By Bukar Mohammed
There comes a time in the life of a nation when silence becomes complicity, and inaction, a form of suicide. Nigeria has reached that time. A time when sane minds should not only be questioning the quality of leadership but also the state of the collective national psyche.
In today’s Nigeria, the leadership vacuum is no longer an illusion, it is a gaping hole that has swallowed competence, integrity, and vision. We are a country of over 200 million people, yet we struggle to identify even a handful of individuals fit to lead us into an era of progress. Where are the real leaders? Why are the clowns at the forefront?
We should, by now, be seriously considering visionary thinkers like Akinwunmi Adesina , not the mouthpiece of propaganda many remember from the Buhari era, but the articulate, composed communicator who at least projected some semblance of order. Imagine pairing him with someone like Nasir El-Rufai, a man whose administrative efficiency even if laced with controversy , cannot be denied. A ticket like that would reflect direction, intellect, and some ideological grounding.
Support such leadership with proven grassroots mobilizers and implementers like Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, not as a presidential aspirant, but as Minister of Works or FCT, where his practical infrastructural experience can be put to national use. Yet what do we have instead? A recycling plant of tired faces, failed promises, and men who should be writing memoirs in retirement rather than contesting elections.
Meanwhile, Peter Obi, who governed a state with less than 2.5 million people, continues to be praised by some as the messiah. But Anambra under Obi did not become a beacon of transformation or even a ‘mini-Dubai’ as often exaggerated. Leadership isn’t about selective prudence, it’s about transformation. Where was the vision?
On the other side, we have Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a man whose political empire is built on identity politics, patronage, and tribal entrenchment. His leadership so far reflects a deeply divisive ethos and a painful departure from the unity Nigeria desperately needs. And then there’s Atiku Abubakar—what exactly did he forget at Aso Rock that he keeps returning to find? Is it power for its own sake or a deep love for the country? If it’s the latter, we have seen little evidence of it.
But perhaps most disturbing is the complicity of the youth. The same young people who cry daily about joblessness, inflation, and insecurity are the same ones screaming “Emilokan” for a thousand naira and a plate of rice. It’s not just sad, it’s tragic.
What sort of madness has taken over our country? How did we get to a point where mediocrity is celebrated and excellence is mocked or ignored? Nothing is sane in Nigeria anymore. The roads, the hospitals, the schools broken. The economy , a joke. The politics , an unending circus. And yet we move, with heads bowed, shoulders slumped, and tongues silent.
We must demand a reset. Enough is enough. Our “mumu don do.” It’s time to disrupt the cycle of foolishness that has become normalized. Nigeria deserves better. Nigerians deserve better.
But until we begin to elevate true competence over propaganda, vision over noise, and national interest over ethnic or religious calculations, we will keep spiraling into this abyss of ungovernable despair.
A new Nigeria is possible, but only if we stop acting like it isn’t.
BUKAR Mohammed is a public affairs analyst and advocate for fiscal justice in governance from Kano.
