…A Strategic Imperative for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its Global Diaspora at the 65th National Milestone

By Tolulope A. Adegoke Ph.D

Introduction: The Critical Transition from Diagnostic Analysis to Strategic Design

The commemoration of a nation’s 65th year of sovereign independence represents a profound milestone—a point of maturation that demands a critical transition from the foundational hopes of youth to the deliberate construction of an enduring legacy. The inaugural discourse in this series, Part I, served as the essential National Audit. It involved a rigorous, unflinching examination of the structural integrity of our national project: diagnosing the systemic fractures within our governance institutions, quantifying the economic costs of institutionalized corruption, and evaluating the significant deficits in social trust and public infrastructure. This audit was a necessary, albeit sobering, exercise in corporate and national governance, revealing the pressing need for comprehensive remediation and strategic renewal.

The present treatise, Part II, constitutes the foundational response to that diagnostic. We now pivot decisively from the realm of analysis to the discipline of Architecture. This entails the deliberate, methodical, and collective endeavor of designing and erecting a resilient, adaptive, and scalable national framework. On this significant anniversary, this document serves as a formal charge and a strategic blueprint for all stakeholders—the Nigerian state, its private sector, its citizenry within its borders, and its vast, influential diaspora worldwide. Our collective mandate is to wield the tools of visionary leadership, ethical practice, and innovative execution to architect a future that fulfills the formidable promise encapsulated in the green-white-green banner.

The Tripartite Pillars for a Scalable and Sovereign National Architecture

Legacies that endure and scale across generations are not accidental; they are the products of intentional design, constructed upon pillars of immutable principle and pragmatic, executable strategy. For the Federal Republic of Nigeria to transcend its current challenges and unlock its latent potential, its new architectural paradigm must be engineered upon three interdependent and non-negotiable pillars.

Pillar I: Engineering a Foundation of Unassailable Institutional Integrity

The diagnostic audit unequivocally demonstrates that the primary impediment to Nigeria’s progress is not a paucity of human or natural resources, but the pervasive weakness and compromised integrity of its public and private institutions. A nation designed for scale is architected on the bedrock of predictable, transparent, and impartial systems, thereby rendering personality-dependent governance obsolete.

·         The Paradigm Shift from Patrimonial Networks to Meritocratic Systems: The foundational element of this new architecture requires a systemic transition from a “who you know” patronage network to a “what you know” meritocracy. This necessitates the absolute sanctity of the rule of law, manifested through a truly independent and well-funded judiciary, a civil service restructured to recruit and reward based on competence and performance, and security agencies constitutionally dedicated to the protection of life and property. The colloquial “Nigerian Factor” must be architecturally redesigned to become a global synonym for integrity, professionalism, and excellence.

·         The Digital Infrastructure as a Transparency and Accountability Mechanism: To fortify this foundation, the state must deploy digital technologies as the ultimate tool for transparency. This involves the implementation of a centralized, secure, and interoperable National Digital Identity System, which serves as the single source of truth for citizen-state interactions. Concurrently, the establishment of a mandatory Open Government Data Platform—publishing real-time data on public procurement, budgetary allocations, and government revenue—would act as a powerful disinfectant, exposing corruption and fostering civic oversight. This digital layer is the indispensable cement that binds the bricks of institutional integrity.

·         Re-calibrating Regulatory Frameworks for Economic Acceleration: Regulatory bodies such as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) must be architecturally re-imagined as facilitators of enterprise and innovation. This entails regulatory modernization: streamlining bureaucratic processes, ensuring policy predictability, and enforcing robust intellectual property rights. Such a recalibration sends a clear signal to both domestic and international investors that Nigeria is a jurisdiction predicated on fairness, stability, and strategic economic enablement.

Pillar II: Constructing the Infrastructure for Human Capital Development and a Knowledge-Based Economy

Nigeria’s most valuable and appreciable asset remains the ingenuity, resilience, and intellectual capacity of its people. However, the current architecture facilitates a debilitating “brain drain,” exporting top-tier talent. The strategic imperative is to construct a domestic ecosystem that cultivates, retains, and attracts this talent, transforming the nation into a net importer of human capital.

·         The Pedagogical Reformation: From Industrial-Age Instruction to Information-Age Empowerment: The existing educational superstructure, a relic of a bygone era, requires a fundamental architectural overhaul. The curriculum must be dynamically re-engineered to prioritize STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), critical thinking, digital fluency, and socio-emotional learning. This must be coupled with massive investment in Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) models to fund state-of-the-art research institutes, innovation incubators, and vocational training centers whose mandates are directly tied to solving national challenges in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and renewable energy.

·         The Strategic “Brain Gain” Initiative and Diaspora Engagement Framework: The global Nigerian diaspora, a vast repository of expertise, capital, and international networks, must be formally integrated into the national architecture. This requires a proactive “Brain Gain” policy suite featuring tangible incentives such as tax holidays for returning experts, streamlined dual citizenship processes, and the creation of virtual knowledge-sharing platforms. Furthermore, establishing dedicated Diaspora Investment Funds and venture channels can catalyze the flow of not just remittances, but transformative intellectual and entrepreneurial capital back to the homeland.

