Experts have blamed Nigeria’s governance crisis for the lack of critical thinking among its leaders.
They noted that poor critical thinking culture was affecting policy formulation and implementation across all levels of government in the country, stressing that it was not a surprise the country was not making the desired growth when compared with its peers globally.
The experts stated this at an inaugural webinar organised by the Yaba School of Thought (YSoT) with the theme: “Who is Thinking for Nigeria?”
The event, moderated by Oyinkan Teriba, a prominent YSoT member, brought together leading minds, thinkers, and engaged citizens, spotlighting a growing concern about the nation’s policy direction and governance crisis.
In his lecture, Francis Egbokhare, a professor, who was one of the speakers at the webinar, partly blamed the poor critical thinking culture among Nigeria’s leaders for failure of successive administrations to initiate solutions to the challenges bedevilling the country.
Egbokhare, noted that Nigeria’s problems do not emanate from systemic issues or external factors alone, but also stem from the way leaders approach problem- solving and decision making.
Opening the webinar event, the host, Ogie Eboigbe, noted that the initiative was born from months of intellectual collaboration and a shared desire to influence national discourse positively.
“The Yaba School of Thought project is an initiative aimed at fostering intellectual discourse and generating actionable policy solutions for Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges,” he said.
Eboigbe highlighted Nigeria’s deepening divisions, regional, tribal, and political, and questioned the lack of collective national thinking.
“We have DAWN for the South-West, PANDEF for the South-South, Ohanaeze for the South-East, and Arewa for the North… but who is thinking about and for Nigeria?” he asked pointedly.
He continued, “Nigerians, including those in the diaspora, sometimes find it much easier to be loyal to their smaller units and think first about how their regions will prosper before they think about the larger entity called Nigeria.”
In her opening remark the moderating of the event, Teriba, emphasised the urgency of cohesive national thought amid global transformations.
“Nigeria is at a really precarious point,” she warned. “If we continue to navigate the situation without a compass, effectively we’re setting ourselves up for failure, and that’s a repeated mistake throughout Nigeria’s history.”
The highlight of the evening was a presentation by Richard Ikiebe, board chairman at BusinessDay Nigeria and respected public intellectual.
Speaking on “Why No One is Thinking for Nigeria: A Sociological and Historical Perspective,” Ikiebe challenged the prevailing perception that the country lacks thinkers.
“We’re not saying Nigerians have stopped thinking,” Ikiebe clarified. “But what has happened is that people have developed a habit of thinking in silos.”
He acknowledged the legacy of Nigeria’s past intellectual giants like Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, lamenting that their tradition of holistic national thought has given way to fragmented loyalties and parochial agendas.
“Somebody said to me, you guys are being presumptuous to think that nobody is thinking for Nigeria. We never said that. We’re just surprised we cannot see the evidence.”
Drawing comparisons with rapidly developing societies like China and the UAE, Ikiebe argued that visible national progress is often the result of clear, coherent thinking.
“If you go to Dubai or Chinese cities, you see what they’ve done in 20 or 30 years. Development doesn’t mean high rises alone, but where is the evidence that Nigeria has had a systematic, foundational thinking process since 1960?”
Ikiebe also reflected on Africa’s pre-colonial intellectual traditions, reminding participants that, “Before the Berlin Conference of 1885, Africans were thinkers. They had systematic approaches to governance, agriculture, law, and medicine.”
Referencing indigenous concepts of wisdom, he observed: “The Yorubas have what they call Imo. The Igbos call it Amahiehe.
“The Hausa call it Ilimi. It’s knowledge beyond knowledge, intelligence and wisdom all rolled into one. That is what we are missing.”
YSoT says it will continue to host conversations and publish thought-provoking articles aimed at bridging the gap between Nigeria’s intellectual class and its policymakers.
