Nigeria’s Core Problem Is Lack of Nationhood, Not Corruption – Kingsley Moghalu

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and political economist, Kingsley Moghalu, has asserted that the root cause of Nigeria’s longstanding challenges is not corruption, as widely believed, but the absence of nationhood.

In a compelling statement released on Friday, Moghalu said Nigeria remains a territorial state rather than a nation, arguing that without a unifying national identity, the country cannot hope to achieve its true potential.

“There is just one reason why Nigeria has not been able to come close to attaining its potential, let alone attaining it.

“And it’s not, like many believe, corruption. It’s this: Nigeria is not a nation. It’s a territorial state.” Moghalu stated.

According to him, the lack of nationhood fuels corruption and undermines governance, as political elites prioritize power and personal enrichment over delivering public goods.

“It’s the absence of nationhood that feeds the corruption, the focus by the political class on power and primitive accumulation. It’s the absence of nationhood that creates economic stasis because there is no real vision,” he said.

Moghalu criticized the country’s economic structure, describing it as a system designed to serve competing vested interests rather than create wealth for the estimated 220 million citizens.

He argued that nationhood cannot be realized until Nigeria confronts two fundamental issues: the unresolved challenge of state formation, which saw diverse ethnic groups with conflicting worldviews forced into a single political entity; and the lingering wounds of the Nigerian Civil War.

“Nigerian leaders have been cowards over this question, burying their heads in the sand like ostriches, instead of being statesmen and fashioning out a strategy for healing and closure that has yet to happen,” Moghalu noted.

He called for the emergence of a transformative leader akin to Turkey’s Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a visionary capable of inspiring a collective identity that transcends tribal loyalties.

“To restore confidence in the idea of Nigeria, we need leadership that goes beyond tribal affiliations and speaks to a common destiny,” he emphasized.

He cited the words of late Mozambican President Samora Machel: “For the nation to be born and to live, the tribe must die.”