That Nigerians may simply live: A cry for renewed hope! With high unemployment, underemployment, infant and maternal mortality rates, insecurity, banditry, killings and kidnappings that have taken over communities, ravaging lives, livelihoods, and abject poverty, for most Nigerians, long and fulfilled lives will remain an illusion… As a Redeemed Christian Pastor, I implore the First Lady to be ‘that light’ of Christ, to illumine the President’s path that he may see. Do not allow those who have ingrained ‘praise singing’ into their DNA to becloud his vision. So that, like the blind Bartimaeus whose eyes were opened, he may see. Perhaps, that will help him to live simply, so that Nigerians can simply live, hopefully, in the embrace and enclave of ‘renewed hope.’
By Elsie-Bernadette Onubogu
September 21, 2025 was a special day for the occupants of Aso Rock as the wife of Nigeria’s President Tinubu – former Senator Oluremi Tinubu – marked her sixty-fifth birthday on earth. It was a day of joy – rightly so for the Tinubu family, who share an enviable inter-faith marriage. The President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Oluremi’s husband, could not have missed this day. Gott sei Dank, the president was in Nigeria to mark this happy occasion.
Through his official ‘X’ handle, President Tinubu poured encomiums on Nigeria’s First Lady, whom he described as ‘a pillar of strength and a steadying anchor through the years.’ Tinubu’s words were personal, touching and can be classified as heartfelt and expected.
As a Nigerian who values life, I want to join Mr. President in wishing his wife a happy belated birthday and many more years on God’s earth. I was struck by a few lines of the President’s wishes.
Ab initio, let me say, my reference to the inter-faith marriage of the Tinubus stems from a deeply held belief in ecumenism — a principle I know the President shares, as reflected in his marriage to a Christian, as well as his presence at the inauguration of the Catholic Pontiff – Pope Leo XIV. I will return to this below.
Mr. President’s words of how ‘the First Lady’s service, warmth and empathy continues to touch millions of lives across our land’ gave me goose bumps, as this reminded me of a modern-day Saint of Calcutta. Saint Mother Teresa’s words “Live simply so that people can simply live” suddenly filled my thoughts.
So, in the words of this charming woman of our time whose services transcended space, gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity, class and status, I urge the First Lady to ask the President to live simply, so that Nigerians may simply live.
As I began writing this plea for ‘living simply,’ it seemed heaven-sent if not prophetic (marked apologies to the “anointed”), that Pope Leo XIV, through his official X handle @Pontifex on the same day – September 21, offered the following prayer: “Let us #PrayTogether that the leaders of nations may be free from the temptation to use wealth against humanity, turning it into weapons that destroy peoples and monopolies that demean workers. Whoever serves God becomes free from wealth, but whoever serves wealth remains its slave! Whoever seeks justice transforms wealth into the common good; whoever seeks domination transforms the common good into the prey of their own greed.”
Mrs. Tinubu, as his counsellor, I suggest you ask Mr. President to examine life and living in Nigeria presently. It is imperative that he does so, for as Socrates cautioned, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Through such examination, Mr. President will be able to confirm if life in Nigeria (for most) can be said to be worth living.
He may well get a picture of whether Nigerians can live long and fulfilled lives – a wish he expressed for his wife. So that, as Pope Leo XIV prayed, the President does not fall into the temptation of turning Nigeria’s wealth as weapon to destroy the people. Rather, the President will transform Nigeria’s wealth into the common good.
As the President’s tributes continued, the following lines stood out:
- You are more than my wife, you are my confidant, Counsellor, and the steady flame illuminating my path
- Wishing her joy and fulfillment in the years ahead
- Nigeria “owes” you more than many will ever know
I would like to explore these lines, and in doing so, send a citizen’s message to Nigeria’s First Lady – indeed, a cry for ‘renewed hope.’ First, let me reiterate my good wishes to the First Lady, and ask her to sincerely examine present living and life in Nigeria.
