NIGERIA 101
A 6 part SERIES. Yup, that prerequisite course you don't like but need to pass to get the grades
Hey Tribe!
How una dey?
It’s been an interesting few years to be alive. I don’t know about you, but ikegwuru m.
Sigh…
One minute the world is trying to figure out whether AI will replace jobs. The next, it’s wars reshaping global alliances, economies wobbling under inflation, elections redrawing political maps, climate disasters becoming more frequent, and billionaires racing to colonise space while the rest of us are still trying to survive Monday.
The world is moving - fast.
And because it is, everyone suddenly has an opinion about everything.
We analyse America. We dissect China. We compare ourselves to Singapore, Rwanda, the UAE, Canada, and whichever country is trending on X that week. We debate democracy, capitalism, taxation, corruption, and governance with the confidence of seasoned political analysts.
But somewhere in the middle of all that, I realised something quite amusing.
Many of us know more about the politics of other countries than we know about our own.
Ask the average Nigerian how many states we have? Easy.
Ask why we have 36 states? Silence.
Ask who is responsible for fixing a federal road, funding primary healthcare, controlling electricity, or why Abuja isn’t a state... and suddenly everyone starts looking around for someone else to answer.
It’s not because Nigerians aren’t intelligent.
Far from it.
It’s because somewhere along the way, we stopped learning about Nigeria beyond what was necessary to pass an exam. We memorised facts. We crammed civic education. We recited national symbols. Then we graduated, and most of us never looked back.
We lose interest.
Yet every single day, we complain about a system many of us don’t actually understand.
We blame the wrong institutions. We expect the impossible from the wrong offices. We argue passionately without first understanding the architecture of the country we’re arguing about.
And if we’re honest, that’s a dangerous place for any society to be.
Nigeria is often called the Giant of Africa; a title earned through our population, culture, economic influence, entrepreneurial spirit, and sheer ability to shape conversations far beyond our borders. Yet for all our greatness and potential, one of our biggest deficits isn’t intelligence.
It’s civic understanding.
Because a nation isn’t transformed by outrage alone.
It’s transformed when citizens understand how it works, why it was designed that way, and how they can play their parts in improving it.
That’s what Nigeria 101 is about.
Not politics.
Not propaganda.
Not taking sides.
Just understanding.
We’ll start from the absolute basics - What exactly is Nigeria? Why is it called a federation? Why do we have states? Why is Abuja different? Who actually has the power to do what? And as the series unfolds, we’ll explore the institutions, history, policies, and ideas that shape the country we all call home.
Most importantly, we’ll explore ourselves.
Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups, hundreds of languages, countless traditions, and millions of different lived experiences. Too often, our diversity is treated as a burden to manage instead of a strength to understand. But understanding breeds empathy. Empathy builds trust. And trust is the foundation of national cohesion.
Perhaps the Nigeria we dream of doesn’t begin with another slogan or another election.
Perhaps it begins with something much simpler.
Curiosity.
So, whether you’re reading from Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Port Harcourt, London, Toronto, Atlanta, or somewhere else in the world, I hope this series makes you pause, question what you thought you knew, and rediscover the country you’ve always called home.
Because before we can reimagine Nigeria...
we should probably understand it first.
Later today, we’ll share the first part of this series… Stay interested <3