nigerians benefits of democracy while the key actors are enjoying the game .What a dilemma of a country in perpetual self-inflicted slavery
Many concerned Nigerians have been raising and talking about this national concerns in the past years the energy crisis, reorganizing the government, our nation’s economy, and issues of insecurities and especially letting the poor breathe in Nigeria. But over those years the subjects of Nigeria heads of government speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Abuja Aso-Rock or Government House thinks was important. Constantly, we’ve heard more and more about what the government thoughts or what the government should be doing and less and less about our nation’s hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future.
Today June 12, 2026, Hope is still not alive, talk less of it becoming a reality, the aged Nigerians bleed in their hearts for what they have done to get Nigeria where we are today in all sectors of the economy, the young generations are crying for supports while the women folks remain the most vulnerable in battle of making Nigeria great. I am using this medium to call on Renewed Hope government of PBAT to focus on what need urgent attention for Nigeria —One of them is the Energy. Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem? It’s clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper—deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. And government should realize more than ever that they need help and support of all stakeholders at various levels in collaborations with professionals and experts both local and Nigerians in diaspora. So the government must open up doors to interested hands to assist in this direction. They should be invited in every segment of our society—public and private sectors, High Network Individuals, Non-profit & religion leaders and listen to other Nigerians, men and women of ideas and values.
A few of the typical comments about Renewed Hope Government that I have written down in the past three years are : “Mr. President, you are not leading this nation—you’re just managing the government.” “You don’t see the people enough anymore.” “Some of your Cabinet members don’t seem loyal. There is not enough discipline among your disciples.” “Don’t talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good.” “Mr. President, we’re in trouble. Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears.” “If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow.” Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation. “I feel so far from government. I feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power.” “Some of us have suffered from recession all our lives.” “Some people have wasted energy, but others haven’t had anything to waste.” “No material shortage can touch the important things like God’s love for us or our love for one another.” “The big-shots are not the only ones who are important. Remember, you can’t sell anything on Nigeria Stock Exchange unless someone digs it up somewhere else first.”“Mr. President, we are confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis.” When we import oil we are also importing inflation plus unemployment.” “We’ve got to use what we have. “Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife.” “There will be other cartels/mafias and other shortages. Nigerians wisdom and courage right now can set a path to follow in the future.” “Be bold Mr. President. We may make mistakes, but we are ready to experiment.” “The real issue is freedom. We must deal with the energy problem on a war footing as you have started.”
All the above comments confirmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the Nigerian people, but it also bore out some of my long-standing concerns about our nation’s underlying problem. I know, of course, as a leader in my little corridor, that government actions and legislation can be very important. That’s why government have been working hard with all the legislators in Abuja to put campaign promises into law—however the president must admits that it is just mixed success. But If ,PBAT can listening to the Nigeria people as already stated in this article and be reminded again that all the legislation in the world can’t fix what’s wrong with Nigeria.
Another critical challenge of the renewed hope government is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of Nigeria.
The confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the 1st of October, 1960. It is the idea which founded our nation and has guided our development as a people. Confidence in the future has supported everything else—public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the Nigeria at the independence. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. We’ve always believed in something called progress. We’ve always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own.
Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Our progress has been part of the living history of Nigeria. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom, and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past.
In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.
The symptoms of this crisis of the Nigerian spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of Nigerian workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Nigerians to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in Africa, Countries Nigeria has provided succors for, and now treating Nigerians like forgotten souls. As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for religion and traditional leaders and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning.
These changes did not happen overnight. They’ve come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy. We remember when the phrase “ Nigeria pound or Naira ” was an expression of absolute dependability, years of inflation began to shrink our Naira and our savings. We believed that our nation’s resources were limitless until when we had to face a growing dependence on importation of refined foreign oil and other ostentations goods and items
The gap between Nigeria citizens and the government has never been so wide. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual.
What you see too often in FCT Abuja, other state capitals, local councils and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a National Assembly twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well-financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without friends. Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. I am sure nobody like it, and neither do I.
What can we do? First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to Nigeria is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Nigerians.“We’ve got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. The strength we need will not come from the FCT Abuja, but from every house in Nigeria.”
We know the strength of Nigeria. We are strong. We can regain our unity. We can regain our confidence. We are the heirs of generations who survived threats much more powerful and awesome than those that challenge us now. Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the Colonial and Military Rules. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality.
Today is a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure.
All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of Nigerian values. That path leads to true freedom for our nation and ourselves. We can take the first steps down that path as we begin to solve our energy problem. Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.
This intolerable dependence on importation of foreign oil, threatens our economic independence and the very security of our nation. thanks to Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the oil refinery, he has taken the bull by the horn and took the highest risk as a successful entrepreneur to bail Nigerians out of the suffering a little , more refineries needed to be set up across the six geographical zones of Nigeria
The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation too. These are facts and we simply must face them. What the current government should do about the energy is simple and vitally important.
They need to set a clear goal for the energy policy of Nigeria. Beginning this moment, this nation must never use more refined foreign oil than we had ever use before —never. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own reserve.
All levels of government must be fair to the poorest among us, so that government can increase support to needy Nigerians to cope with rising energy prices. Rebate in transportation fares and other energy costs .
So, the solution of our energy crisis can also help us to conquer the crisis of the spirit in our country. It can rekindle our sense of unity, our confidence in the future, and give our nation and all of us individually a new sense of purpose.
I know we can do it. We have the natural resources. We have more oil and natural resources we have not discovered yet. We have skilled work force and young generations, with innovative genius, and I firmly believe that we have the national will to win this battles, insecurity challenges and others vices .
To Nigerians , the struggle for freedom will not be easy. There is no quick way out of our nation’s problems, the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort. What I only call for is for PBAT to lead our fight, and enforce fairness in this struggle, and honesty. And above all act. We can manage the short-term crises now more effectively and you must do it collectively with your team or cabinet sacrifices, but there are no short-term solutions to our long-range problems. There is simply no way to avoid sacrifice. Just as the search for solutions to our energy shortages has now led us to a new awareness of our Nation’s deeper problems, so our willingness to work for those solutions in energy can strengthen us to attack those deeper problems.
Nigeria’s values, and Nigeria’s confidence. I have seen the strength of Nigeria in the inexhaustible resources of our people. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for an energy secure nation.
To sum it up, let me say this: Let your voice be heard. And stop abusing your country whenever you have a chance, say something good about our country. With God’s help and for the sake of our nation, it is time for us to join hands in Nigeria. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the Nigeria spirit. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail. Act to save Nigeria Democracy