By Emmanuel Philip Tumba

I wrote this piece, not to defend any politician or attack anyone, but to encourage honest reflection about where we are as a nation and the role each of us must play in building the Nigeria we desire.

Please read with an open mind.

BEFORE YOU BLAME THE NEXT PRESIDENT, READ THIS!

Every action has a consequence. The painful truth is that the consequences of bad decisions rarely come immediately. They often arrive years later, when people have forgotten what caused them.

Imagine a man who earns a good salary but lives carelessly. He has a budget but never follows it. He borrows money, not to build a business or invest, but simply to maintain an expensive lifestyle. As long as lenders keep approving his loans, he believes everything is fine.

To everyone around him, he appears successful.

Then one day, the calls begin.

His debts are due. His income is no longer enough. The same lenders who once trusted him now demand repayment. Suddenly, life becomes difficult.

Was that difficult day the real problem?

No.

The real problem was years of careless spending, poor planning, and failure to prepare for the future.

Nigeria’s story is not very different.

For decades, long before 1999 and continuing through successive administrations, Nigeria enjoyed periods of significant national income and had opportunities to build a more diversified economy, strengthen institutions, improve electricity generation and distribution, invest in manufacturing, modernise agriculture, expand critical infrastructure, and reduce dependence on imports. While progress was made in some sectors, many structural challenges remained unresolved, and long-term planning often fell short of what was needed for a rapidly growing population.

Then, on May 29, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.

Soon after, Nigerians faced recession, rising inflation, a weakening naira, increasing fuel prices, unemployment, worsening poverty, and persistent insecurity. Some of these challenges were influenced by decisions taken during that administration, while many others reflected structural weaknesses that had accumulated over decades.

President Buhari made the fight against corruption one of the major priorities of his administration. However, corruption cannot be defeated by one man alone. A corrupt society cannot suddenly become transparent simply because a new president has been elected.

Before Buhari became president, many Nigerians blamed Goodluck Jonathan for almost every national problem. Some criticised him because of his religion. Others spread unproven claims that he was sponsoring Boko Haram to reduce the northern population before the elections.

When Jonathan left office, many believed Nigeria’s problems would disappear overnight.

They didn’t.

Instead, the blame simply shifted to Buhari.

The names changed.

The accusations changed.

But many of the problems remained.

That should teach us something.

No president inherits a perfect country.

Every administration inherits both the achievements and the shortcomings of those before it. Likewise, every administration makes decisions that will affect the governments that come after it.

Borrowing itself is not the problem.

The world’s strongest economies borrow.

The real question is this:

What are you borrowing for?

Borrowing to build roads, power plants, railways, industries, schools, hospitals, and productive businesses can create future prosperity.

Borrowing mainly to sustain consumption without creating enough productive assets places a heavy burden on future generations.

Many young Nigerians may not know this, but there was a time when the naira was stronger than the US dollar.

There was also a time when electricity was considerably more stable than what many communities experience today.

As our population expanded rapidly, our investments did not always keep pace with future demand. The need for electricity, infrastructure, jobs, education, healthcare, housing, and industrial growth increased far more quickly than our preparations.

Today, we are paying for many years of missed opportunities, inconsistent policies, and inadequate long-term planning.

Sadly, instead of confronting the real issues, we have become experts at blaming one another.

Christians blame Muslims.

Muslims blame Christians.

One tribe blames another.

One political party blames the other.

Meanwhile, Nigeria continues to struggle.

We often say our leaders are corrupt.

But have we asked ourselves a difficult question?

If you gathered one hundred Nigerians who complain daily about corruption and gave them ₦1 million to share among themselves, would every one of them act fairly?

Leadership reflects society more than many of us are willing to admit.

Many politicians enter office with good intentions.

Yet after elections, the pressure begins, not necessarily to build schools, hospitals, roads, or create jobs, but to “settle” supporters.

Ironically, when a leader focuses on projects instead of sharing cash, many people conclude that he is doing nothing.

Until we change what we celebrate, we should not expect different results.

Nigeria’s biggest problem is not Islam.

Nigeria’s biggest problem is not Christianity.

Nigeria’s biggest problem is not the Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw, Kanuri, Tiv, or any other ethnic group.

Our biggest problem is our attitude towards public life.

Integrity cannot be demanded only from leaders.

It must also be demanded from ourselves.

There are good and bad people in every religion.

There are good and bad people in every tribe.

There are honest politicians and dishonest politicians.

There are honest citizens and dishonest citizens.

The healing of Nigeria will begin when we stop seeing ourselves first through the lens of tribe and religion and start seeing ourselves as Nigerians with a shared destiny.

Before I end, let me leave you with one question.

Why would a Nigerian manufacture quality shoes here in Nigeria, yet feel compelled to write “Made in Italy” before fellow Nigerians are willing to buy them?

Think deeply about that.

The Nigeria we desire will not be built by blame alone.

It will be built by discipline.

By integrity.

By long-term thinking.

By productive investment.

By accountability.

By patriotism.

And above all, by citizens who are willing to become part of the solution instead of remaining permanent critics.

The change we seek has a price.

It begins with me.

It begins with you.

It begins with all of us.

Emmanuel Philip Tumba
Writes from Adamawa State, Nigeria.