Black October: How Tinubu’s Nigeria Turned Independence Day Into A Day Of Mourning
By TIMOTHY HAGGERTY-NWOKOLO
INDEPENDENCE anniversaries are usually moments of pride, reflection, and renewed hope. But in Nigeria, 1st of October has become a cruel reminder of promises betrayed and futures stolen. Sixty-five years after the Union Jack was lowered, the green-and-white flag flutters not in triumph but in torment.
Today, Nigeria is Poor, Hungry, and Diseased (PhD)—a doctorate in dysfunction earned through decades of failed leadership. The tragic irony? A nation brimming with resources, talent, and possibilities now limps like a war-torn country without a declared war.
The Wages of Incompetence
Under President Bola Tinubu, the rot has deepened. His so-called economic reforms are voodoo prescriptions that have pushed millions into acute poverty. Inflation has devoured wages, currency notes have lost their value, and hunger stalks the streets. In Lagos, apprentices break their backs all day, only to survive on garri soaked in water. This is not survival; it is national humiliation.
Bill Gates, no stranger to philanthropy in Africa, recently wept for Nigeria’s children. In northern Nigeria, a child’s chance of survival past age five is just 85 percent. Government neglect makes malnutrition, not malaria, the most ruthless killer. Yet, leadership offers no urgency—only empty slogans and foreign junkets.
A Nation Held Hostage by Corruption
Corruption under Tinubu has reached what former President Olusegun Obasanjo once called “perverse levels.” Oil remains Nigeria’s lifeline, but it has been hijacked by private cartels while ordinary Nigerians pay the highest price for fuel. The much-celebrated Dangote Refinery, a once-in-a-lifetime national asset, is already under threat from vested interests.
Taxation bleeds citizens dry, yet nothing returns to the people. Public debt balloons, but infrastructure decays. Nigeria, once Africa’s largest economy, is now tumbling out of the top four.
Independence or National Farce?
At 65, Nigeria resembles a broken society where anything goes and nothing works. Leaders avoid accountability: the First Lady raises billions for vanity projects; the President skips the UN General Assembly, hiding his frailties behind medical trips and excuses. Bandits terrorize towns with impunity while the state watches haplessly.
Independence was meant to be liberation. Instead, it has become enslavement to incompetence and greed. 1st of October no longer marks freedom—it marks failure.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s tragedy is not just in its history but in its present misrule. Under Tinubu, Independence Day has become Black October—a dark, dark anniversary. Until leadership rises above selfishness and corruption, 1st of October will remain less a celebration and more a dirge.
