Tag: Nigeria

Sir: Across the world, the most transformative innovations that humanity depends on today were not necessarily birthed in university lecture halls. They were pioneered by men and women who, in many cases, had little or no tertiary education, yet their vision, courage, and practical genius reshaped industries and societies.

Unfortunately, Nigeria stands on the opposite side of this reality. Here, academic titles are celebrated far above capacity. Professors and PhD holders are decorated endlessly, but their work rarely translates into innovations that solve pressing national problems.

Nigeria prides itself on having thousands of professors and PhD graduates across diverse fields. Yet, how many of them can point to one ground-breaking innovation after decades of academic life? What most showcase are long lists of journal publications, many of which neither influence policy nor drive industry. These papers often end up gathering dust in university libraries or being recycled as wrappers for street snacks. For a nation that aspires to compete in the global knowledge economy, this is nothing short of embarrassing.

Our tertiary institutions have become factories of research titles rather than engines of innovation. Academic promotion has been reduced to a rat race of publishing papers that contribute little to real-world change. Students write projects that are forgotten the moment they graduate, dissertations that solve no problems, and research that is disconnected from Nigeria’s everyday realities. This obsession with paper qualifications over practical capacity has left the nation trailing in science, technology, and innovation.

It was not always this way. In the 1970s, Nigeria had a shining example in Professor Ayodele Awojobi, a mechanical engineer of global repute. He built the Autonov 1, a car innovation that could run forward and backward with equal efficiency, fitted with dual steering wheels and a revolving driver’s seat. His invention was far ahead of its time. Yet, decades after his death, it lies abandoned, with no meaningful advancement from our tertiary institutions or research bodies. His story reflects Nigeria’s tragedy: we allow brilliance to die with individuals while we glorify hollow titles.

Contrast this with Nigerians who have excelled globally because they operated in environments where innovation is nurtured. Samuel Achilefu, a Nigerian-born scientist, invented cancer-vision goggles, which allow surgeons to see cancer cells during operations. This life-saving technology is now deployed in hospitals abroad. Osato Osemwengie, another Nigerian, works with NASA, contributing to cutting-edge drone technology. Silas Adekunle, a robotics engineer, created MekaMon, the world’s first gaming robot, which was commercialised in partnership with Apple.  Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American footballers, changed sports medicine globally.

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These are Nigerians whose innovations shook the world, yet their breakthroughs were not incubated in Nigeria’s academic system. They had to leave the country or operate outside its suffocating obsession with paper titles. The question is: why can’t Nigeria’s institutions replicate these successes within its own borders?

If Nigeria is serious about national development, then our academic culture must change. Tertiary institutions should not only award degrees but also serve as hubs of innovation. Research must be tied directly to industry, agriculture, health, and technology. Projects should not end in the library shelves but in patents, startups, and solutions that address national problems. Titles should not be conferred merely for publications but for tangible contributions that lead to commercial products, global deployments, and real socio-economic value.

The government, too, must rise to the challenge. It is not enough to fund tertiary institutions for salaries and buildings. Strategic investments in innovation hubs, research grants tied to practical outcomes, and partnerships with industries are urgently needed. The private sector must also play its role by collaborating with academia to scale up inventions into commercial ventures.

At this point, Nigeria must ask itself hard questions. What is the worth of a professor whose knowledge never leaves the classroom? Of what value is a doctorate that cannot improve lives or drive national progress? If our tertiary institutions continue to produce graduates without solutions, then we are breeding intellectual emptiness in ceremonial gowns.

The world is moving at the speed of innovation. Countries that were once on par with Nigeria have raced ahead because they invested in creativity, science, and problem-solving. We cannot afford to remain stuck in the vanity of titles. It is time to celebrate capacity, not empty prestige. Our nation must decide whether it will remain a land of decorated academics or rise as a hub of inventors, innovators, and builders.

The future of Nigeria depends on this choice.

• ‘Kayode Awojobi, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State

• By Ahmed Sule

Despite Nigeria having the largest concentration of Black people in the whole world, there are many Nigerians, both in Diaspora and Nigeria, who serve as mouthpieces of White supremacy. Paradoxically, even though the principal targets of White racism are Blacks, it is not unusual to hear White supremacist talking points one expects to hear from White bigots located in Alaska and London, coming from Black Nigerians residing in Alausa and Lokoja. These Nigerian mouthpieces of express admiration for figures like Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Jordan Peterson, Nick Fuentes, Alex Jones, and Tommy Robinson and quote them like how they quote biblical prophets.

The Nigerian mouthpieces of White supremacy manifest their ideologies in many ways. Some express it in anti-immigrant tones. I cannot count the number of times I have heard my fellow Nigerians complain about how there are too many immigrants in Britain and the USA, even though they don’t seem to realise that they themselves are also immigrants in these countries. One can often see them getting agitated when statistics about boat crossings into the West are announced on TV.

Sometimes, they are proud to express their admiration for Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, for his anti-Islam and anti-immigrant rhetoric, even though half of Nigeria’s population is Muslim and Black and brown people in Britain fear attacks coming from Tommy Robinson’s supporters. Like Badenoch, many oppose multiculturalism, racial justice, diversity, equity, and inclusive schemes.

