An estimated 65 percent of Nigerians live in poverty, according to BusinessDay, in a country with proven reserves of about 37.01 billion barrels of crude oil and condensate and 215.19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The newspaper calls the gap between those two facts one of Nigeria’s greatest paradoxes.
The country also has gold, limestone, tin, iron ore and other minerals, and a population of over 200 million. More than 60 percent of Nigerians are under 35. Economists often call a population this young a demographic dividend, a base for industry and growth. Yet millions are unemployed or underemployed, and inflation and rising costs keep eating into household incomes.
Violence and its cost
Banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and communal violence have spread across several regions. Weeks ago, armed attackers stormed three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and abducted 40 pupils, some as young as two, along with teachers. One teacher was killed in the attack, BusinessDay reports, and another was beheaded in a video that circulated online.
SBM Intelligence recorded 4,326 insecurity-related incidents in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
Farmers in parts of the north and center struggle to reach their land because of the threat, and BusinessDay links that to food shortages and higher prices.
In a separate opinion piece, Confidence Chidiebere Onyebuzor lists Boko Haram activity, banditry, kidnapping, Fulani herder conflict, political violence and attacks by unknown gunmen as among the most serious problems facing the country. He traces kidnapping to weak law enforcement, political instability, poverty, unemployment and bad governance, and says victims now include students, farmers, business people and religious leaders. Families, he writes, face emotional trauma and financial hardship while trying to win their relatives’ release, and some victims die.
Corruption and weak services
Onyebuzor argues that corruption feeds the insecurity. Money meant for infrastructure, healthcare, education and security is mismanaged or used for personal gain, he says, which leaves security agencies short of equipment, training and resources.
BusinessDay points to the same pattern in daily life. Roads are in poor condition, power is unreliable, hospitals are overstretched and public schools are underfunded. In the latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, Nigeria ranked 142nd globally. In the 2026 ranking of Africa’s best-performing countries from Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report, which used 24 indicators across governance, influence and innovation, Nigeria placed fifth, behind South Africa, Mauritius, Namibia and Morocco.
Illegal mining, the paper adds, has flourished in several states, with organized criminal networks and cartels taking mineral wealth and leaving host communities with environmental damage.
Jobs and the exodus abroad
Onyebuzor writes that thousands of graduates leave school each year without enough jobs to absorb them, and that some frustrated young people turn to drugs, kidnapping and armed robbery.
Many choose to leave instead. BusinessDay says nearly 3.7 million Nigerians left the country within a recent two-year period. An Afrobarometer survey found that 56 percent have considered emigrating, up from 36 percent in 2017. Some graduates take work as care workers, cleaners or factory hands abroad.
Health care has taken the hardest hit. More than 4,691 Nigerian doctors moved to the United Kingdom within 24 months, and over 15,692 Nigerian-trained doctors now practice there. That makes Nigeria the second-largest source of foreign doctors in Britain’s health system, after India.
What the writers propose
Onyebuzor calls on the government to create jobs through industrialization, invest in education and vocational training, give financial support to young entrepreneurs and improve training, equipment and pay for security forces. He also wants community, traditional and religious leaders to work with security agencies.
BusinessDay quotes no single remedy but says experts want accountable leadership, stronger institutions, effective anti-corruption measures, better security and investment in education, healthcare and infrastructure.
Sources
- How misgovernance, corruption, insecurity are undermining Nigeria’s economic potential
- Insecurity, Corruption, And Poverty In Nigeria -By Confidence Chidiebere Onyebuzor
