Giant of Africa, once towering, now sleepwalking through crises—rising costs, failed governance, and education woes. Only entertainment stands tall, while the rest crumbles.
I’ve asked myself this question countless times since childhood: Is the Giant still one? The answer now stares me in the face and boldly declares, “No, the giant you once knew is now an ant—an isolated ant at that.”
Every day, we hear stories of a time when life was more affordable. My father didn’t just tell me about the wall clock he bought for N10 or the table fan for N90—I saw them with my own eyes. And believe it or not, that wall clock, purchased before the year 2000, still works in 2024. Yet, today, those naira notes are practically worthless.
The cost of living—food, water, shelter, education, healthcare, oil, and gas—is suffocating. Unemployment is rampant, and the battle to raise the minimum wage to N70,000 was hard-fought. But let’s be honest: How much does a bag of rice cost? More than N70,000.
Beyond inflation, the country once hailed as the Giant of Africa has crumbled in many other ways. At the recently concluded Olympic Games, Nigeria won zero medals—an abysmal showing for a nation of our size and potential.
Governance has failed spectacularly. The so-called government “for the people, by the people” is nothing but empty words. Remember the President who labeled the youth as “lazy” at the Commonwealth Business Forum in London? Or the one who claimed N8,000 could transform a young person’s life? The EndSARS protests ended in massacre, and the most recent protests faded away without leaving a mark.
Our education system is equally disgraceful. Business Day reports that despite government claims of prioritizing education, Nigeria isn’t even in the top 1,000 universities worldwide, according to the latest Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. And now, the government reveals that over 22,700 Nigerians are parading fake degree certificates from the Benin Republic and Togo. As The Cable reported, the NYSC found that between 2019 and 2023, about 21,684 students from Benin Republic and 1,105 from Togo obtained degrees from unrecognized institutions.
So, I ask again: Is this Giant still one? If we dare to claim that title, perhaps the only sector we can truly point to is entertainment. Our music is putting Nigeria on the global map, and the film industry is not far behind. I commend everyone who has contributed and continues to play a part in that success.
If the Giant is still one, then we must admit—it’s a Giant that’s asleep. Because right now, nothing is standing tall around here.