·         Powering the Ecosystem: Architecting a Resilient and Decentralized Energy Grid: No modern economic or social architecture can function without reliable, scalable energy. While the rehabilitation of the national grid is a non-negotiable priority, the scalable architectural approach is one of strategic decentralization. This involves creating a conducive policy environment for private investment in renewable energy micro-grids, solar farms, and embedded generation. A multi-nodal, resilient energy architecture is the fundamental prerequisite for industrial productivity, digital transformation, and an improved quality of life.

Pillar III: Erecting a Framework for Economic Complexity, Value Addition, and Inclusive Growth

An economy architected on the export of raw commodities is inherently vulnerable and low-yield. A legacy that scales is built on economic complexity—the capacity to produce and export a diverse range of sophisticated, high-value goods and services—ensuring resilience and broad-based prosperity.

·         The Industrial Transformation: From Primary Commodity Exporter to Value-Added Manufacturer: The national economic strategy must pivot from being a mere extractive quarry for global supply chains to becoming a integrated manufacturing hub. This requires targeted, strategic investments in sectors where Nigeria possesses comparative advantage: moving beyond crude oil export to establishing world-class petrochemical complexes; beyond exporting raw cocoa and sesame to dominating the global market in high-value chocolate and edible oils; and beyond mining solid minerals to refining them into finished components for international industries.

·         The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Ecosystem as the Core of Economic Vitality: While large corporations represent the skyscrapers of an economy, SMEs are the residential blocks, commercial plazas, and industrial parks that constitute its vibrant, living fabric. Architecting for scale requires designing a supportive ecosystem for SMEs, including the development of alternative credit scoring systems to enhance access to finance, technology adoption grants for digital transformation, and the creation of specialized export processing zones and trade corridors to integrate Nigerian SMEs into regional and global value chains.

·         The Financial Inclusion Architecture: Formalizing the Informal Economy: A significant portion of Nigeria’s economic activity remains informal and thus outside the formal financial and fiscal architecture. Leveraging the nation’s globally recognized FinTech sector to create seamless, low-cost digital financial services is the next frontier of economic expansion. Bringing millions into the formal banking system expands the tax base, creates reliable data for economic planning, and unlocks the immense latent capital currently circulating in the informal sector, thereby fueling further investment and growth.

The Charge to the Tripartite Architects: Defining Roles and Responsibilities

The construction of this new national architecture is a collaborative enterprise that demands clearly defined and conscientiously executed roles from all primary stakeholders in the societal compact.

To the Government (The Master Planner and Enabling Regulator): The role of the state is not to be the sole proprietor of all enterprise but to function as the master planner and impartial referee. Its primary function is to establish and ruthlessly enforce the rules of the game, ensuring a level playing field. This involves prioritizing long-term policy consistency over short-term political expediency, dismantling obstructive bureaucratic red tape, and making strategic investments in public goods—security, education, and core infrastructure. The ultimate legacy of a government should be measured by the robustness and resilience of the institutions it bequeaths to the next generation.

To the Corporate Sector (The General Contractor and Engine of Value Creation):
The private sector must evolve its mandate from a narrow focus on shareholder profit to a broader commitment to stakeholder capitalism—a concept we may term Corporate National Responsibility (CNR). This entails ethical leadership: unequivocal tax compliance, the outright rejection of corrupt practices, investment in local content and supply chain development, and proactive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. Corporations must adopt a long-term perspective, recognizing that their sustained profitability is inextricably linked to the health and stability of the Nigerian polity and society.

To the Citizenry and the Global Diaspora (The Ultimate Beneficiaries and Primary Craftsmen):
The most potent force in this architectural endeavor is the collective will and action of the people.

·         Exercising Sovereign Oversight: Citizens must transition from passive subjects to active principals, holding the “master planners” and “general contractors” accountable. This entails informed civic participation—utilizing Freedom of Information acts, engaging in public consultations, and most critically, casting votes based on a rigorous assessment of competency, integrity, and manifestos, rather than primordial sentiments.

·         Championing a Cultural and Ethical Renaissance: There must be a conscious, collective shift in the national psyche from a narrative of “shared suffering” to one of “shared responsibility and building.” This involves celebrating and rewarding integrity, industriousness, and innovation in all spheres of life, while socially and economically sanctioning corrupt and unprofessional conduct, however minor it may seem.

·         The Principle of Subsidiarity: Building Where You Stand: Every Nigerian, whether resident in Abeokuta, Abuja, or Atlanta, possesses a role to play. This can manifest as mentoring a young person, pioneering a social enterprise, investing in a local startup, or simply exemplifying the highest standards of professional excellence. Each individual action constitutes a vital brick laid in the edifice of the new Nigeria.

Conclusion: The Groundbreaking Ceremony—A Nation at 65 Reclaims Its Destiny

A nation at 65 stands at a defining inflection point, poised between the unfulfilled potential of its past and the daunting yet magnificent possibility of its future. This is the age for wisdom, for decisive action, and for legacy-building.

