The Deep Driver of Nigeria’s Political, Social, and Economic Challenges
The Old Order Is Dead – The New Must Be Born Now
MUSA-ODODO ABDULRAHAMAN
I. WHAT IS A CRISIS OF HEGEMONY?
- Conceptual Definition (Theoretical Clarity)
A Crisis of Hegemony occurs when the ruling ideas, institutions, and leadership class of a society lose moral, intellectual, and political authority, even if they still retain coercive power.
In such a condition:
The ruling elite can no longer lead, only rule.
The people no longer consent, only endure.
Institutions function mechanically, not meaningfully.
The state survives, but the nation fractures.
This concept was rigorously articulated by Antonio Gramsci, who observed that:
“The old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum, a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”
Nigeria is living inside this interregnum.
- Crisis of Hegemony vs Crisis of Government
Nigeria does not merely suffer from:
Bad leadership
Corruption
Weak policies
Electoral malpractice
These are symptoms, not causes.
Nigeria suffers from a hegemonic collapse – the absence of a shared national moral-intellectual leadership that can command legitimacy across ethnic, religious, generational, and class lines.
II. THE TYPICAL NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE OF HEGEMONIC CRISIS
How It Manifests Daily
In Nigeria:
Laws exist, but are not respected.
Elections occur, but do not inspire belief.
The constitution operates, but does not unify.
The economy grows statistically, but impoverishes socially.
Security institutions expand, but fear increases.
This paradox is the hallmark of hegemonic crisis:
formal order without moral authority.
III. THE KEY CHARACTERS IN NIGERIA’S CRISIS OF HEGEMONY
- The Colonial State (Foundational Distortion)
Nigeria was not formed by organic nation-building, but by administrative convenience (1914 amalgamation).
Colonial rule created:
A state without a Nation
An economy of extraction
A governing elite trained to obey, not to lead morally
This implanted a command-state, not a consensual polity.
- The Post-Colonial Elite (Inherited Hegemony Without Legitimacy)
After independence (1960):
Political elites inherited colonial structures, not national consensus.
Power became:
Ethnicized
Regionalized
Militarized
Instead of forging a national hegemonic project, elites competed to capture the state.
Result: Authority without legitimacy.
- The Military (Coercion Replacing Consent)
Military interventions (1966–1999):
Destroyed constitutional continuity
Centralized power violently
Ruled through force, not persuasion
Undermined civil institutions
The military ruled the state, but never led the nation.
This deepened hegemonic decay.
- The Political Class of the Fourth Republic
Since 1999:
Democracy restored procedures, not purpose
Elections became:
Rituals of elite recycling
Not expressions of collective will
Political parties lack:
Ideology
National Purpose & Vision
Moral Authority
Politics became transactional, not transformational.
- The Fragmented Citizenry
The people themselves are now trapped in:
Ethnic survivalism
Religious absolutism
Youth disillusionment
Economic desperation
Without a National Hegemonic Vision, society atomizes.
IV. HISTORICAL PROOF: HOW CRISIS OF HEGEMONY DRIVES NIGERIA’S FAILURES
A. Pre-Independence Era
No shared national identity forged
Political mobilization occurred along ethnic lines
Colonial authorities suppressed ideological nationalism
Independence came without national consensus
B. Early Post-Independence (1960–1966)
Elite rivalry replaced national leadership
Census crises, election violence, regional mistrust
State power used as zero-sum instrument
Collapse into military coup
C. Military Era (1966–1999)
Governance through decree
Absence of civic participation
Economic centralization without productivity
Citizens obeyed but never believed
D. Democratic Era (1999–Present)
Formal democracy without substantive legitimacy
Rising insecurity, poverty, youth exit (japa)
Parallel loyalties stronger than national loyalty
State exists, Nation erodes
V. WHY THIS CRISIS DRIVES POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC FAILURE
- Political Failure
No ideology – No Direction
No legitimacy – No Obedience
No national narrative – Endless instability
- Social Failure
Ethnic and religious identities replace citizenship
Trust collapses
Violence becomes normalized
- Economic Failure
Economy lacks productive national vision
Rent-seeking replaces value creation
Wealth concentrates without legitimacy
No economy can thrive without national cohesion.
VI. HOW CAN THE NEW BE BORN NOW? (THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION)
The New cannot be born by:
Elections alone
Constitutional amendments alone
Military force
External prescriptions
The New Must be Consciously Created and Deliberately Constructed.
VII. THE BIRTH OF THE NEW: A NIGERIAN NATIONAL RENEWAL
- A New National Idea (Foundational)
Nigeria must answer anew:
Why do we exist together?
This requires:
A shared moral narrative
A civic definition of Nigerian identity
A future-oriented national purpose
- Moral-Intellectual Leadership (Not Just Political Power)
True Nationhood begins with:
Thinkers
Educators
Cultural leaders
Ethical statesmen
Before power is seized, ideas must rule.
- Institutional Re-legitimation
Institutions must:
Serve justice visibly
Reward productivity
Punish abuse impartially
Legitimacy grows from consistency, not force.
- Economic Reorientation
From rent to production
From extraction to creation
From exclusion to inclusion
Economic justice is National Cement.
- Civic Re-education of the People
Citizens must be re-formed as:
Rights-bearing
Duty-conscious
Nation-first actors
No Nation survives without popular participation.
VIII. FINAL DECLARATION
Nigeria’s crisis is not accidental.
It is structural, historical, and hegemonic.
The Old Order is Dead because it has:
Lost legitimacy
Lost moral authority
Lost national meaning
The New must be Born – not by violence, not by illusion –
but by a Deliberate Creation of a New National Spirit and Reconceptualization of a New National Ideals.
Without National Consciousness (Spiritual, Philosophical, Mental & Physical) power collapses.
With Renewed National Consciousness, a Nation is REBORN!
Shepherd of Nigerian Divine Destiny
Musa-Ododo Abdulrahaman
Founder, Initiative for Discovery of Nigeria Heritage and Endowment (IDNHE)
Convener, The Conscious Creation of a New Nigeria
Chairman, National Policy Dialogue – a Dialogue with Wisdom.
www.nationalpolicydialogue.org