Skip to main content

We Have No Government In Nigeria, It’s Banana Republic – Niyi Osundare

February 23, 2022

According to the Professor of English at the University of New Orleans, Nigeria is a banana republic.

Celebrated poet, scholar and public commentator, Niyi Osundare, says many people have lost in Nigeria.
According to the Professor of English at the University of New Orleans, Nigeria is a banana republic.

Image


Speaking at An Evening with Professor Osundare in Lagos, he lamented the absence of good governance and developmental strides.
The event saw the poet reading from his latest collections of poems entitled “Green: Sighs of our Ailing Planet and Snapsongs.”
“We don’t have a government in Nigeria. We have lost faith in this country. Where is the government of Nigeria? I don’t have the answer,” he said.
“If any of you know where our government is, please tell me. Nigeria is a banana republic, but we don’t even have enough bananas to eat.”
Osundare also raised the alarm over the number of young Nigerians ready to stake their lives to relocate abroad for greener pasture.
“Four out of every five young men and women I meet in this country are trying to find their way out. When you look at what is happening in our country today, clearly everybody is trying to run away. Do I blame them? No, not at all! It is our rulers who don’t even feel this is alarming. I don’t think they love this country. The streets of America, Britain and France are not filled with gold,” he said.