Why Nigeria is not Working: The Predicament and the Promise

A political masterpiece, Why Nigeria is not Working, provides a clinical explanation for the dismal political, social and economic fortune that has become the fate of Africa’s most populous nation since the fall of the First Republic. Based on an in-depth research, focused group discussions, conversations with stakeholders, experts, politicians, clergymen, leading scholars in the fields of politics and political economy in Nigeria, this book provides a fresh prism through which the Nigerian malaise can be better understood and addressed. Nigeria as it turns out, is not cursed; Nigeria is only held down by greed and the inability of her leaders to manage her mineral wealth. Without understanding how this wealth and the political power that makes it accessible have been monopolized and manipulated by greedy elites, it is impossible to explain how Nigeria, despite tremendous potentials and talents, has remained a nation of unfulfilled greatness, a nation that is increasingly a terrorist fringe, and an unfolding theatre of mass illiteracy and chaos. Paul Irikefe provides an evolution of Nigeria’s political development at a glance, discusses her predicament, and examines the dynamics of the country as a dysfunctional state. In all, one cannot but agree with him: “We need the right institutions, formal and informal, that would guarantee a self-correcting process, a Darwinian society that people are motivated to do the right things because they will get rewarded, and avoid the wrong things, because they will get punished. That would be the greatest legacy of any government in power—not “Seven-Point Agenda,” and certainly not any “Transformation Agenda” without deep political reforms. We need strong institutions, not strong men, or benevolent authoritarian leadership.” At a time of intense debates and national conversations about the future and destiny of this nation of great people, this book is a great service, and a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the underlying logic of failure in much of Sub-Sahara African region.