The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has said Nigeria has yet to fulfil the promises of independence for millions of its citizens.
Sowore made the remarks on Thursday, October 1, 2026, in a statement shared on X as Nigeria celebrated its 66th Independence Anniversary.
He said independence should mean freedom, dignity, prosperity, justice and equal opportunities for citizens, but argued that many Nigerians were still struggling with poverty, unemployment, insecurity and inadequate access to basic services.
“Today, Nigeria marks 66 years since the Union Jack was lowered and our green-white-green flag was raised. But for millions of Nigerians, the fundamental promise of independence, freedom, dignity, prosperity, justice, and equality, remains unfulfilled,” Sowore said.
The AAC candidate also criticised the condition of education, healthcare and electricity in the country, while accusing those entrusted with public resources of misusing them.
“We cannot call ourselves truly independent when our children are denied quality education, workers earn wages that cannot sustain their families, hospitals are collapsing, the paltry electricity that exists remains a luxury, and those entrusted with public resources loot with impunity,” he said.
Sowore maintained that ordinary Nigerians were not responsible for the country’s problems, describing them as hardworking, creative and resilient.
“Nigeria’s problem is not its people. Nigerians are hardworking, creative, resilient, and extraordinarily resourceful,” he said.
He accused successive governments of failing to properly utilise the country’s human and natural resources, saying citizens had continued to bear the consequences.
The former presidential candidate called for improved living conditions, accessible education and healthcare, reliable electricity, better wages and greater security for farmers and young people.
He said Nigerians should be able to exercise their rights without facing arrest or abuse for criticising those in power.
“The task before our generation is not merely to celebrate the independence handed to us in 1960. Our historic duty is to redo it,” Sowore said.
He further called for an end to corruption, oppression, poverty, injustice, ethnic manipulation, religious intolerance and divisive politics, urging the creation of a system that serves all Nigerians.
