On the first of October 1960 a young nation lifted its flag before the watching world. The green and white fluttered not only as fabric but as a promise. Hope was heavy in the air. The streets of Lagos swelled with excitement and the words of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa echoed with confidence that Nigeria would take its place among the great nations. Sixty five years later we stand again on the anniversary of that moment and we must ask with painful honesty what we have done with the gift of independence.
Nigeria at 65 is not just a milestone, it is a mirror. A mirror that forces us to look back at the faces of our leaders and the marks they left behind, for better or worse. From 1960 to 2025, every presidency has carried its own imprint, its own trademark, its own brand of governance that has shaped the Nigerian story. Tafawa Balewa gave us the calm dignity of a teacher turned statesman. Aguiyi-Ironsi carried the burden of our first military intervention. Yakubu Gowon stood as the young general who promised to keep Nigeria one and oversaw the civil war. Murtala Mohammed ignited fiery reforms before his life was cut short. Olusegun Obasanjo first emerged as the reluctant soldier who handed over power, then later returned as the democratic reformer. Shehu Shagari brought soft-spoken politics drowned in corruption and economic mismanagement. Muhammadu Buhari’s first coming carried the iron fist of discipline and decrees. Ibrahim Babangida perfected the art of manipulation with his Structural Adjustment Programme and endless transition. Ernest Shonekan barely had time to breathe before Abacha’s dark years smothered Nigeria with fear. Abdulsalami Abubakar gave us a hurried but crucial return to democracy. Obasanjo’s second coming revived Nigeria’s international image while tightening internal control. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua brought a calm vision but was cut down by frailty, Yar’Adua gave us hope but sickness stole him away. Goodluck Jonathan offered hope with his humility but was swallowed by insecurity and corruption.
Jonathan rose by luck, but luck alone could not save him. Muhammadu Buhari’s second coming turned into years of economic hardship, insecurity, and dashed expectations
Buhari’s second coming was a disaster of hunger, insecurity and despair.
Now Bola Tinubu, the latest bearer of Nigeria’s destiny, faces the heavy test of rebuilding a battered nation while struggling to keep faith with promises that are yet to materialize.Tinubu now stands on trial before history.
To understand Nigeria at sixty five we must remember the journey. Each leader who has ruled this country has left a mark whether shallow or deep. They are the milestones in our collective story.
Our first Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa carried himself with dignity and sought to keep the fragile federation together. He believed in dialogue and in Nigeria’s voice on the world stage. Yet the young democracy was cut short by the military coup of 1966.
Major General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi stepped in as Head of State. He sought to unify Nigeria through central command but his policies created suspicion and widened ethnic mistrust. His brief rule ended violently in a counter coup.
General Yakubu Gowon followed, young and inexperienced at thirty two yet burdened with the weight of a nation at war. He declared that to keep Nigeria one was a task that must be done. His era was defined by the civil war of 1967 to 1970 and by the policy of no victor no vanquished which sought to heal the wounds of that conflict.
After him came General Murtala Muhammed. In less than seven months he showed boldness and urgency. He struck with reforms in the civil service and an assertive foreign policy that made Africa the centerpiece. His assassination in 1976 ended a life that had begun to inspire a restless nation.
General Olusegun Obasanjo inherited the seat. He guided Nigeria through the transition to civilian rule in 1979 and handed over power willingly to President Shehu Shagari. That moment remains a rare example of a military ruler voluntarily surrendering to democracy.
Shehu Shagari’s civilian administration carried the hopes of a return to democratic life. Yet it soon drowned in corruption scandals, economic mismanagement, and the fall in oil prices. By 1983 Nigerians grew impatient and another military coup ended his tenure.
Major General Muhammadu Buhari came with a stern face and the language of discipline. His era was marked by the War Against Indiscipline, by strict controls and a climate of fear. For some he was too harsh, for others he was the medicine Nigeria needed. His stay was cut short in 1985.
General Ibrahim Babangida followed with a charm that contrasted with Buhari’s iron hand. He was a master of political maneuvering, introducing structural adjustment that reshaped Nigeria’s economy while also creating hardship. His promise of transition to democracy ended in the tragedy of June 12, 1993 when the election widely believed to have been won by MKO Abiola was annulled. That singular act remains one of Nigeria’s deepest wounds.
Chief Ernest Shonekan briefly headed the Interim National Government. His short stay carried little power and was soon swept aside by the next soldier.