When Charlie Kirk, the American political activist, was assassinated on September 10, some Nigerians shed more tears than when Ken Saro-Wiwa and Fela Anikulapo Kuti died. They express little sympathy for immigrants drowning while trying to cross over the sea to reach the West, or when Palestinians are blown to pieces. Often, one would hear these Nigerian spokesmen of white supremacists complain about Black and brown politicians occupying high office in the West as they regurgitate the White supremacist talking points about Muslims taking over the West. In response to Rishi Sunak becoming the British Prime Minister, one of my fellow Nigerians said, “This is not right. Can a White man be president in Nigeria?”

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A 2025 Pew Survey revealed that around 79% of Nigerians believed Donald Trump was doing the right thing. Nigerians waving American flags and carrying placards with the “Trump 2020” inscription marched through the streets days before the 2020 US Presidential election. In January, Jamilu Majia threw a big party in Northern Nigeria to celebrate Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States of America. Some may argue that Nigerians love Trump because of his business acumen and his conservative values, however it comes across as self-hate when one considers his reference to African nations as shithole countries, his imposition of tariffs on goods imported from Nigeria to the USA, his travel bans on Nigerians, the deportation of Nigerians and pressure on the Nigerian government to accept deportees from other countries.

One might conclude that this attitude stems from Nigerians being subservient to Whiteness, but nothing can be further from the truth. We Nigerians are proud of our heritage, and we don’t take racial abuse lightly, especially when it comes from White people, whether in Nigeria or in the Diaspora. If this is the case, what are the underlying causes and influences for the prevalence of the Nigerian Mouthpieces of White supremacy?

The legacy of colonialism and slavery is a foundational cause of the supremacy mind-set. The Nigerian mouthpieces of White supremacy who are willing to throw their Black brethren under the bus for White validation can be described as modern-day equivalents of the coastal elites who acted as agents for the slave traders during the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade. In exchange for gifts like gin, guns, mirrors and cheap clothes, the coastal elites organised slave raids to capture people as slaves. When the captured slaves reached America and were sent to the plantations, a certain group of slaves then began to align with the slave masters.

Malcolm X vividly described this trend in his House Negro and Field Negro analogy. According to Malcolm X, the House Negro who ate the crumbs that came from the slave masters’ table felt he had more in common with his enslavers than his fellow Black slaves. Like the good ole Tom who loved her slave master more than herself, the present-day Nigerian mouthpieces of White supremacy love their White masters more than themselves and other Blacks, catching hell from White racism.

In addition to the educational, media, psychological and historical factors influencing the behaviour of the Nigerian Mouthpieces of White Supremacy, another critical factor driving their behaviour is the religious influence. Every Sunday, over 100 million Nigerians go to church to listen to the life-changing message of the Gospel. The ministers of the Gospel play a vital role in Nigeria and are held in very high esteem by their congregation. However, there is a massive influence of the White American evangelical church on the Nigerian church.

Many White American evangelical ministers are spiritual mentors to Nigerian pastors (many who studied in these white American theological colleges). As a result, it is not uncommon to see a Nigerian pastor parrot every word that proceeds out of the mouth of their White spiritual mentors. Unfortunately, instead of these pastors and congregants heeding the message of Apostle Paul by emulating the Berean Christian who examined the Scriptures deeply to ensure that what they learn from their White spiritual mentors is in line with the message of Jesus Christ, they swallow the good, the bad and the ugly teachings.

If our pastors had done a deep dive into the ideology behind the White American evangelical pastors whom they hold in high esteem, they would have realised that some of them preach a form of White supremacist Christianity. Christianity in the West has a long history of being on the wrong side of anti-Black racial justice.

Furthermore, during the Jim Crow era, American White preachers advocated a “segregationist theology.” The Citizens’ Councils, a White supremacist organisation, produced children’s books, which taught that heaven was segregated. The criteria for membership of this organisation were to “Pay $3 a year dues, be White, be a segregationist, be a loyal American, and believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ.”

Some of the American spiritual mentors of our Nigerian pastors harboured this segregationist theology. During the Apartheid regime in South Africa, several American White evangelical pastors sided with the Apartheid government. Jerry Falwell Sr, the founder of Liberty Church, stated that American Christians should not protest South Africa or demand sanctions. He also urged his followers to push for US investment in South Africa, and he called Archbishop Desmond Tutu “A phony, as far as representing the Black people of South Africa.”

Pat Robertson, who many Nigerian Christians loved, was a strong supporter of the White South African government, which he viewed as a counterweight to communism. Kenneth Hagin Jr, who is a spiritual mentor to many Nigerian pastors, once stated that he taught his little children, “We do not date outside of our race, we do not date Black people…. we play with them, go to church with them, go to school with them, we don’t marry them, we don’t date them.”

In the aftermath of the murder of Blacks by police in America, the White evangelical church has been generally silent and indifferent to the pain of Blacks. This contrasts sharply with the church’s response to Charlie Kirk’s death, where we see reflections, vigils, prayers, and worship services. It is also instructive to note that our Nigerian pastors are more comfortable aligning with their White American evangelical pastors instead of Black American pastors.

 White supremacy is a destructive ideology that needs to be dismantled. Throughout the ages, it has been responsible for slavery, eugenics, colonialism, poverty, wars, extermination, trauma, segregation, genocide, cultural erosion, inequality, racism and political instability. One of the most effective tools used by White supremacists is divide and rule. As long as a house is divided, it will not stand. The Nigerian mouthpieces of White supremacy must come to the realisation that, irrespective of how much they align with White supremacy, they will never become White.

• Sule, CFA is a writer. He writes via suleaos@gmail.com