Mental slavery: Nigeria’s hidden enemy more dangerous than bad governance

Subair argues that the nation’s greatest challenge is not bad governance but mental slavery—a defeatist mindset that traps citizens in cycles of complaint and dependency—urging Nigerians to emancipate themselves by adopting the problem-solving attitudes demonstrated by success stories like the $1 billion fintech company Moniepoint.

by Abiodun Subair

“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.” When Bob Marley sang these words decades ago, he could have been speaking directly to present-day Nigeria. Our greatest chains are not made of iron or policy documents—they are forged in our minds, strengthened daily by narratives of hopelessness, and locked tight by our collective refusal to believe that change is possible.

The Invisible Prison

Nations don’t rise or fall through policies alone—they rise or fall first through mindset and narratives, especially those promoted, imbibed, or amplified by their citizens or nationals. The recent “abduction” of the Venezuelan president by the United States readily comes to mind. Verified reports indicate that the closest guards to President Nicholas Maduro had lost hope and confidence in their president long before the “abduction,” thereby selling out to the United States, which made it very easy for the U.S. to “abduct” Maduro. When a nation’s own people lose faith, external forces need only walk through the door we’ve already opened.

In 1996, Professor Jeffrey Herbst of the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, United States, asked: “Is Nigeria a Viable State?” He went on to assert—and predict—that “Nigeria does not work and probably cannot work.” He said the country was failing not from any other cause but “from a particular pattern of politics…that threatens to even further impoverish the population and to cause a catastrophic collapse…” This was his assertion 30 years ago. Alas, Nigeria is still standing today! Yet many Nigerians have internalized Herbst’s prophecy, becoming its most enthusiastic evangelists.

The Competition of Despair

Nowadays, many Nigerians consciously and unconsciously amplify hopelessness, corruption, stereotypes, and failure stories in their minds and daily interactions like it is a paid competition for who can outdo the other, while making concerted efforts to sway others to believe that their situation is hopeless. We have become experts at cataloging our failures, historians of our disappointments, and prophets of our own doom. Nigeria is not hopeless—but we are choosing to behave as if it is.

This is mental slavery in its purest form: the belief that our circumstances are permanent, that our poverty is destiny, that our corruption is genetic, that our underdevelopment is inevitable. It is the acceptance of defeat before the battle has even been fought. It is waiting for government or external aid to rescue us while we sit paralyzed by the very chains we have fastened around our own ankles.

Mindset: The Steering Wheel of Destiny

In any endeavor, including the development of nations, mindset—which plays a very important and critical role—is often underestimated. People’s mindset is a very strong factor that dictates how communities, individuals, and leaders respond to opportunities and challenges, especially in developing nations like Nigeria. While “hard” indicators like infrastructure and income are vital, the “soft” indicator of mindset—deeply held beliefs, attitudes, and values—can either act as a catalyst for growth or a barrier that traps individuals, communities, and countries in a cycle of self-pity, hopelessness, poverty, and dependency.

Unfortunately, a prevalent negative mindset in Nigeria today is the widespread belief that poverty, corruption, or low development levels are unchangeable. This “poverty trap” mentality leads to fatalism, fear of risk-taking, and reluctance to adopt new, more efficient methods of doing things, not realizing that the impediment to action advances the action. This has resulted in a complaining rather than a doing nation, where the majority of citizens now wait for government or external aid/intervention for practically everything rather than taking personal responsibility.

Your life and experiences gravitate toward your most dominant, consistent thoughts, as the mind acts as a steering wheel for your destiny. This principle suggests that you become what you dwell on, as your subconscious mind works to turn your strongest, most frequent, and intense thoughts into your reality. If we collectively steer toward failure, complaint, and victimhood, that is precisely where we will arrive.

The Quiet Revolutionaries

But here is the truth that mental slavery doesn’t want you to know: while many Nigerians are busy lamenting and complaining about practically everything—including government at all levels and their “village people”—a small percentage are busy succeeding quietly by adopting better ways of solving problems, thinking out of the box, providing excellent services, and taking advantage of available platforms for growth.

The success story of Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, is a powerful testament to what happens when people break free from mental bondage. Moniepoint, a leading African fintech and unicorn valued at over $1 billion as of 2024, achieved success by bridging the financial inclusion gap in Nigeria through agency banking and digital solutions despite government “bad policies.”

How did they do it? The promoters of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, simply shifted their mindset and focus from serving banks to empowering underserved small businesses (which abound in Nigeria) with accessible, efficient, fast, and transparent financial services. They refused to be prisoners of the narrative that nothing works in Nigeria. They emancipated themselves from the mental slavery that says “wait for government to fix things” and instead asked, “What problem can we solve right now with what we have?”

This kind of success story abounds at various levels in Nigeria today, even in this “bad economy” under this “bad government.” They are the proof that mental emancipation is not just philosophical—it is practical, profitable, and possible.

The Choice Before Us

Mental slavery thrives on collective agreement. It needs us all to believe the same hopeless story, to repeat the same defeatist narratives, to accept the same limiting beliefs. But emancipation requires only one thing: for you to decide that you will no longer be a prisoner of these thoughts.

The choice is yours as a Nigerian to “sink or swim,” lament or succeed. Will you continue to amplify the narrative of failure, or will you become one of the quiet revolutionaries who proves that narrative wrong? Will you wait for a savior—governmental or otherwise—or will you recognize that salvation begins in your own mind, with your own hands, in your own sphere of influence?

Breaking the Chains

Emancipation is not easy. Mental slavery is comfortable because it absolves us of responsibility. If Nigeria is hopeless, then our individual failures are not our fault. If the system is rigged, then our lack of action is justified. If corruption is inevitable, then our own compromises are excusable. Mental slavery offers the comfort of victimhood—but it is a prison nonetheless.

True emancipation requires courage: the courage to believe that things can be different, the courage to take responsibility for your own corner of Nigeria, the courage to solve problems instead of merely cataloging them, the courage to build despite the obstacles, the courage to hope when hopelessness seems more realistic.

The Path Forward

None but ourselves can free our minds. No policy, no president, no external intervention can do this work for us. The government may fail us, the economy may disappoint us, the infrastructure may frustrate us—but none of these things can enslave our minds unless we give them permission.

Nigeria’s future will not be written by those who sit and complain. It will be written by those who emancipate themselves from mental slavery and dare to act as if success is possible. It will be written by the Tosin Eniolurundas and Felix Ikes who refuse to accept that “Nigeria cannot work.” It will be written by ordinary Nigerians who choose, one decision at a time, one action at a time, one mindset shift at a time, to break free from the prison of limiting beliefs.

The question is not whether Nigeria can work. The question is: Will you be among those who prove that it can?

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.

The choice is yours.

Subair writes from Ibadan, Nigeria.