A renowned Nigerian economist and elder statesman, Prof. Gesiye Angaye, has issued a stark warning to the Nigerian political class, condemning what he described as a profound moral collapse amid widespread suffering.
In an article titled “Dancing on the Graves: Moral Collapse, Elite Indifference, and the Crisis of State Responsibility in Nigeria”, delivered on Monday as part of activities marking his 90th birthday, Prof. Angaye accused the elite of celebrating and focusing on electoral ambitions while ordinary citizens grapple with insecurity, hunger, unemployment, and poverty.
“Nigeria resembles a nation at war with itself” — not through declared conflict, but via routine deaths from banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, and institutional neglect, he stated.
“While citizens bury their dead, political actors dance — literally and metaphorically — at rallies, celebrations, and defections.
“The contrast between elite comfort and popular misery reveals a deep moral fracture in the Nigerian polity,” he added.
The nonagenarian scholar argued that the state has abdicated its core responsibility — the protection of life and property — leading to a breach of the social contract.
“Hunger is not a natural disaster; it is a policy outcome.
“A political class that remains festive amid mass hunger demonstrates institutionalized insensitivity — a condition where suffering no longer registers as a policy emergency,” Professor Angaye asserted.
He warned of “moral anomie” — a breakdown of shared values — where tragedies like mass killings and kidnappings no longer shock society, risking reproduction of injustice across generations.
“Nigeria still has a choice: to restore compassion to governance, to re-center life as the supreme value of the state, and to rebuild trust between rulers and the ruled,” he wrote.
He ended with a poignant admonition: “Beware of dancing on graves which could collapse/give way to others to dance on your graves.”
Professor Angaye’s intervention coincides with his 90th birthday, which drew tributes from notable figures, including Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri.