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Published 21 February 2021
It is now axiomatic that Nigeria embodies fundamental contradictions that define the extent of her predicament. This predicament is a multidimensional one that revolves around the inability of Nigeria to make developmental headway of her existence since 1960. For 61 years of statehood, Nigeria has yet to make headway with her development in spite of her immense natural resources. The Nigerian state is demographically youthful in a continent that is itself in its demographic stage of youthfulness. And yet, Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate is one of the highest on the continent. And finally, Nigerians constitute one of the highest-achieving ethnic groups around the world, and the most educationally distinguished, for instance, in the United States. And yet, this does not translate into any significant human capital dynamic for the Nigerian state.