Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai (rtd), has dismissed repeated claims that Nigeria is on the verge of collapse, describing such predictions as inaccurate and disconnected from the nation’s resilience, history and potential.
In a statement titled “Nigeria: An Unbreakable Nation Rising Through Challenges,” Buratai argued that reports such as the 2011 CSAT assessment underestimate both the capacity of Nigerian leaders and the determination of its citizens.
Buratai said suggestions that Africa’s most populous country could become a failed state contradict decades of evidence showing that Nigeria has consistently survived crises that might have toppled other nations.
“From independence to date, our leaders—civilian and military—have steered this country out of storms many nations would not survive. Nigeria cannot and will not fail, by the grace of God,” he said.
He acknowledged the leadership contributions of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and former heads of state including Generals Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Mohammed. He added that former President Olusegun Obasanjo helped lay the foundation for democratic stability in 1979 and again in 1999.
According to him, today’s leadership—across government, civil society, business and technology—is more accountable and connected to citizens, making the idea of national collapse “inconceivable.”