Coup or Cube: Nigeria’s Defining Political Choice
In the grand theatre of African politics, two starkly different scenes are unfolding. To the north in the Sahel, the curtain is rising once more on a familiar, tragic drama: the military coup. The sound of armoured vehicles on the streets of Niamey, Bamako, and Ouagadougou serves as a grim echo from a past many had hoped was behind us. Yet, here in Nigeria, while the threat of such a blunt-force intervention remains a spectre in the background, the nation is gripped by a more insidious and pervasive struggle. It is not a fight for the seat of power in Aso Rock, but for the very building blocks of human dignity—a desperate battle for what can be termed the Cube.
The “Coup” represents the old paradigm of political change: sudden, violent, and unconstitutional. It is the ultimate failure of the state, a verdict delivered not at the ballot box but at the barrel of a gun. The recent resurgence of this phenomenon in our neighbouring states is not a random occurrence. It is a symptom of a disease to which Nigeria is not immune: a pervasive sense of governmental incompetence, escalating and unaddressed insecurity, and an economic despair that hollows out the future for the youth. The coup is the political equivalent of a system crash, a catastrophic reset whose aftermath is always unpredictable and often bloody.
However, to focus solely on the potential for a military takeover is to miss the profound and immediate crisis consuming the Nigerian populace. The real contest, the one that defines the daily existence of millions, is the fight for the Cube.
This cube is a multifaceted symbol of a crumbling social contract. It is, first, the fuel cube—the diesel or petrol required to power the generators that have become a national shame. This cube is what keeps small businesses running, hospitals functioning, and homes lit in the perpetual twilight of a failing national grid. Its escalating cost is a direct tax on productivity and survival.
The cube is also the ice cube—a simple luxury that represents the basic comforts of life, melting away under the heat of hardship and hyperinflation. It is the sugar cube, the small sweetness that makes life palatable, now becoming unaffordable. Most critically, it is the shrinking cube of living space and economic opportunity, as real incomes collapse and the dream of a decent livelihood evaporates for the average citizen.
This battle for the cube is a silent, grinding war fought in the markets of Onitsha, the cramped apartments of Ajegunle, and the frustrated offices of Lagos professionals. It is a war not for political power, but for economic survival. The Nigerian state must recognise that this struggle for subsistence and dignity is not separate from high politics; it is the very foundation upon which political stability is built.
The grave danger for the Nigerian polity lies in the nexus between these two concepts. When the state consistently fails to secure the basic “cubes” of existence for its citizens, it creates a fertile ground for anti-democratic sentiments. A populace that is hungry, insecure, and devoid of hope can become perilously ambivalent to the siren song of strongmen. The rhetoric of a “coup” can begin to sound less like a treasonous act and more like a desperate remedy to those who have been failed by the democratic process. The sanctity of constitutional order rings hollow to the man who cannot power his home or feed his family.
Therefore, the most urgent national security task is not merely to guard against a military putsch, but to win the war for the cube. This demands a leadership that is relentlessly, unflinchingly focused on the core deliverables of governance. We must move beyond grandiose projects and political rhetoric to a granular, results-oriented agenda.
This entails a Marshall Plan-level focus on energy security to make the fuel cube redundant; economic stabilisation to tame the inflation that erodes purchasing power; food security to ensure that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry; and a catalytic environment for job creation to give the teeming youth a stake in the system.
The choice before Nigeria is stark: Coup or Cube. The former is a catastrophic failure that belongs in the dustbin of history. The latter is the essential building block of a stable, prosperous, and legitimate society. To secure our democratic future, we must first secure the dignity of the present. The nation’s focus must shift decisively from the politics of power to the governance of sustenance. Our collective future depends on it.