A former Chief of Army Staff, taff and former Nigerian Ambassador to Benin Republic, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd.), has dismissed the narrative portraying Nigeria as a nation on the brink of collapse, insisting that the country possesses the resilience, human capital, and institutional capacity to overcome its current difficulties.

He stated this in a message posted on Wednesday on his Facebook page, urging Nigerians and the international community to adopt a constructive, solutions-driven perspective toward the country’s future.

Buratai argued that predictions of Nigeria becoming a failed state, including earlier foreign assessments, fail to acknowledge the nation’s history of overcoming adversity.

According to him, Nigeria’s trajectory since independence demonstrates a pattern of survival, adaptation, and eventual renewal.

The former Army chief highlighted Nigeria’s survival of the civil war, waves of economic turbulence, prolonged military rule, and the peak of the Boko Haram crisis as evidence of a nation capable of weathering storms.

He noted that Nigeria’s democratic and security institutions, though imperfect, have repeatedly proven strong enough to hold the country together during existential threats.

“Each epoch of challenge has produced a stronger resolve and a more united national consensus,” he said.

Buratai stated that despite slow growth and inflationary pressures, Nigeria remains Africa’s largest economy, powered by a dynamic private sector and a rapidly growing technology and creative industry.

He identified human capital, vast agricultural land, solid minerals, and renewable energy potential as the country’s strongest assets.

He added that current reform efforts targeting diversification are laying the foundation for a future built on innovation rather than extractive dependence.

On security, Buratai maintained that Nigeria’s current threats are surmountable, noting that the country had significantly degraded Boko Haram from its peak, and ongoing military restructuring is gradually stabilising affected regions.

He also pointed to ongoing national infrastructure developments, rail projects, airport upgrades, road expansion, and mega-industrial initiatives such as the Dangote Refinery, as proof that the country is rebuilding, not collapsing.

Citing the resilience, creativity, and adaptive capacity of citizens, Buratai described the Nigerian people as the nation’s “ultimate guarantee of continuity.”

Community support systems, he said, have often bridged structural gaps, keeping families and local economies afloat during tough periods.

Buratai urged Western nations to shift from what he described as “pessimistic forecasting” to collaborative engagement with Nigeria, emphasizing investment, technology transfer, fair trade, and partnership in security capacity-building.

“The world does not need more contingency plans for Nigeria’s collapse. It needs partnership plans for Nigeria’s rise,” he said.

The former ambassador outlined practical steps for Nigeria and its partners to include intensified efforts towards build a new national ethic based on patriotism, integrity, and service.

“Expand economic diversification through sovereign investments in agriculture, minerals, and renewable energy; strengthen security by empowering community-based policing within a coordinated national framework”, amongst others.