On the first bullet point, the President’s admission that his wife was his counsellor and the steady flame that illuminates his path, jolted me. What a gateway of blessing! I urge Mrs. Tinubu, to seize the moment – as his counsellor and the flame that illuminates his path, to, as a matter of urgency, illumine his path that he may see, and discover that:
– There is great suffering in the land, and the people of Nigeria are dying every day from hunger and hardship;
– The level of insecurity, banditry, kidnappings, and killings in Nigeria is unacceptable;
– Hospitals – particularly government owned (where they exist) lack basic facilities, and have literally become mortuaries for the living. And even in that state, they are unaffordable;
– In 2023, UNICEF reported that Nigeria accounted for well over a quarter – 29% – of all maternal deaths worldwide, and this translates to 75,000 maternal deaths per year – an average of one death every 7 minutes;
– Many children lack access to basic education including because of inability of parents to pay school fees, and, out-of-school children as of 2024 stands at 18.3 million, primary level rate – 28%, secondary level – 41%, and poverty is a major factor. www.unicef.org
– Nigerian roads which are non-motorable have become ‘death traps’ where bandits and kidnappers operate with no iota of fear or apprehension;
– There is abject poverty in the land, families – many who earn less than ₦1,000 a day – including those on minimum wage of ₦70,000, cannot afford a meal a day. Yet, they buy foodstuffs from the same markets that NASS members whose average monthly take home pay is about ₦14 million or bank executives who declare annual dividends in billions of Naira also buy;
– The gulf between the rich and the poor is widening greatly and the disappearance of the middle class is worrisome;
– These are just the tip of the iceberg of the challenging environment, which will not allow Nigerians to live, neither long nor fulfilled lives.
In June, several newspapers reported that the Presidency spent over ₦23 billion on foreign exchange for 2024 international trips covering the President, First Lady, Vice President and a few government officials. It was a 23% increase from the ₦18.63 billion recorded in 2023.
READ ALSO: The pandemic of idiocy: Why I keep breaking my oath of silence on Nigeria
Sycophancy: Nigeria’s poisonous apple
How did we get here? Consequences of a collective betrayal
The company Payscale, averages the annual salary of a teacher in Nigeria at ₦500,000. Upon calculation, it revealed that ₦23 billion will cover a year’s salary for 46,000 Secondary school teachers. The above cannot be ‘living simply’ – in a country where inflation rate is at an all-time high of 21.8%, and teachers amongst other public servants are owed salaries for months if not years.
In a country where University Professors cannot even afford to purchase petrol since the removal of subsidy, it smirks of ostentatiousness, vulgarity, and perchance – cluelessness. I doubt the President will choose to live ostentatiously. So, he truly needs your illumination as it appears he may be unaware of the suffering in the land.
Like the First Lady, if the President wishes joy and fulfillment for all Nigerians, he must work to change the above narratives.
He can do this by living ‘simply’ as Saint Mother Teresa charges us, so that Nigerians can simply live. If he does so, others in his administration will follow suit. As former US President Bill Clinton noted, “We must lead by the power of our example, and not by the example of our power.” In the language of the not-too-distant past, Mr. President – ‘let the poor breathe.’
Secondly, the President’s words that Nigerians owe the First Lady more than many will ever know – hit me like a thunder bolt. On face value, to “owe” refers to a debt. It signifies something real and quantifiable. As I contemplated over the word, I couldn’t help but wonder: was Mr. President referring to an actual debt or was this merely a figure of speech – a metaphor?
Frankly speaking, in the present moment, where Nigeria staggers with borrowing, where the Debt Management Office (DMO) places her external debt around $45.87 in the first quarter of 2025, a great soar from the year 2024, I doubled up my prayers, and asked God to ensure Mr. President’s use of the word “owe” was metaphorical – and not a financial forecast that will drive Nigeria’s internal and external debt further up. I prayed the famous Nigerian prayer – it’s not our portion.’ Still in prayer, I urge every concerned Nigerian, in particular, the anointed pastors and General Overseers to join me in prayer.
In contemplation, I thought how nice (as Mr. President did for the First Lady) it would be that through the President’s efforts, interventions and presidential duties, Nigerians will be given the opportunity to live long and fulfilled lives.
Tragically, the average life span in Nigeria is placed at 54.8 years – described as one of the lowest in the world.
For a country blessed with abundance of human and natural resources, a country once described as ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ this is unacceptable and despairing – our hopes deserve to be renewed.
The data/indicator is bleak. At prevailing conditions and rate, it is doubtful that Nigerians will enjoy long and fulfilled lives.
With high unemployment, underemployment, infant and maternal mortality rates, insecurity, banditry, killings and kidnappings that have taken over communities, ravaging lives, livelihoods, and abject poverty, for most Nigerians, long and fulfilled lives will remain an illusion.
As I conclude this cry for hope, allow me to return briefly to my support of ecumenism. In Christianity, illumination signifies light. As a Redeemed Christian Pastor, I implore the First Lady to be ‘that light’ of Christ, to illumine the President’s path that he may see.
Do not allow those who have ingrained ‘praise singing’ into their DNA to becloud his vision. So that, like the blind Bartimaeus whose eyes were opened, he may see. Perhaps, that will help him to live simply, so that Nigerians can simply live, hopefully, in the embrace and enclave of ‘renewed hope.’
