By Dr Emmanuel Okoroafor
Sixty-five years after the Union Jack was lowered and our green-white-green flag was hoisted, Nigerians must ask: what exactly have we achieved with independence?
We are the most populous Black nation on earth, blessed with oil, gas, fertile soil, and some of the brightest minds on the continent. Yet, we import fuel while exporting crude, import rice while farmlands rot, import even pencils while our forests stand idle. If sovereignty means the power to control one’s destiny, then our independence has too often been a mirage.
Today’s wars are not only fought with tanks and bullets. They are waged with sanctions, cyberattacks, disinformation, and economic blockades. Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine—these conflicts show us the new battlefield. And Nigeria is woefully unprepared. Without economic sovereignty, defense sovereignty, border sovereignty, political sovereignty, and legal sovereignty, we remain vulnerable to external manipulation and internal collapse.
This is not a call for isolation, but for realism. A sovereign Nigeria must:
- Manufacture and assemble locally, at scale, to create jobs and reduce dependence.
- Guarantee food and energy security, so no foreign power can starve us into submission.
- Develop indigenous arms industries—however crude at first—because no nation is safe if it cannot defend itself.
- Secure our borders against smuggling, terrorism, and illicit flows that drain us daily.
- Treat corruption as economic sabotage, not political theatre. Those who steal from Nigeria steal her sovereignty.
And beyond our borders, Nigeria must lead Africa in unity. Any attack on one African state—military, economic, or diplomatic—must be seen as an attack on all. Unity is our only shield against global partition. Sixty-five years is long enough for excuses. Independence is not about parades, anthems, and nostalgia. It is about whether we can feed ourselves, power ourselves, defend ourselves, govern ourselves, and negotiate with the world on our own terms.If we fail, others will partition us—quietly, subtly—through our economy, our politics, and our institutions. If we succeed, Nigeria will finally earn the right to be called the Giant of Africa, not in empty rhetoric, but in substance.
The question is no longer whether Nigeria is free. The question is whether Nigeria is sovereign.
Dr Emmanuel Okoroafor
Executive Director at Hobart International Limited
