By Segun Adediran
“Weep Not, Child”, written by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, is a poignant novel set in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising against British colonial rule, a theme that resonates with Nigeria’s own struggle for independence. The story revolves around the life of Ngero, a young Gikuyu boy, and his family, as they navigate the harsh realities of colonialism, displacement, and cultural disruption, echoing the experiences of many Nigerian communities.
Through Ngero’s journey, the novel explores themes of identity, culture, and resistance, highlighting the struggles of the Kenyan people, and by extension, the Nigerian people, as they strive to maintain their dignity and way of life in the face of oppression.
Many of us who are still alive today can conveniently relate to Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s counsel. Borrowing from ‘The Sorrows of Satan’ (Marie Corelli), we knew that poverty was not a mere lack of money, but a degrading, “grinding curse” that strips a person of self-respect, leading to resentment and envy. But we wept not because we were hoping against hope. Unlike Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s ‘Weep Not, Child’s early post-colonial days, there was a glimmer of hope to calm us down. Today, the hope is disappearing!
Now, the Child can weep. The Child can weep for the grinding failure of a nation facing dramatic collapse. He can weep for a country where every essential metric of human existence dips, year after year. He can weep because all human development indices are stacked against him. He can weep.
A recent analysis of various global indices reveals a catastrophic pattern: Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and a purported economic engine, is systematically failing its citizens in every conceivable area, from the most fundamental guarantees of safety to the basic promise of a long, healthy life.
The starkest indictment lies in the complete failure of the state’s primary function: guaranteeing security and the rule of law! Weep now, Child for the 253 schoolchildren like you who are still in captivity following a recent mass abduction in Niger State and their 12 teachers.
How does one reconcile the fact that Nigeria, with its military ranked third most powerful in Africa by Global Firepower’s 2025 index, is simultaneously ranked 142nd out of 143 countries in the World Human Rights and Rule of Law Index’s Order and Security sub-index? This is not a lack of might; it is a profound failure of will, strategy, and governance. The state possesses the instruments of force, yet it has demonstrably lost the ability to enforce order. Weep now, Child, weep.
The implications are terrifying: the nation sits at an alarming 8.70 on the Security Threats Index for 2024. For the average Nigerian, this translates into a daily reality of fear, banditry, kidnapping, and insurgent activity. War-torn countries often fare better on global indices; according to the 2023 World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI), Nigeria ranked a dismal 122nd out of 125 nations.
Due to pervasive insecurity, particularly recent abductions, over 11,500 schools in Northern Nigeria have been closed since December 2020, and several states have ordered immediate, indefinite closures in November 2025.
The economic consequences are already devastating. Recent market analysis shows how escalating insecurity is directly undermining investor confidence, causing foreign direct investment (FDI) to crater and capital markets to plunge. When citizens and investors cannot trust the state to protect their lives or assets, capital flees and productivity grinds to a halt.
The failure of governance and law enforcement is now an economic contagion. Compounding this, the structural weaknesses in preventing financial malfeasance are equally apparent, with Nigeria ranked 110th globally for fraud protection in 2025—a clear signal that the system is not merely broken, but structurally permissive of corruption and crime.
You can weep now Child. The most painful casualty in this statistical collapse is the Nigerian citizen. The measure of any country is the quality of life it affords its people, and here, Nigeria has hit rock bottom. The 2025 UN report identifying Nigeria as having the lowest global life expectancy is more than a statistic; it is a national tragedy. It means the system is so dysfunctional—so deficient in healthcare, nutrition, and safety—that a child born today in Lagos or Kano can expect to live a shorter life than almost anywhere else on Earth.
Why won’t you weep? This horrific outcome is mirrored across all human development metrics. The UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) places Nigeria at 157th out of 189 countries, firmly in the category of low human development, despite possessing enormous resource wealth. The Quality of Living Index ranks it 135th out of 199 countries. The World Bank, in its 2021 Human Capital Index, ranked Nigeria as the seventh worst in the world, effectively declaring that the country is mortgaging its future by failing to invest in its youth.
These figures show that the vast resources of the nation are not being channelled into health, education, or infrastructure; instead, they are being lost to incompetence, waste, and theft. The deep inequality is a corrosive agent, with Oxfam reporting Nigeria as the least committed country to reducing inequality in West Africa in 2019. This entrenched disparity means that even when GDP grows, the gains accrue to a tiny, protected elite, while the majority are forced into hardship.
Weep now Child, the 2024 International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Index placed Nigeria 66th out of 67 countries in Economic Performance. Its Government and Business Efficiency rankings were similarly abysmal, at 54th and 58th, respectively. These rankings are not technical footnotes; they are proof that the institutions designed to facilitate commerce, protect investment, and manage public funds are fundamentally inept.
The consequences are felt in the market. The cost-of-living crisis has hit Nigeria as the fifth hardest-hit African country, pushing more citizens into poverty, even as the government struggles to maintain macroeconomic stability. With a GDP per capita ranked 146th out of 191 countries, the economic decline is measurable and relentless. Furthermore, a score of 102nd out of 104 countries on the Good Governance Index confirms that the nation’s problems run deeper than mere policy—they are institutional and structural.
Nigeria is not just struggling; it is dying. It is dying because its staggering military power cannot protect the most vulnerable; it is dying because its economic policy is a blueprint for elite capture, not national wealth creation; and it is dying because its citizens are granted the lowest life expectancy in the world. The Nigerian state is systematically sacrificing the future of its people on the altar of governance failure. Weep now, Child for an uncertain future.
The time for platitudes and promises of “potential” has passed. When the statistical evidence is overwhelming, what remains is an urgent, existential crisis of national competence. Weep now, Child because “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born”. I weep, too!
Adediran writes via olusegunadediran@gmail.com
