Nigeria. My God!
Let’s be blunt. The question isn’t should Nigeria be harder in 2026, but will it have the courage to be? Each year, the cycle repeats: new promises against an old backdrop of lack. Lack of light, lack of roads, lack of governance that feels tangible in the lives of over 140 million Nigerians the World Bank says live in poverty. While the world advances, Nigeria often feels stuck, scrolling through a global feed it can’t truly access, save for the noise and nonsense of social media.
Will 2026 just be a different calendar hanging on the same wall of frustration?
When should we get our database right? When is it right to carry out a simple census and start working with numbers?
The notion of a sudden return to “normal” is a dangerous fantasy. We haven’t lived in normal times for a generation. Our current reality, a fever dream of political absurdity, where survival often trumps statesmanship, didn’t appear overnight. And with the 2027 elections already casting their long, distorting shadow over 2026, a sudden, principled steering away from chaos seems unlikely. The systems, and many within them, are too invested in the turbulent status quo.
Yet, to only see bleakness is to ignore the iron resilience of the Nigerian spirit. Our challenges, while severe, are not the primordial struggles of ancient history. There is a powerful, collective sense of purpose and a demand for forward momentum pulsing through the nation, from tech hubs and informal networks to community efforts. The belief is that preparation and grit should be rewarded. But will they be?
The hard data presents a stark duality. The Central Bank projects economic growth of 4.49% in 2026, a number that speaks of potential stabilization. Yet, right beside it, the crushing human capital index reveals a child born today will reach only 36% of their potential. This is the Nigerian contradiction: macro-economic figures in a boardroom, micro-economic despair in a household. Growth that doesn’t translate to purchasing power is an abstract concept to a family watching their naira buy less each market day.
This is where the “hardness” must be applied, not on the long-suffering citizens, but on the architecture of governance.
President Tinubu’s pledge of stricter budget discipline isn’t a suggestion; it must be the non-negotiable foundation of 2026. It means saying “no” to political largesse, “no” to opaque contracts, and “yes” to ruthless, transparent fiscal management. This is the essential, unglamorous work of rebuilding trust and creating a stable platform upon which real growth can be built.
The political landscape, however, threatens this discipline. With the ruling party aiming to consolidate control over an estimated 30 states, the efficiency of reform could come at the dire cost of accountability. A “hard” 2026 requires vigorous checks and balances, not a rubber-stamp federation. True toughness is found in robust debate, in a judiciary that stands independent, and in a legislature that scrutinizes, not just applauds.
For the average Nigerian, hardness will continue to be a daily reality of adaptation. Diversifying income through remote work and digital skills isn’t a trend, it’s a necessary shield. Community reliance and micro-entrepreneurship are the pragmatic engines running beneath the sputtering national one. The people are already being hard on themselves out of sheer necessity.
So, can we get it right for once and for all? Not “for all.” That’s too grand. But can 2026 be the year we take one firm, disciplined, and unshakable step in the right direction? Can it be the year we choose the hard path of institutional integrity over the easy chaos of political business-as-usual?
The odds are not in our favor, but they are not zero. 2026 won’t be the year everything becomes easy. But it can, and must, be a year where we are harder on the failures of our systems, harder on the waste of our resources, and harder in our collective demand for a foundation that can finally, one day, support the weight of our aspirations.
The alternative is another year of the same old promises, echoing in the same old hollow spaces. Nigeria’s resilience deserves more. It deserves a start.
