Across social media and digital platforms today, vibrant graphics celebrate our nation’s independence, 65 years since the colonial flag came down, and our own was raised. It marked a moment of triumph, of pride, and of new beginnings. But as we mark another October 1st, a sobering question lingers:

Are we truly independent?

Sixty-five years later, our children are still raised on American, British, and Chinese curricula—an education pipeline that often leads them straight into the arms of foreign nations. Our brightest minds are exported en masse, their potential lost to distant shores.

Our policies, supposedly sovereign, are heavily influenced—if not outright shaped—by Western non-state actors, who serve as consultants embedded deep in our policymaking processes. Whose interests do they really serve?

Our healthcare system is so underfunded and overstretched that those in power routinely bypass it entirely, jetting off to Western hospitals for the kind of care they fail to ensure for the average Nigerian—many of whom may never even see the inside of an airport, let alone fly abroad.

Our economy still leans heavily on foreign exchange. Our universities are underfunded, pushing the elite to send their children abroad while local institutions wither. Our research sector survives largely on donor funding, which comes with policy prescriptions that often undermine our local realities.

We have abandoned our indigenous seeds and embraced patented hybrids and genetically modified organisms—designed not for self-sufficiency but dependency. Our farmers are no longer masters of their fields but consumers in someone else’s supply chain.

We continue to pursue international loans tied to conditions that mandate the adoption of Western ideologies and economic models, often ill-suited for our unique context. Our media landscape remains dominated by Western narratives, echoed by our own journalists, shaping how the world sees us—and how we see ourselves.

We extract our minerals, but the profits go abroad. Our youth remain unemployed, their future mortgaged for resources powering industries they may never work in.

Our technocrats, often foreign-trained, craft policies that curry favor with global institutions rather than confront local needs. Our agricultural systems are increasingly dictated by multinational agribusinesses. We import what we can grow and neglect what we can create. Our middle class is being drained—strangled by inflation, economic insecurity, and the relentless lure of migration.

Are we independent?

We mark our sovereignty every year, but sovereignty is not simply the absence of colonial rulers. It is not the hoisting of a flag or the singing of an anthem.

True independence is the ability to feed ourselves, heal ourselves, educate ourselves, and govern ourselves—on our own terms.*

It is food sovereignty
Policy sovereignty.
Economic sovereignty.
Cultural sovereignty.

Until we achieve these, October 1st will remain a public holiday—not a celebration of true independence, but a reminder of the work still undone.

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed against President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation of emergency rule in Rivers State.

The case, brought by Belema Briggs and four others, sought to challenge the legality of the declaration. However, Justice Omotosho ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the case, explaining that only the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to determine such a matter.

He noted that none of the plaintiffs were members of the State Executive Committee, the House of Assembly, or had suffered any specific injury, and that they also lacked the Attorney General’s approval to proceed.

The judge upheld the President’s position, stating that Tinubu’s claim that the emergency was necessary to prevent a breakdown of law and order was “undisputed.” He added that allegations of fundamental rights violations could not stand since the President acted within the framework of the Emergency Rule Order. Omotosho concluded that the case was frivolous and baseless, stressing that the plaintiffs did not obtain the consent of Rivers citizens before filing.

President Tinubu declared the state of emergency in March, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the State House of Assembly. He appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Administrator to oversee the state, citing political instability and attacks on oil infrastructure as reasons for the move.

The emergency was lifted on September 17 after the federal government reported restored political cooperation and improved security. Fubara, his deputy, and Assembly members resumed their duties the following day, greeted by jubilant supporters.

President Bola Tinubu will on October 8 commission the $400m Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Export Terminal in Rivers State, marking the first crude export facility built in Nigeria in over 50 years.

Developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), operators of the Otakikpo field in OML 11 at Ikuru town, Andoni Local Government Area, the project is the first wholly indigenous onshore terminal in the country since the Forcados Terminal was commissioned in 1971.

The inauguration is expected to draw key stakeholders, including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and senior industry leaders.

According to GEIL’s Executive Director of Legal and Corporate Services, Olusegun Ilori, the project directly aligns with President Tinubu’s vision to ramp up production and resolve Nigeria’s crude evacuation challenges. “This project is a strategic infrastructure that supports the administration’s commitment to raising output while reducing costs,” Ilori said.

The Otakikpo terminal, with an initial storage capacity of 750,000 barrels expandable to three million and a loading capacity of 360,000 barrels per day, is expected to significantly cut production costs for local producers. Industry experts note it could also unlock crude from more than 40 stranded oil fields that have struggled with evacuation bottlenecks.

Chairman and CEO of GEIL, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, hailed the development as a “game-changing national infrastructure,” adding: “What we have achieved here is not just a storage solution, but a pathway for about 40 stranded oil fields to finally contribute to the economy.”

The commissioning highlights the Federal Government’s renewed effort to restore investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil sector, which has grappled with declining production, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and rising operational costs in recent years.