Nigeria’s celebration culture and the normalisation of mediocre institutional outcomes

Nigeria is a country that celebrates visibly and enthusiastically. Roads are commissioned with fanfare, policies are announced with optimism, and intervention programmes are unveiled with media attention as evidence of national progress. Across government, entrepreneurship, education, technology, sports, and the arts, moments of achievement are often publicly celebrated. Indeed, Nigeria is not short of ideas, ambition, or brilliance worth celebrating. Since independence, the country has produced remarkable innovations, institutions, businesses,