Nigeria at 65: A Nation Still Searching for Direction – Adebayo

Leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has lamented that more than six decades after Nigeria’s independence, the nation appears to be moving in circles.

Expressing disappointment over the country’s progress, he said the Nigerian elite have failed to rise to the challenge of leadership. According to him, those who should take responsibility for the nation’s direction have remained complacent.

Adebayo bemoaned the level of rot in the system, citing pervasive crime, corruption, insecurity, inflation, and poverty as symptoms of poor leadership.

He condemned the growing acceptance of wrongdoing as a way of life, saying:

“I think all the crimes, vices, and evils that could be committed are already permitted under the system. There’s no need for you to break it—it’s already performing. So, they all remain there, and we, who are democrats, are happy that we have a broken civilian system.”

Despite his lamentation, Adebayo expressed hope for a brighter future, drawing an analogy between the nation’s independence journey and its present condition.

He said:“We started the journey in October 1960 on foot, but we didn’t walk diligently. We were just joking around with it, so we haven’t reached our destination.
But, luckily for us, the journey that began on foot can now continue with cars and even aircraft. So, there is hope on the horizon.”

Adebayo, however, reiterated that all of the country’s challenges—from insecurity to corruption and infrastructural decay—stem from poor leadership.

Painting a vivid picture of the nation’s moral decay, he added:“In Nigeria, you can be a pastor, bishop, or general overseer without being a Christian. You can be a chief imam without being a Muslim; you’re just holding the position because society permits it.

In the same vein, you can be a professor without being an academic, because it’s just a title to claim or to massage your ego. You can be a senior advocate or a judge without knowing justice—harassing your domestic staff, owing your workers—and still be the one to decide justice for the whole country. Nobody cares.

So, you end up having senior police officers who steal, and nothing happens.”