Nigeria-a Nation failing its citizens

By Stacey Ukaobasi TACEY

For a long time, Nigeria has been trapped in a cycle of insecurity, fear, and corruption. Terrorists negotiate freely with politicians; they storm classrooms, abduct schoolgirls, and take them into the forest to do unimaginable things to them. Some of these girls escape — often with children born from their captors — while the rest never make it out alive. Their voices are silenced forever, their dreams buried in shallow graves deep in the forests.

The world once cried out for the Chibok girls, but that cry faded. Many of them are still missing. Some returned as mothers of the very men who destroyed their innocence. Others were never found, becoming nameless victims of a system that moves on too quickly. These girls symbolize the forgotten pain of thousands of Nigerian children abducted, abused, and abandoned while their government negotiates with their oppressors and calls it “peace”

Bandits roam freely across the country, protected by silence and political complicity. Christians in the north are slaughtered in their homes, children and pregnant women butchered like animals, churches, and schools burned down. Nowhere feels safe anymore not classrooms, not highways, not even churches and it this is not new.The Fulani herdsmen have taken over the roads, kidnapping travelers, demanding ransom, and still killing their victims even after payments are made. Mothers are murdered on their farms, and their children left to fend for themselves. To make matters worse, the gang of kidnappers have a way to add human organ harvesting as part of their assignments. The question to be asked is who are the patrons of these human organ harvesters and armed kidnappers? How did these semi-illiterates able to carry out surgical operations on their victims who couldn’t meet up with their ransome demands, or do they work closely with some surgeons?

Yet the politicians do not care. Their children are safely studying abroad, funded by looted national wealth hidden in foreign accounts. They live far removed from the pain, fear, and hunger of ordinary Nigerians. When the president of the united states recently spoke about bandits, their reaction was that he wanted to come for their “resources”— the very resources that have never benefited the citizens.

While these bandits are protected, activists are locked up.
One of the most prominent examples is Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). He spoke out fearlessly about injustice, marginalization, and the growing insecurity in the southeastern region and across Nigeria. He questioned the government’s silence on killings, kidnappings, and the systemic neglect of his people. His voice became a rallying cry for millions who felt forgotten — the poor, the oppressed, and the silence.

But instead of listening to his message, they chose to make him a prisoner. He has been detained for years without access to a fair trial or his lawyers, despite court rulings ordering his release. His case is no longer just about Biafra — it is about freedom of speech, about the right to question authority without being branded a criminal.In Nigeria today, telling the truth has become a crime. Those who destroy lives walk free, while those who demand justice are thrown behind bars.

Even religious leaders have become afraid to speak. Many of them tread carefully, fearful that one wrong word could make them the next target. The killings, the kidnappings, the destruction — much of it never makes it to the media. Countless massacres are buried in silence because showing the truth would expose the magnitude of the nation’s rot. The media is either censored, threatened, or paid to look away.

Meanwhile, the poor masses continue to suffer. Families can not afford three square meals. How can a child focus in class when hunger and fear are constant companions? Countless children are displaced, their parents killed, their futures stolen, and yet, our leaders boldly claim that Nigeria is not a country of concern.

Unemployment has driven the youth into despair. Young men do whatever it takes to survive. Young girls are pushed into prostitution, not out of desire, but out of hunger and hopelessness.

Even worse, the same men in power those meant to protect the people are often the predators. They encourage and practice child marriage, using money and influence to silence families. I once had a neighbour in Abuja who would let a powerful man come pick up her 16-year-old daughter. He gave them money-alot of it. Years later, this same man married a 16-year-old actress. It makes you wonder what it is about underage girls that attracts men like this?

When these girls try to escape the marriage, they are threatened, their families intimidated, and some of their families are even arrested until the girls return to the marriage. This cycle happens every day in Nigeria “pedophiles in power preying on innocent children while hiding under the cover of tradition and wealth.

In Nigeria, there is no real law protecting the child. How can there be when those in charge of enforcing the law are the very ones violating it? The practice of child marriage continues openly because the same people in government are the beneficiaries.

Now, hopelessness has reached its peak. Many Nigerians dream only of leaving the country,a desperate escape they call “japa”For those lucky enough to get a visa, it’s not about luxury or comfort; it’s survival. They leave because they see no solid future in a nation that has failed to protect its own. But countless others are denied visas and forced to stay behind, trapped in a system that crushes ambition, talent, and hope.

THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD RESTORE HOPE BY PROTECTING THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE.

It doesn’t have to stay this way. Nigeria can still be rebuilt but not by words by action.
1. Justice and Accountability-
Those responsible for killings, abductions, and abuse of power must face justice, no matter their title or position. Selective silence must end. Activists and truth-tellers like Nnamdi Kanu deserve fair treatment, not indefinite detention. Freedom of speech must never be treated as rebellion.
2. Child Protection Laws:
Nigeria must enforce a national ban on child marriage and pedophilia, with clear penalties for offenders — no matter how influential. The Child Rights Act must be fully implemented across all states, with dedicated agencies to monitor and prosecute violators.
3. Security and Truth:
The military and police must be depoliticized. Security agencies should protect citizens, not intimidate them. Religious and community leaders must regain their courage to speak, and the media must tell the truth, no matter the cost.
4. Education and Rehabilitation:
Every rescued child especially abducted girls – deserves trauma care, education, and reintegration. Schools must once again be safe spaces, not hunting grounds, for terrorists.
5. Empowering the Youth:
Job creation, skill development, and youth empowerment programs are the only way to restore hope. No young person should have to only JAPA to find safety or dignity.
6. Global Attention:
The international community must not look away. Global organizations and human rights bodies should pressure Nigeria’s leaders to uphold justice, protect citizens, and end the persecution of children, activists, and journalists.

Until Nigeria learns to protect its children, it can not protect its future.
Until the government stops silencing truth tellers and starts confronting the real enemies of the people, the country will remain enslaved by fear and corruption.

A nation that can not keep its daughters safe, feed its children, or listen to its youth has already lost its soul. But it is not too late if we rise together to defend what still remains.
OUR HUMANITY,OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FUTURE.

Stacey Ukaobasi is a Nigerian based in the USA. She is the founder of the FORUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS PROMOTION, NIGERIA.