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Nigeria May Soon Become Ungovernable, Mailafia Warns
The former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadaiah Mailafia, has, again, raised the alarm that the nation was drifting towards a failed state, and may soon become ungovernable to the ruling class, if the drift was unchecked.
Mailafia also accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s government of pushing for the Islamisation and Fulanisation of the country.
He spoke during a symposium organized by the Forum for Good Governance of the Towards Revival for All Nations (TRANS 21) at the Reconciliation House in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Speaking on the theme, ‘The Role of the Church in Nation Building’, Mailafia, said that Nigeria can no longer be described as a nation due to the fact that concentration of power was not with the government alone but now also in the hands of some other power blocs.
“Nigeria has been designated as a failed state. We may not say it is a failed state but it is certainly exhibiting the features of a failing state in terms of the kind of violence we are seeing, widespread insecurity, and terrorism, the abuse of humanity, criminality, rape, killing, maiming and destruction.
“We are a failing state, and the solution is nothing other than the need to give birth to a new Nigeria.
“Rival groups control territory. Boko Haram is in control of over half of Niger State, and if they successfully take over Niger, Abuja will be a walkover.
“Government cannot provide security for the people. Nowhere is safe in the country. The forests have been taken over by foreign invaders.
“The economy is collapsing. There is the collapse of the institution. Police, university’s standards are low. Corruption has taken over in the country. What else do we need to say Nigeria is a failed state?”
“In the past, people could ignore that because Olusegun Obasanjo was a fair-minded man and he was a patriot. Umaru Yar’Adua of blessed memory was a fair-minded man and a patriot. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was a fair-minded man and he was a patriot.
“So, people could afford to live with a fraudulent constitution but now today, we are seeing that a fraudulent constitution is in the hands of people who have hidden agendas, who hate our country, who are beholders to Niger Republic, Chad and other foreign countries.”
According to him, “Nigeria has fallen from the grace being the most terrorised nation and the poverty capital of the world after India and Afghanistan.
“Nigeria parades about 90million people who are destitute poor with 50 per cent of the figure from the North, particularly the North-East and West geopolitical zones”.
He said Borno, Zamfara and Yobe accounted for 70 per cent of the figure.
With 20million of children out of school and drug abuse of 80 per cent in Kano State alone, Mailafia said that the situation in the North was getting out of hand.
He lamented that “the official unemployment rate in Nigeria is 33 per cent with youth forming 40 per cent of the figure.
On the Islamisation and Fulanisation of the country, Mailafia said that, “the agenda is ongoing; Islamisation and Fulanisaion of Nigeria. The kind of Islam that is coming from Sahara is dangerous. They want to take over your land and enslave you. Christians must rise to protect it”.
He said about “two million Nigerians have been killed silently in Nigeria in the last few years with the government unable to tackle the menace of Fulani herdsmen, terrorists and bandits.
“In the North-East alone, more than 3,000 churches have been destroyed, more than 400 priests and pastors have been killed. And there is a pattern that is reserved only for Christians, and that is beheading.
“Last year, the CAN chairman of Adamawa was beheaded, even after a ransom was paid. We have been told that the so call bandits, who should not be called bandits because bandits do not bring down military aircraft.
“No bandit has the capacity to bring down military aircraft. No bandit has the power to attack Nigeria Defence Academy, which is the premier institution for the training of armed forces.
“No bandit has the capacity to do that, only terrorists have the capacity to do that.
Mailafia said that “We are being told that these terrorists are part of the insurgency because they did these kidnappings to raise money in order to fund the insurgency.”
Speaking on the fall in the exchange rate of the naira, the financial expert said that “the continued dip of the naira in the foreign exchange market was due to the bad policies of government and the tensions across to the country.
“If we continue the bad policies we are doing and all these geopolitical tensions we are tolerating, it is going to affect the value of the naira and the naira will continue to go down and down into a bottomless pit.
According to him, “This is just a law of science and of economics. If we do the right thing, then we can reverse the trend and the naira will start improving. It is not quantum physics; it is straightforward demand and supply, inflation and natural expectation.”
Mailafia also lamented that the country has fallen from grace by being the most terrorised nation and the poverty capital of the world after India and Afghanistan.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”