The comprehensive audit is concluded, its findings documented and clear. They present not a verdict of failure, but a detailed bill of quantities for the monumental work of rebuilding that lies before us. The architectural blueprints for a prosperous, secure, and unified Nigeria—a nation that scales to meet the aspirations of its people and commands respect on the global stage—are now drawn.

The charge is hereby issued. Let us collectively take up the instruments of our respective trades—our votes, our intellectual capital, our financial resources, and our unwavering collective resolve. Let us move, with purpose and unity, from being critical auditors of a fractured past to becoming the master architects of a formidable and enduring future.

The time for groundbreaking is now. Let us build.

Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke, AMBP-UN is a Recipient of the Nigerian Role Models Award (2024), and a Distinguished Ambassador For World Peace (AMBP-UN).

The prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, have continued to climb across Nigeria, leaving many households frustrated, reports revealed.

According to the survey, the prices of cooking gas have gone as high as N3200 per kilogramme in parts of the country, indicating a 100 percent increase from the N1600 per kg recorded three days ago.

Earlier reports said that cooking gas prices rose by 33 percent in key cities, forcing families to ration consumption.

This is coming days after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) suspended its strike against Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The industrial action, which disrupted gas supply chains and triggered a spike in costs, was officially called off earlier this week following government intervention.

However, prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) remain elevated, with checks showing wide disparities depending on location.

In Lagos, residents reported sharp increases. Ahmed said gas now sells for N1,600 per kilogramme in Orile, while Oyin noted prices have climbed to N2,000 in Ikorodu.

Fadeke Popoola, who lives in Sabo Yaba, close to the University of Lagos, said she paid N3,200 per kilogramme of cooking gas, more than double the price from just weeks ago.

The unrelenting surge has sparked outrage online, with many lamenting how the crisis is squeezing household budgets.

“If you see anyone selling cooking gas as a means of livelihood, hug them and press money in their palms. The price of LNG has risen and it’s difficult to even get to buy. Which kain country be this? No gas and no sales,” wrote @Macazeee on X.

Another user, @Zoyablooms, posted: “I truly hate being Nigerian. Cooking gas being scarce is not okay. This place makes me sick.”

@_realkingsley also shared a photo of a queue in Sabo, Ikorodu, asking, “Cooking gas scarcity. No gas in my area. Again I ask, is the Dangote vs PENGASSAN war touching Nigerians already?”

Across the country, a 12.5kg cylinder now retails for between N16,500 and N18,000, up from N12,750 barely a week ago, according to market checks and data.

@Azizolurhemmy added: “Please, how much is cooking gas in your area? This price I am hearing is like they want to sell the gas plant to me.”

Despite the truce, industry stakeholders say supply remains constrained.

Olatunbosun Oladapo, the National President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), told newsmen that the strike crippled gas plant operations, especially in the southwest.

“Dangote, our major supplier in terms of availability and affordability of the product, is yet to release loading invoices to our members who have pending products with the company for more than three weeks, forcing marketers to buy from other competitors at a high rate,” he said.

Other suppliers reportedly took advantage of the supply gaps to increase their prices, compounding the situation for retailers and consumers.

Glo Foundation, in continuation of its “Giving Back Together” initiative, played host to thousands of women from various local government areas and communities around Warri, Delta State, on Saturday, at Urhobo College, Warri, where it presented to them packs of food items and other household essentials.

The event was in line with the special intervention programme by Globacom to support the most vulnerable segment of the society with essential food items to cushion the effects of the economic situation.

At the event on Saturday, the women, including the aged and widows, who came from far and near communities such as Warri North, Warri South, Aladja, Ughelli South, Udu, and Uvwie local government areas, began gathering while the state’s monthly environmental sanitation exercise was ongoing to take advantage of the scheme.

Globacom’s head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mrs Jumobi Mofe-Damijo, disclosed at the event that having held similar food donation initiatives in some other states, it was the turn of women in Delta to also be part of the programme. She explained that the food drive had become a quick, go-to route for the company to reach out to largely the female population, who constitute the bulk of the disadvantaged in every society.

She noted that the “Food Drive is not just for anyone. It is targeted at the most vulnerable segment of the Nigerian society, that is women and children. When we help them, we are helping the society at large.”

Included in each food pack distributed at the venue were 5 kilograms of rice, 5 kilograms of Gaari, semovita, spaghetti, vegetable oil, sachets of tomato paste, sardines, seasoning cubes, noodles, and other essential items that the women would find useful at home.

The beneficiaries were full gratitude to Globacom for the initiative. Princess Omo-Udoyo, from Ughelli North, felt so joyful being a beneficiary.

“I have not seen this before. I thank God and Glo Foundation for this gift,” she said.

For Mrs Esther Okoro, a native of Otu Jeremi, Ughelli South, it was just prayers that she kept offering when asked about the package she received. Said she: “God will lift the company and people who have done this. He will lift them higher and higher. They will never lack anything. For doing this for us today, I say may God protect them. You will always go higher.”

The Globacom Food Drive initiative is also planned to berth in other key cities across the country in the months ahead where more women will also benefit.