General Sani Abacha arrived with an iron fist. His regime was feared for its repression. Political opponents were jailed or silenced, and the nation became isolated on the global stage. Yet paradoxically Nigeria’s foreign reserves grew and the economy experienced relative stability. His sudden death in 1998 ended an era that many Nigerians still recall with mixed feelings of fear and paradoxical stability.
General Abdulsalami Abubakar brought calm. In a single year he steered Nigeria toward democracy again, setting in motion the Fourth Republic.
In 1999 Olusegun Obasanjo returned, this time as a civilian president. His eight years were marked by efforts at debt relief, privatization, and a campaign against corruption through the EFCC and ICPC. He also presided over deepening democratic institutions though critics faulted him for an attempted third term.
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua succeeded him with a gentle personality and the vision of a seven point agenda. He admitted openly that the election that brought him to power was flawed and he sought reforms. His rule was short due to illness but he is remembered for the amnesty program in the Niger Delta.
Goodluck Jonathan stepped in first as acting president then fully. His era witnessed both progress and turmoil. He expanded access to education and infrastructure but insecurity escalated with Boko Haram. The 2015 election in which he conceded defeat peacefully to his opponent remains a landmark in Africa’s democratic history.
Muhammadu Buhari returned in 2015 now as a civilian. Nigerians believed he would fight corruption and insecurity. His government was defined by an economic recession, rising insecurity, and policies such as border closure and currency controls. By 2023 many citizens felt weary of unfulfilled promises.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged in 2023 with the slogan of Renewed Hope. He began his administration with bold economic moves including subsidy removal and currency floating. These policies however quickly translated into hardship for ordinary Nigerians as fuel prices and the cost of living skyrocketed. At sixty five Nigeria remains caught between high expectations and harsh realities.
This rundown of leaders is not just a list of names. It is the mirror through which we see ourselves. Each administration came with promises. Some delivered in part, others deepened our troubles. Together they form the quilt of a nation still searching for balance.
At sixty five we must admit that Nigeria has survived more storms than many nations could withstand. We have endured coups, a brutal civil war, religious tensions, economic shocks, insurgency, and waves of corruption. Yet we are still here. Survival however is not destiny. A people cannot confuse endurance with progress. To manage suffering year after year is not the purpose of independence.
The real question is whether we will finally rise into the promise of our founding. Our resources are abundant. Our youth are inventive and restless. Our diaspora excels across the world. What holds us back is not a lack of talent but the refusal to place nation above self.
If Nigeria is to become the country we dream of we must choose a different path. Leadership must begin to measure success by how much suffering it lifts rather than how much power it hoards. Citizens must reject the culture of praising thieves when they come from our tribe. We must abandon the habit of celebrating wealth without questioning its source. Democracy will not thrive if people sell their votes cheaply and then expect miracles from those who buy them.
The future is still open. We can choose to make education our true oil wealth. We can decide to feed ourselves through agriculture instead of importing what our soil can produce. We can demand accountability with a stubborn insistence that refuses to bow to mediocrity.
Independence is not a date on the calendar. It is the daily choice to build a country worthy of dignity. Nigeria at sixty five should not be content with limping forward. It must decide to run. The world is watching but more importantly our children are watching. They deserve a Nigeria that will not break their hearts.
Survival is not the same thing as progress, and endurance is not destiny.
At sixty five, Nigeria is still too old to be crawling and too young to be dying.
We cannot continue to mark time in hardship and call it nationhood.
A flag is not independence; dignity for the people is.
Every government comes with a slogan; the people are still waiting for substance.
Leadership is not measured by how much power you hold but by how much suffering you remove.
Nigeria has never lacked promises; what it lacks is political courage.
A nation cannot rise higher than the honesty of its leaders.
A democracy dies when citizens become spectators.
We cannot curse corruption in public and celebrate it in private.
If you sell your vote, do not expect miracles from those who buy it.
The tribe of the thief should not matter more than the pain of the theft.
Independence is not a date on the calendar; it is the daily choice to build a nation of dignity.
Our children deserve a country that will not break their hearts.
Nigeria has survived too much to settle for crawling, it must decide to run.
The next generation should inherit opportunities, not excuses.
The question before us is simple. Will we continue to mark anniversaries as survivors or will we finally rise as a nation of destiny.
Stephanie Shaakaa
08034861434
