BLIND FOLLOWERS TIED TO DEAD LEADERS: A REFLECTION ON NIGERIA’s STAGNATION

 Nigeria today stands at a crossroads, yet it seems to move in circles. The metaphor is simple but profound: the nation is like a body of blind followers tied to dead leaders. The dead cannot move, and the blind cannot see. Together, they remain stuck, perpetuating cycles of misdirection and frustration.

The “dead leaders” are not only those who have passed away physically, but also the ideas, systems, and approaches that no longer serve progress. Leadership is not just a title; it is vision, foresight, and the capacity to guide toward collective prosperity. When leadership becomes obsolete, yet continues to be revered unquestioningly, it binds the society in stagnation.

The “blind followers” are those who, through habit, loyalty, or fear, refuse to question authority or assess the reality before them. Without vision, without critical thinking, they cannot recognize that the path they tread leads nowhere.

So, who or what will free the blind from the dead? The answer lies not in resurrecting the past, but in awakening the present. Change requires:

1. Awareness and Critical Thinking – Citizens must develop the ability to discern, to question, and to demand accountability. Knowledge is the lens that restores sight.

2. Emergence of Visionary Leadership – The living must rise with ideas, courage, and integrity capable of guiding the nation forward. Leadership must be active, not symbolic.

3. Collective Responsibility – Communities, institutions, and citizens must untie themselves from blind loyalty and participate in the co-creation of solutions.

4. Cultural Transformation – Society must value innovation over ritualistic reverence, action over inertia, and vision over nostalgia.

Liberation is neither easy nor immediate. It is a deliberate choice to walk away from the comfort of passivity, to question inherited truths, and to build new foundations for progress. Nigeria’s future will not be delivered by the shadows of the past; it will be claimed by those who dare to see, think, and act.

The metaphor is stark, but it is also a call to action: the blind can be freed, the dead can be acknowledged but not followed, if their legacy is etched in unprogressive narratives, and the nation can finally move forward. The question is: who among the living will rise first?