As 2025 draws to a close, Nigeria finds itself grappling with the consequences of policies that repeatedly fall short of expectations. The year exposed the fragility of governance in the face of persistent insecurity and economic pressures, leaving millions of Nigerians to navigate a reality far removed from government promises.
Nowhere was this more evident than in the country’s northern and central states, where insecurity has remained relentless. Despite official claims of enhanced security measures, attacks by armed groups and kidnappers continued throughout the year, displacing thousands and shuttering schools across Bauchi, Plateau, Zamfara, Niger, Kwara, and Kaduna states.
Amnesty International warned that a generation of children risked missing out on education due to the government’s inability to protect schools and communities. Negotiated amnesties for bandit groups, widely promoted as a solution, proved insufficient, as mass abductions and violent attacks persisted, revealing a clear gap between policy design and practical results.
Economic policy offered another illustration of policy missteps. Initiatives such as a proposed 15 percent fuel import duty and a cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions were quickly suspended after widespread public backlash, exposing government’s failure to anticipate socio-economic realities and consult stakeholders adequately.
These reversals, while preventing further immediate hardship, reinforced perceptions of inconsistency and weakened public confidence in the government’s economic strategy. Even as some macroeconomic indicators showed modest improvement, the effects of inflation, rising living costs, and disrupted local trade continued to affect ordinary Nigerians.
Policy shortcomings were also evident in governance and institutional accountability. Human rights observers noted persistent abuses in the Southern part of the country and highlighted weak enforcement of protections meant to shield citizens from violence and injustice. Security and social services often functioned reactively rather than proactively, leaving communities exposed to criminal threats.
Education reforms, such as the introduction of mother-tongue instruction, failed in execution due to lack of trained teachers and instructional materials.
Taken together, these failures reveal that policies in isolation, without strategic implementation, civic engagement, and institutional strength, cannot deliver meaningful change.
Nigeria’s experience in 2025 showed how interlinked challenges, including security, economic stability, and governance, require coherent and inclusive policy approaches. The repeated failures to address insecurity and economic reform inflicted immediate hardship and eroded public trust, with long-term implications for social cohesion and political legitimacy.
2025 has been a year in which the consequences of failed policies became painfully visible across the country. For Nigerians, the lesson is that governance must be deliberate, evidence-driven, and inclusive, or the cycle of crisis and reversal will continue.
