Wednesday last week, October 1, Nigeria marked 65 years of Independence. At 65, Nigeria has turned a full-grown man, a senior citizen in the comity of nations. A person at 65 is regarded as a senior citizen in most nations across the world. Nigeria, therefore, is a senior citizen.
A lot has happened since October 1, 1960. Landmarks have been erected. New heights attained. Barriers broken. Developmental shifts. Transformational advancements. Ancient landmarks removed to pave way for modernity.
A bloody civil war with attendant pogrom; coups and counter coups; value shifts from vile to virtue; internecine upheavals; ethno-religious hostilities; youth revolt (EndSARS), among other internal conflicts have threatened the nation’s existential structures but it remains standing, united though with fractured walls. But Nigeria still stands, nevertheless. Within the 65 years, a lot of momentum had been garnered, lost, then regained.
A few examples here: At independence in 1960, with a population of about 40 million, the country had roughly 18,724 phone lines. This translated to a tele-density of about 0.5 telephone lines per 1,000 people. The telephone network then consisted of 121 exchanges of which 116 were of the manual (magneto) type and only five were automatic.
At independence, the telecommunication sector consisted of the Department of Posts and Telecommunications (P&T) in charge of local network and a limited liability company, the Nigerian External Telecommunication (NET) Limited, which minded external telecommunications services. NET was the provider and custodian of the gateway to the outside world. The P&T arrangement subsisted till 1985 with installed switching capacity tottering at 200,000 lines powered by analog exchanges. This fell far short of the projected target of about 460,000. Telephony penetration was superficial at one telephone line to 440 inhabitants, well below the target of one telephone line to 100 inhabitants recommended by ITU (International Telecommunications Union) for developing countries. In August 2025, Nigeria had approximately 171 million active telephone lines for about 230 million people. That’s progress.
At Independence, Nigeria had 120 secondary schools with a student population of about 130,000. Available data indicate that, as of year 2024, there were more than 23,000 secondary schools in the country. At Independence, Nigeria had only the University of Ibadan and Yaba College of Technology as its two tertiary institutions. By the end of 2024, there were 274 universities, 183 polytechnics, and 236 colleges of education in Nigeria, comprising federal, state, and private institutions.
At Independence, Nigeria’s GDP per capita was approximately $93, according to multiple sources including the World Bank and Finance in Africa compared to $806.84 in 2025, according to IMF. In 1960, Nigeria’s total GDP was about $4.20 billion. GDP for 2025 is estimated at $188.27 billion according to IMF data, while Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) GDP is projected to be $1.58 trillion. These figures are based on data sourced from the April 2025 World Economic Outlook.
In 1960, Nigeria’s road network was 66,000km but in 2025, the road network is about 200,000km with growing number of bridges and flyovers. Progress!
In the early 1960s, agriculture contributed between 60% to 64% of the GDP, a clear sectorial leader and mainstay of the economy. In 2025, agriculture contributes a comparatively meagre percentage. In the first half of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that agricultural sector contributed 26.17% in Q2 and 23.33% in Q1to real GDP. Oil boom of the 70s took the nation’s eyes away from its real strength: Agriculture complete with its value chain. This is a huge decline that President Tinubu must address with militant zeal.
In 1960, there were a total of 239 hospitals across the nation, with 118 established by missionary groups and 101 by the government. By 2020, there were 36,127 primary healthcare facilities, 4,768 secondary healthcare facilities, and 203 tertiary healthcare facilities, totalling over 40,000 healthcare facilities nationwide. In the last five years, that number has spiked across all tiers of healthcare delivery.
There had been many more advancements recorded in critical areas of human development since 1960. Sports, education, healthcare, technology, innovation and the creative industry. Nigerians have unleashed their soft and hard power on the world with impact that cannot be ignored.
The most endowed black nation in the world ought not to be bearing bowls waiting for the West to drop money in exchange for crude oil. Nigeria is highly endowed with exceptional human capital some of whom have distinguished themselves on the global canvas. From Facebook and Microsoft to the National Space and Aeronautics Administration (NASA) of the United States where Delta-born Professor Austin Esogbue imprinted his name as the only African among a group of the world’s most brilliant techies, Nigeria has never been in short supply of technocrats and professionals with light-years-ahead knowledge. The same Nigeria that produced Esogbue produced Philip Emeagwali, the ‘Father of the Internet’ and Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate in literature, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (both globally acclaimed literary icons), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and a horde of other Nigerians excelling in diverse fields in distant places.
At 65, it’s safe to say that the efforts of Nigeria’s founding heroes and heroines—Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Margaret Ekpo, Anthony Enahoro, Ladoke Akintola, Michael Okpara, Aminu Kano, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and other nationalists— have not been in vain.
Granted, the nation has not progressed in the manner it should – multi-directional advancement commensurate with the preponderance of resources both gifted human capital and natural resources, but the cup is never half empty. It’s half full.
Without a doubt, Nigeria has won Independence from colonial masters but the urgent and compelling challenge is independence of the citizens from Nigeria’s institutions and their operators. The harassment (extortion), maiming and killing of Nigerians by uniform personnel; the impunity and rabid audacity with which bandits cloned in hell attack, rob and kill Nigerians in Nigeria without intervention from security personnel and allied sorrow inflicted on the people by bad leaders is the real independence that must happen for Nigerians to feel truly independent.
This is the assurance Nigerians demand from Tinubu; the assurance that his government keeps to the constitutional responsibility to “protect the lives and property” of the citizenry. The police in particular have been anti-people, disrespectful of rights of citizens, and in some cases, have become the criminals that they were recruited to fight.
Reforming the uniform fraternity is the surest way to restore public order and civility as Nigeria continues its uneven steps to nationhood.
