Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has issued a strong warning about Nigeria’s future, declaring that the country may be “doomed” if it continues on its current path of corruption, poor leadership and weak institutions.
In a post on his X account on Friday, Okutepa said Nigeria has suffered from “retrogressive and corruption-infested leadership” since independence in 1960, arguing that this has crippled meaningful development despite the country’s vast natural resources.
“Nigeria in my humble view is doomed with the kind of retrogressive and corrupt-infested leadership it has had the misfortune to have had since independence in 1960,” Okutepa said. “The citizens are not free from blame and are not united against the common enemy of the people.”
He identified corrupt leaders and a culture of impunity as the “common enemy” of Nigerians, accusing successive governments of prioritising personal interests over the welfare of the people.
“These leaders, whom I prefer to call rulers, have over the years destroyed the basic fabric and foundations of meaningful development and economic growth of Nigeria, despite the huge natural resources God has given to us,” he said.
Drawing a comparison with the United Arab Emirates, Okutepa noted that Nigeria earned more from oil revenues than the UAE from the early 1970s but failed to translate that wealth into development.
“Nigeria made so much money in oil than the United Arab Emirates, yet good leadership and good citizens transformed the UAE into investment and tourist destinations,” he said, adding pointedly, “What about Nigeria? What we have nurtured and grown are bandits and political thugs.”
The senior lawyer lamented what he described as the collapse of democratic ideals, arguing that elections no longer reflect the will of the people and that governance systems across sectors have broken down.
“Democracy is not a product of the votes of the people,” he said. “Those of us who live in Nigeria can give eyewitness accounts of the hell on earth in terms of decay and non-functioning systems in all areas.”
He singled out the health sector as an example, recalling that former President Muhammadu Buhari once described Nigeria’s hospitals as “mere consulting clinics” in 1983.
“Yet for eight years, this same Buhari was in power as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” Okutepa said.
On the justice system, Okutepa accused Nigeria of shielding those who should face punishment, while allowing injustice to flourish.
“Those who deserve to be in jail are not in jail; in most cases, they are in power making laws and violating laws, and nothing happens to them,” he said.
He further alleged that the legal profession itself has been compromised.
“Most of those who should not be in the legal profession are not only in the profession, they wield so much power and influence that they are proud consultants in the pollution of the streams of justice,” Okutepa said.
Addressing claims of selective justice, the senior advocate dismissed the argument, insisting that justice in Nigeria has always been applied selectively.
“Has there been any time in Nigeria when justice was not selectively served and applied?” he asked. “If true justice is to apply in Nigeria, only an infinitesimal number of Nigerians will survive the rigours of strict application of justice.”
Okutepa also criticised Nigerians for tolerating unexplained wealth and celebrating individuals he described as thieves.
“How did we as a people allow the primitive acquisition of unexplained wealth by those who have no visible means of income other than crude accumulation of power?” he queried. “We must stop celebrating thieves and evil men and women who have stolen the future and growth of Nigeria.”
He accused public officials and institutions of hypocrisy, noting that those who preach righteousness often act in direct contradiction to their words.
“Those who dish out injustice in judgments know that what they dish out is injustice, but they still do it because there are no consequences,” he said.
Okutepa also pointed to what he described as contradictions in Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
“Today, we claim that the Nigerian Constitution is supreme, yet when it matters most, politicians violate the same constitution in the name of defending it,” he said.
He concluded with a call for collective action, warning that Nigeria is approaching a dangerous tipping point.
“For me, we need to come together to make Nigeria great by doing what is rational and correct,” Okutepa said. “The way we are going, Nigeria in my view may be doomed. We are getting to a boiling point. The signs are there for even the blind to see.”
