Briggs laments Nigeria’s poor development since independence

Human rights activist and political commentator Ann-Kio Briggs has expressed disappointment over Nigeria’s level of development, saying the country has failed to live up to expectations since gaining independence in 1960.

Speaking on ARISE News Night on Wednesday, Briggs said Nigeria’s potential had been squandered through years of poor leadership and wrong choices.

“From 1960 till now, we should have done far, far better,” she said.

“We hear that Dubai once came to borrow money from Nigeria when they discovered oil. I am ashamed to say the story is that we drove Dubai away because we didn’t believe they could pay us back. Look at Dubai today and look at Nigeria.”

Briggs recalled a historical anecdote about Dubai’s early years, lamenting how Nigeria failed to manage its own oil wealth wisely.

“Dubai hosts the tallest buildings; architecturally, they are fantastic. In every way you look at it, in development, in investment, they’re investing all over the world. I would be surprised if Dubai’s money is not in Nigeria,” she added.

Briggs attributed Nigeria’s underdevelopment to poor leadership and misplaced priorities over the decades.

We have had the wrong people in places of power, authority, and governance,” she said.

As long as we continue to repeat having these people who do not know how to govern and how to develop the country, I’m afraid that with all the work that people like me do, we just end up talking about what is wrong in Nigeria,” she said.

She added that true patriotism lies in accepting the truth about the nation’s failures, not in pretending that everything is fine.

“You see, the thing is, I believe that if you want to make changes, you have to accept the truth. It doesn’t make you any less patriotic as a Nigerian if you actually can accept that something has gone terribly wrong in Nigeria,” she said

The activist, who hails from the Niger Delta region, said the region had continued to “scream for development and better governance” since independence.

Earlier in the programme, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, shared similar sentiments, lamenting Nigeria’s tendency to avoid honest national reflection.

“Unfortunately, we have a country that doesn’t like to confront the truth. We live by ‘forgive and forget’. We bury the hatchet with its handle still visible,” he said.

Both speakers reflected on Nigeria’s missed opportunities, comparing its early post-independence promise to countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates that have since surpassed it in development and global relevance.

The conversation formed part of ARISE News’ special Independence Day reflections, assessing Nigeria’s journey 65 years after independence.